Rock Hall 2005 Nominees
Published September 14, 2004
The nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class of 2005 were announced yesterday:
- Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five are among the nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — the first rap artists to get that distinction — joining U2, Randy Newman and the O'Jays on the ballot.
Getting his start as a DJ at Bronx parties in the late 1970s, Grandmaster Flash later joined with the Furious Five for the social commentary of "The Message" and "White Lines (Don't Don't Do It").
Other nominees include blues guitarist Buddy Guy, rockabilly pioneer Wanda Jackson, rock band the Pretenders, soul singer Percy Sledge, "Centerfold" singers the J. Geils Band and the late country singer Conway Twitty.
Previous nominees on the ballot: the Sex Pistols, Patti Smith, the Stooges, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Gram Parsons.
Singers of "Back Stabbers" and a string of other soulful hits, the O'Jays had their chart heyday in the 1970s. A singer of satirical songs like "Short People," Newman is now one of the Hollywood's most successful composers of movie music. [AP]
I picked U2 as the third most important band in rock history here:
- U2
Ireland's U2 is the most important and influential band of the post-punk era, joining ringing guitar rock, punkish independence, Celtic spirituality, innovative production techniques and electronic experimentalism — all held together by singer/lyricist Bono's transcendent vision and charisma.
U2 — Bono (Paul Hewson), guitarist the Edge (Dave Evans), bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen — formed in Dublin in 1976 as a Beatles and Stones cover band while the players were all still in high school. In 1980 they were signed to Island Records and released their spectacular first album, "Boy," produced by Steve Lillywhite.
The band's sparkling, radiant sound jumped from the grooves from the first note of "I Will Follow" and rode Mullen's massive drums and the Edge's angular, careening guitar into history. Neither "Boy" nor its follow-up "October" (with the glorious "Gloria") tore up the charts at the time (though both are now platinum), but "War" — passionate, martial "Sunday Bloody Sunday," melodic wailing "New Year's Day," and the fierce, new wavy love song "Two Hearts Beat As One"--turned U2 into a worldwide phenomenon in 1983.
In preparation for 1984's "The Unforgettable Fire," producer Brian Eno had a long conversation with Bono, as he later told Q Magazine. "I said, 'Look, if I work with you, I will want to change lots of things you do, because I'm not interested in records as a document of a rock band playing on stage, I'm more interested in painting pictures. I want to create a landscape within which this music happens.' And Bono said, 'Exactly, that's what we want too.'"
- Rock Hall 2005 Nominees
- Published: September 14, 2004
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- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Music: News
- Writer: Eric Olsen
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I guess Eric nailed it, but to reiterate - I think U2 are the biggest and best band on the planet right now. That is said with great respect to the Boss and the Stones. The Boss has something in common with U2 though, in that I regard both of their most recent albums as the best work they have ever done. EVER.
yeah yeah yeah, tell me about the past. I was there, baby. I saw the Unforgettable Fire tour, and I was at the show in Tempe, AZ they filmed for Rattle and Hum. I know their back catalogue like crazy, but all that you can't leave behind is a 5 star masterpiece.
I like All You Can't Leave Behind quite a bit, it's a real return to form, but not as much as Boy, Joshua Tree, or Achtung. I don't hink there is a whole lot of debate about whether they belong.
Oh, and regarding Bruce, I would not put The Rising up there with anything up through Born In the USA, but I agree it's also a return to form
what do you think about the other nominees?
U2 have longevity and that is very rare in music these days with the produced artists that are being churned out to make a quick dollar. I don't think the other nominee quite compare to U2 but good luck to them
Conway Twitty? How freakin' lame ass is that for a nomination? I suppose he was a pretty talented C&W star, and I know he was a cool guy (years ago I saw him play as a guest on David Sanborn's music show, which I belive was called "Night Music", and he did a duet collaberation with The Residents......it was one of the strangest juxtapositions I have seen.). Still, I would never think of Twitty as a guy who was influencial enough to be anywhere near the R&R HOF. It seems as the years roll by that the RRHOF has increasing pressure to induct new members, and it cheapens and tarnishes the honor of being an inductee. I mean, how significant an achievement is it if Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, and Mick Jaggar are recognized with no greater honor than Conway Twitty? I understand that some folks want Peter Frampton in the Hall as well. Look, I realize that he still probably holds the record for the most sales of a live album ever, but lets face it, his heyday of popularity was short-lived relative to most of the HOF inductees who were not only influencial, but were influencial over decades of time and for more than just their peer generation.
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U2 was the obvious slam dunk here. They're almost as good as Lynyrd Skynyrd- and that's saying something.
Chrissie Hynde also constitutes a particularly welcome candidate from my point of view. I was 17 when the first Pretenders album came out, and she was THE vision of the perfect hot rock chick. "Precious" and "Tattooed Love Boys" certainly rocked my little world.