We recently told you about The Rock And Roll Hall Of
Fame eliminating SIXTEEN members of its Nominating Committee ... evidently in
some not-so-hidden agenda move to further minimize any chance of vintage artists
gaining recognition for their work.
FH Reader Shelley Sweet-Tufano sent us this article,
written by the well-read (and oft-published) Jeff Tamarkin, formerly of
"Goldmine Magazine". (Jeff was also a one-time member of that nominating committee ... and his recently published report goes into even greater depth on this subject matter.)
For over ten years
now we've been telling you about the lack of ANY remaining credibility for this
organization due to the tight-fisted reign of Jann Wenner. Well, it looks like
ol' Jann just got his way again!
In fact, you'll find several points previously covered in Forgotten Hits (in our on-going pursuit of Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame justice) mentioned in this piece. I think it's great that a former nominating committee member is willing to speak "on the record" about their own experiences battling the cause to see deserving artists recognized ... and I'm hoping that even more will come forward to expose just what a complete sham this organization really is. As we've seen over the past several years, The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has become much more about "the show" ... than the actual achievements of these great artists.
Jeff also points out ... again ... that your anger about the ways and means of the New York based nominating committee should NOT be misdirected to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Museum that resides in Cleveland ... these are two totally separate entities ... and we've had Museum personnel admit to scratching their own heads each year when the new list of nominees is released. (Tamarkin also points out the futility of online petitions supporting any given artists ... The Rock Hall doesn't even look at them. They already know who THEY want to induct!)
All-in-all, a very enlightening piece. Thanks, Shelley! (kk)
Rock and Roll HOF Dumps 16
Nominating Members, Proving Its Irrelevance Yet Again
A former nominating
committee member reveals the depth of ridiculousness at Wenner's
palace
There was a purge at the Rock and Roll
Hall of fame this week. According to Billboard Magazine, “16 of the 42
nominating committee have been given their walking papers … [including] more
than half of the Hall’s Early Rock and R&B Influencers subcommittee.” The
article only names four of the 16 members who were dumped, and knowing all four
(blues and R&B expert Joe McEwen, label exec Gregg Geller, major record
label old hand Arthur Levy and legendary publicist Bob Merlis) it’s pretty
obvious to me that they’re deliberately getting rid of those most knowledgeable
about early rock and roll. As if this institution — founded and championed and
ruled with an iron fist by Rolling Stone boss Jann Wenner — wasn’t a
huge enough joke already.
I served on the nominating committee for
two years, 1992-93, and then was summarily canned after I wrote an article for
Billboard on what a sham the whole process is. It seems nothing has
changed.
Today, the annual awards show, which has
become a major production now that HBO produces a much-watched recap of each
year’s event, has become the driving force behind selecting who gains
admittance. That might explain why Mr. Wenner and Jon Landau, Bruce
Springsteen’s manager and the second most powerful influence over the Hall, are
bypassing influential acts from the 1960s and 1970s in favor of more recent
artists that might “sell some tickets” and attract some viewers.
It’s not as though I was stunned to
discover that the Hall seems to be putting star power ahead of actual influence
and merit. It’s always been about business. When I was on the committee, Sire
Records honcho Seymour Stein was trying to get the ’50s vocal group the
Moonglows nominated and another Hall exec actually said, “They won’t sell a
single ticket to the dinner.” Fortunately — and deservedly — the Moonglows got
in.
Rock fans have noticed. One friend of mine
groused that he was dismayed that “Too many good bands from the ’70s aren’t
inducted yet, like Hot Tuna and Jefferson Starship.” Well, he’ll likely see
Mariah Carey and Jay Z in there before either of those 1970s bands. After all,
the Hall seems already to have passed on many major 1960s / ’70s artists, among
them Deep Purple, Gram Parsons, Jethro Tull, the Turtles, Electric Light
Orchestra, Link Wray, the Steve Miller Band, Paul Revere and the Raiders, the
MC5, T. Rex, Chubby Checker, Chicago, the New York Dolls, the Monkees, Warren
Zevon, Tower of Power, Yes and dozens of others. Fans take to Facebook and
compile petitions attempting to persuade the nominating committee to recognize
one overlooked favorite or another, usually to no avail. Now, with the pruning
of the committee, it’s a fair bet most of those favorites will forever be
shunned.
