Andy Greene of Rolling Stone reports:
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has officially announced next year’s inductees: Pearl Jam, Tupac Shakur, Journey, Yes, Electric Light Orchestra and Joan Baez will all join the class of 2017. Chic’s Nile Rodgers will be given the Award For Musical Excellence.
The induction ceremony will be held at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on April 7th, 2017. An edited version will later air on HBO and there will be a radio broadcast on SiriusXM. Ticket details will be announced in January…
…Progressive rock giants Yes are entering on their third ballot, 26 years after first becoming eligible. “It’s a bit like waiting for a train,” says guitarist Steve Howe. “Maybe it’s on time and you just noticed waiting. I don’t regret the wait. I just feel this must be the right time.”
Journey didn’t appear on a ballot until this year. “I kind of feel like we were already in with our fans and the amount of records we’ve sold all over the world,” says guitarist Neal Schon. “I wasn’t expecting anything at all. I’ve learned to be that way. If you don’t expect something and it comes, then its good news. I’m honored. I think we’re all honored…”
…The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is also known for providing an occasion for band members to reunite. This year’s class has two potential reunions on the horizon with Journey and Yes. Journey haven’t performed in public with singer Steve Perry since a Bill Graham tribute show in 1991. Schon hopes Perry will take the stage with the band on the big night. “I would be surprised if it didn’t happen,” he says. “But I’ll deal with it whichever way … I’m going to try and reach out [to Perry], as I’ve done many times. And [our current singer] Arnel [Pineda] is so gracious. He says, ‘Any time he wants to come on and do anything, I’ll very gladly step aside and let him sing.'”
Perry’s manager said the singer would not be available for interviews, but he did release a very short statement on his behalf: “I’m truly grateful that Journey is being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.” Whether or not he’s grateful enough to get onstage with Journey remains unclear.
A Yes reunion is a safer bet. The current lineup of the band hasn’t performed with original singer Jon Anderson and keyboardist Rick Wakeman since 2004, but guitarist Steve Howe isn’t opposed to the idea of playing with them on Hall of Fame night. “It just depends on how it feels and what the communication is and what the spirit is,” he says. “It’s gotta be discussed and gotta be considered. Obviously it’s a consideration…”
…Most induction ceremonies end with a huge all-star jam. Steve Howe is open to the idea of having it be Roundabout this time. ” It could be a little bit chaotic,” he says. “It really deceives you into thinking it’s in 4/4 because it’s easy on the ear, but of course it isn’t and there’s a little trick in there that catches many musicians up.”
Trevor Rabin, the Yes guitarist who replaced Howe in the 1980s, has his own idea: “Playing ‘Helter Skelter’ with Neal Schon would be a lot of fun.”
Read more at Rolling Stone.
source: rollingstone.com
8 Responses
Let me guess the current drama will be with Peary and Journey
Pearl Jam least fav of the grunge bands if Vedder shows up he is a hypocrite
Congrats to Pearl Jam…well deserved!
I thought the decisions on the inductees were fairly decent, yeah everyone will quibble over who did not get in, but Journey, Pearl Jam, YES and ELO are well deserving. We know Tupac is not rock and roll, but that point soars over the heads of the RRHOF folks. Congrats!
tupac?? 1st name i think of when i hear rock and roll….how is it that this raping rapper gets in on 1st yr of eligibility but others cant even get a sniff of the h.o.f.?………..dana remember months ago when i said the name “BARRY MANILOW”?..still thinking that one over……….pearl jam, oh yeah the group with the songs that make no sense, the lead singer looked and dressed like the pres of the salvation army, mumbles when he sings, hair looks like a birds nest that had a wild orgy in it,,,and still no judas priest, scorpions, even bon jovi.
Tom, LOL!!!
We are on the same page, my friend.
D 🙂
All the acts seem well deserved. The RRHoF has evolved into the “Popular Music Hall of Fame” anyway, so it’s pointless for people to set their hair on fire over Tupac’s induction. My real issue with the HoF is that because of Jann Wenner and Dave Marsh’s undeserved influence in deciding who gets inducted and when, Chris Squire never had the chance to see YES honored. Also, kudos to Nile Rodgers for the Award for Musical Excellence (ABSOLUTELY well-deserved)…but that seems to imply that there are inductees in the HoF who are there for reasons other than musical excellence….