New Jersey-bred rockers Bon Jovi, Judas Priest, singer-activist Nina Simone, new wave outfit Eurythmics and pioneering rapper LL Cool J are among this year’s nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Historically, the ballot has been capped at about a dozen acts, but last year that figure rose to 19, which repeats itself this year.
Ten of these, including Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, the Cars, J. Geils Band, MC5, the Meters, Link Wray, the Zombies, and Depeche Mode, have been nominated before, but there were notable first-timers, including Simone and Eurythmics.
L.A. rap metal collective Rage Against the Machine and English rockers Radiohead both made the ballot during their first year of eligibility (25 years must pass since an act’s first recording), and singer Kate Bush, heavy metal band Judas Priest, roots band Dire Straits, gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe and art rockers the Moody Blues were also nominated for the first time.
Most of them will be disappointed. While the number of nominees has almost doubled, the number of inductees remains in the single digits; only five to seven artists will be selected…
…Winners are chosen by an international voting body of more than 900 that includes past inductees, historians and members of the music industry as well as the aggregate results of the Rock Hall’s online fan vote.
Factors such as an artist’s musical influence on other acts, the length and depth of career and the body of work, as well as innovation and superiority in style and technique are considered…
…Inductees for Rock Hall’s class of 2018 will be announced in December, with the ceremony, which takes place in New York, following in April. The ceremony will be broadcast on HBO as well as SiriusXM radio.
Fan voting on Rock Hall’s official site begins Wednesday and will continue through December 5th.
Read more at the L.A. Times.
source: latimes.com
34 Responses
I realize all the responses on this page are going to be about Judas Priest, but the band that most deserves to be in the RRHoF from this list of nominees is The Cars. A band that influenced both the New Wave movement as well as Alternative Rock, a huge catalog of great songs that still get played constantly on radio, a songwriter/producer in Ric Ocasek who’s respected enough that younger bands still look to him to produce their albums, and one of the most underrated guitarists ever in rock – Elliott Easton. No other band or artist in this list of nominees can give this many reasons to be inducted.
You got guts, wow….and your assessment of, as well as your correct spelling (it’s The Cars) is spot on. I couldn’t agree more and how about their drummer? He gave their records so much vibrancy; I had Panorama on the other night and that is a rock record par excellence. I would classify The Cars as a rock band not New Wave and they, along with Van Halen, were the first “80s” bands when they debuted in 1978. However, Priest deserves it just as much. Priest match The Cars record for record, influence on the rock genre for influence, and Priest had the best live show of any band in the 80s. Priest’s live show puts them over the top. They are the only band who could beat any other band at their own game. I.e., I bet they could have, at their zenith, written a great Cars style record.
They did. It’s called Turbo.
Good point. 😉
It would be awesome if Priest gets inducted and KK joined them in performance. A shame that Maiden doesn’t even get on the ballot (again), but Rage can be on the ballot??? Maiden, a very influential band, has 16 studio albums to its credit. Rage has 4! Musically speaking, what makes Rage worthy of a Hall nomination??? At least they’re a rock band, but still!! Over Maiden…no way!!
But Rage will get inducted because Tom Morello, who is a great guitarist and a very intelligent person, is well connected with the Hall….and then we will be bored listening to his politics during his induction speech…while Maiden will begin working on a new album to continue their legacy of world dominance as one of the most successful, influential, and most popular rock bands of all time!!
It’s about f–king time! But being nominated means you’re only halfway there, so I guess as of now, Judas Priest, The Cars and Bon Jovi are still “Livin’ On A Prayer.” 😉 DR is going to kill me for that one! LOL! Once again though, why is it every year they have to nominate a f–king rapper?? Sickening!!! No Nugent, again, but nominate another rapper, f–k off! And where the hell is Styx? Pat Benatar? You know, REAL musicians!!!
I still can’t believe you think Cat Scratch Fever is better than Free For All…which takes the Nuge trophy of headhunting records hands down. Styx and Benatar don’t really deserve to get in. LL Cool J doesn’t deserve to be in, but Rage does on account of their hybrid token/type sound. Bon Jovi doesn’t deserve it neither, and Maiden would if they had made decent records after 1988. Priest have the same issue Maiden does with respect to their records not being prominent after 1990 but they set the bar so high that they have to be in. Now, I’ll just turn it over to you guys.