To be sure, debating who should and should
not be in any Hall of Fame is part of its raison d’etre in the first
place. Just as Ron Santo and Richie Ashburn have been the subject of years of
barroom arguments by baseball fans, debating the Hall-worthiness of best-selling
but critically dismissed acts like the Doobie Brothers and the Moody Blues is a
perfectly natural and healthy part of the process.
One friend of mine suggested that the Hall
needs to recognize “more innovators regardless of sales and popularity … Roxy
Music and Kraftwerk should be in.” Another made a strong case for “the first
male R&B artist to get a platinum album, singer Teddy Pendergrass.” Someone
suggested that there’s a gap regarding “African-American artists who don’t fit
Jann Wenner’s soul template. I know Bob Marley, Sly, Jimi and Curtis are there.
But Arthur Lee and Love, Nile Rodgers and Chic, and especially the Band of
Gypsys should be there. I could make a fair case for Grace Jones, Labelle and
Joan Armatrading, too.”
That kind of jockeying for one’s own
favorites is part of the fun. But one problem with the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame is that there is no consistent criteria, other than the rule that an artist
must have recorded for the first time at least 25 years ago before becoming
eligible. When I was on the committee, both the Grateful Dead and Jefferson
Airplane were being considered. They had me ask the representatives of both
groups which members they wanted inducted if they got in. The Airplane’s manager
said just the six core members from the 1966-70 era. The Dead said induct
everyone who’s ever been in the band or no one at all and that’s what they got,
even songwriter Robert Hunter. Some artists have been inducted without their own
bands (like Bruce Springsteen) while others got the full band. They make it up
as they go along.
Years ago, I wrote an article for
Billboard about what a sham the whole process is. That story earned me
a public lambasting by legendary producer (and now convicted killer) Phil
Spector at my second nominating committee meeting. He passed around photocopies
and said, “What is this guy even doing here? He’s calling us all assholes!” I
said, “No, Phil, I’m calling you all hypocrites.” Afterward he came over and put
his arm around me and said, “You know I was just kidding, right?” I wasn’t so
sure he was but I didn’t need to worry — I was kicked off the committee after
that.
Last year, I interviewed twice-inducted
Graham Nash (for the Hollies and for Crosby, Stills and Nash) and asked him,
“Does the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame mean anything to you?” He replied, “Of
course it means something. I mean, look at the people who were in there before
me. Are you fucking kidding? These people think I should be in there twice?!
This is crazy to me. The Songwriters Hall of Fame, we’re in there twice, too.
George Gershwin, Cole Porter? They think I’m one of them? They’re out of their
fucking minds! I’m grateful, I am, but it’s not why I got into this
business.”
When the late heartthrob Davy Jones was
asked about the failure of the Monkees to gain admittance, he responded to the
effect that if the Hall had any relevance they would not have built it in Ohio.
That’s a good line, but the actual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland and
the NYC-based nominating committee that decides who gets inducted are two very
different entities. A trip to Cleveland is still very much worth the journey,
whatever outrageous omissions and process defects there may be.
Meanwhile, official acclaim isn’t and
shouldn’t be the motivation for any rock and roll band. My follow up question to
Graham Nash went like this:
Me: So why did you get into this
business?
Graham Nash: To get fucked.
Jeff Tamarkin was the first editor of
CMJ and later served as editor of Relix and Goldmine. He is the author of
Got a Revolution!:
The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane and co-author with Howard Kaylan of Shell
Shocked: My Life with the Turtles, Flo and Eddie, and Frank Zappa,
etc.
