Rock and Roll Hall Fame Class of 2020 is...

Thanks for reminding me of how bad Led Zeppelin was when they actually attempted some 1950's-style rock 'n' roll. Yeesh.

And I'm sure the people pumping their fists to Motley Crue and shouting "Rock and Roll!" do the same for Joni Mitchell.

 

And I wasn't arguing that Houston doesn't belong in the RnR HOF. I was simply trying to decipher a strange comment about Zeppelin.

 

But it's called the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. WH and Biggie don't quite mix with AC/DC or Metallica just like Diana Ross doesn't quite mix with Black Sabbath. They should just rename it to the Music Hall of Fame if they're gonna ignore the Rock & Roll part of the name anyway.

It's like making a top 50 best horror movies and you sprinkle in the occasional Spaceballs or a Titanic. Then just make it the best 50 movies in general at that point.

 

I just turned 59. I have 3 Nirvana albums in my collection. I guess you’re wrong.

 

I just don't understand why everyone is hung up on the name. If it was called The Popular Music Hall of Fame, would it *really* make everyone happy? I'm pretty sure everyone would still be bitching if a rapper was in there before a sacred cow classic rawk band.

 

It's the case of all the Whitney Houston naysayers in this thread. They are the ones with a narrow, and frankly erroneous, definition of rock 'n' roll. They are saying that Whitney Houston doesn't belong because she's not rock 'n' roll. I am saying that she is, and to demonstrate that I'm reminding people of what rock 'n' roll was when it exploded in the 1950s. You've got a bee in your bonnet because I had the gall to associate Joni Mitchell with the sort of music that she is most famous for. I am so very sorry about that.

 

What I don't get is how they turned certain boomers away from new music, and not Milli Vanilli, NKOTB, Tiffany and Nelson. Nirvana was what gave people hope in new music again.

But 59 makes you a younger baby boomer, the stereotypical boomers were a certain age when Woodstock happened. No different than how I'm technically Gen X but ten years younger than what most people associate with the generation. Late 50s/early 60s born baby boomers aren't as stubborn as those pushing or over 70

 

You’re on page 39 of this thread. This isn’t a new argument and it’s been addressed repeatedly.

 

Yeah, that's exactly what all the Whitney Houston naysayers are trying to do. The goalposts were set in 1986 with the first class of inductees. Whitney Houston belongs.

 

You have yet to make a case, though - what you've been saying is, essentially, because a lifebuoy is similar to a tire, we must consider it as a car part. Sorry, but I won't be throwing the lifebuoy in the back as a spare any time soon.

 

What A Fool Believes
Listen To The Music
Long Train Runnin'
China Grove
Black Water

These are just a handful of their hits. Throw these in a playlist in Spotify or whatever and have a listen. They have WAY more hits than just these.

 

It's like a broken record. People have repeatedly quoted the hall's definition of what constitutes as RnR and people still continuously just jump to the end of the thread to say Biggie and Houston aren't rock.

 

Exactly. How is stuff like this not under the umbrella of rock?



60s and 70s R&B is absolutely under the umbrella of rock. That doesn't start to fade until the 80s, particularly with New Jack Swing (in my opinion).

 

I don't think boomers were really listening to Milli Vanilli or Tiffany. It was mostly teenagers as I recall and even then nobody thought they'd be around that long. That kind of music had been around for decades prior.

As a Gen X-r, I'm not a big Nirvana fan myself. But I have a friend who is 71 and he loves Nirvana. And anyway, I'm not convinced that they really turned boomers away from new music. If anything, the boomers who didn't want to know anything new had moved on nearly a decade before Nevermind was out.

 

Honestly, I don't think they should be in, either. I'm a small-Hall kinda guy.

 

Do Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Sam Cooke, The Platters, The Drifters, The Shirelles, The Supremes, The Mamas & the Papas, Clyde McPhatter, Smokey Robinson, Bobby Darin, LaVern Baker, The Impressions, Ruth Brown, Al Green, Solomon Burke, Donna Summer, Martha & the Vandellas, The Moonglows, Gladys Knight & the Pips, lead more clearly to Whitney Houston or more clearly to The Sex Pistols?

 

Woof, you lost me there. Whitney became a punchline: the marriage to Brown and the "crack is wack" interview ensured that...

 

They also lean more clearly to Keith Sweat than to The Who.

So should Keith Sweat be in?

 

Wow - old white rock fan complains about Rock Hall!!! That's clearly worth 14 minutes of my life!

 

I was the "younger demographic" at the time and I never got the sense that the "younger demo" bought her attempts at pop stardom.

"No More Tears" was a hit, but that was more due Donna than Babs.

Other than one gay friend, I never knew anyone as a kid in the 70s/80s who liked Babs. Anecdotal, I know, but I still think most of her success came from the older population, not teens or a young demo...

 

Not rock enough!

 

Same reason Iron Maiden isn't in. Or Slayer. Or Dio.

The Rock Hall of Fame is embarrassed by music that's too loud, too crude or has the possibility of offending anyone.

Which, when you consider the reason rock & roll happened, is hilariously ironic.

 

Yes, milquetoast artists like inductees Public Enemy, N.W.A., and the Sex Pistols never caused any controversy and never offended anyone.

Fact is, even Prince and Madonna pushed more boundaries and offended more people than most of the rock bands of the last forty years. We can thank Prince for warning labels and Madonna...whew, Madonna. Where do I even begin?

 

So then you tell me why Iron Maiden and Motorhead are not inducted.

It's not about being controversial or offensive lyrically. I'm literally referring to the sound.

The HOF was founded by guys who think the Eagles are the epitome of the rock sound and don't like their mellows harshed.

Buy anyway, I look forward to your rationale for Bruce Dickinson and Lemmy never getting their placques.