Shannon, as I have said before, reason is because on Free-For-All, Derek St. Holmes wasn’t really involved much except for a handful of songs, that’s what was missing. On CSF, he was all over it! That was the biggest difference for me. I love FFA, just love CSF more, had a lot more energy. BTW, Benatar and Styx totally deserve to be in the HOF! I don’t have the time or energy to explain why, but all you have to do is listen, I mean really listen! And after you’ve listened to their catalog, no explanation will be needed. Still love me? 😉
I know huh? Nuge pulls a big hero sandwhich out his rear end and gets Meat Loaf just to show St. Holmes who’s got the SlapHawk down. I hear ya loud and clear. But still, song for song, Free For All craps all over anything Nuge ever did and that’s not a put down of his other records. He put the wang dang in the nooks and crannies and put all his firepower up front and center. On his records thereafter he started to get too cute. On Free For All he put people in the ditch. Styx and Benatar are good, but not great..I don’t own any Benatar records and two Styx….yes Doug R, but not as much as Free For All.
Doug and Shannon, I love your debate about Nugent! He definitely should be in the Hall. But Nugent is the polar opposite of Tom Morello, so it unfortunately will never happen. Nugent’s politics will keep him out of the Hall, and that is sad cuz its Nugent’s music and influence that warrants his Hall recognition.
And BTW, you’re both wrong….While Cat Scratch Fever and Free For All are both great albums, both Double Live Gonzo and Weekend Warriors are better! :o)
I love those albums too, Rattle! Damn I wish I had more time, Bros, but I gotta go bowl! Let the “Good Times Roll!” 😉 Cheers! 🙂
Rattlehead I have W.W. and that record sounds a bit too fluffy to me, plus you can hear him searching for ideas and coming up short. Scream Dream was where he was getting back to his commando tactics of obliterating false gods; but then MTV tried to make him extinct. So he came back as Frankenstein in the Damn Yankees.
Doug, you should be ‘wanted dead or alive’ after that one Bro.
Come on, bro, as the late, great Tom Petty would say, “Don’t Do Me Like That!” 😉 Damn the torpedoes! Cheers!! 🙂
Is there anything better than hanging out with your buddies on a Saturday night, having a couple of drinks, shooting pool, playing poker, Rangers on NHL Center Ice, and listening to Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers LIVE?! – Pack Up The Plantation! “Breakdown” LIVE, one of the greatest live renditions of any song, ever! F–king goosebumps every time! Never gets old!!
As much as it’s due, I doubt Priest gets in. I’m just surprised they were nominated. Bon Jovi will get in immediately. I’d also approve of LL Cool J, Eurythmics, and Depeche Mode – seeing as its clearly not about Rock n Roll (ie. Chaka Khan….she really gets far more praise than I can comprehend). Another band that I’d take are The Zombies. Not a tonne of hits – but I dug them and still have some of their tunes on my iTunes.
If Priest miraculously got in, does Dave Holland get an invite?
DR,
I hate to say this, but I tend to agree with you, that my favorite band, will most likely not be included. However, Rocka Rolla, was released in 1974, and they should have been inducted back in 1999, when they were officially “eligible.”
Priest has influenced many other bands/musicians, have always changed their sound and experimented with music. As a singer, Rob Halford, in my opinion (other than Dio), is a trailblazer. There is only one Metal God.
If it took Deep Purple, forever and a day, to get in, it is hard to imagine that they will be inducted the first time around (although, THEY SHOULD). It is just pathetic that it took this long for the Rock Hall to even put their name on the ballot.
Shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame, shame…(This is a Game of Thrones reference).
Sad to say, but while greatly deserving of induction, I believe the only reason Deep Purple got inducted was due to sympathy votes as a result of Jon Lord’s passing. It’s a shame Jon was not around to participate in the recognition. It would be terrible if Priest was inducted under a similar situation.
Halford is my favorite metal singer, his vocal range is unbelievable! Dio is my second fave…and another one who should be inducted into the Hall.
If there is ANY justice, Judas Priest and Dire Straits should definitely be inducted this year. Both of these bands have sold MILLIONS of records, and each in their own way have influenced countless other bands with their style and sound. Priest was the blueprint for TONS of NWOBHM bands! But my guess is that Rage Against the Machine and Radiohead will go in first, as they are both more popular with the most of the “high brow” folks that get to vote on which bands are inducted. While I like The Cars and the J. Geils Band, and think both of them should eventually get in, they both will probably need to wait awhile.