High Fidelity
Top-five bands NOT inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Josh Learn
Issue date: 3/16/10 Section: Arts & Entertainment
As Canadian Music Week comes to an end, we are able to reflect on all of the great musicians that this great land has produced. Canadian Music Week acts as a perfect segue to an extremely prestigious event on March 15 in Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland is known for many things big (Drew Carey…), though none may be as big as the Rock and Roll Induction Ceremony. This year is quite special, as it marks the 25th anniversary of the Hall's existence. The line-up of inductees is quite impressive, with a multitude of talented performers and non-performers. ABBA, The Hollies, Jimmy Cliff, Iggy Pop and the Stooges and, finally, Genesis are being inducted.
The Hall of Fame (HOF) has been marred with controversy for a great number of years. The main criticism is that the voting system is quite flawed, with a number of individuals on the board creating their own rules on the spot. It also does not help that the Hall is very liberal when inducting members of certain types of rock.
Groups and individuals are able to be inducted 25 years after the release of their first record. Although no quantifiable criteria exists, the group or individual must have left their mark on rock and roll in a significant way. The lack of quantifiable criteria makes the entire process subjective, which creates the controversy in the first place. After years of research, I feel I have developed a model of deciding what groups/individuals should be in the Hall of Fame. Here is the list of groups that should be in based on this "Einstein-esque" model:
5.) Deep Purple - Debut: 1968 - Records sold: 100+ million
Current status: Recording
Deep Purple has done it all in their illustrious careers. They are considered as one of the pioneers of hard rock, along with two other relatively unknown bands (Black Sabbath? Led Zeppelin?). At one point in time, they were even considered to be the "loudest band in the world" by the Guiness Book of World Records. Louder = better, but in this case, the HOF has silenced one of the most successful bands of all time.
The Hall of Fame (HOF) has been marred with controversy for a great number of years. The main criticism is that the voting system is quite flawed, with a number of individuals on the board creating their own rules on the spot. It also does not help that the Hall is very liberal when inducting members of certain types of rock.
Groups and individuals are able to be inducted 25 years after the release of their first record. Although no quantifiable criteria exists, the group or individual must have left their mark on rock and roll in a significant way. The lack of quantifiable criteria makes the entire process subjective, which creates the controversy in the first place. After years of research, I feel I have developed a model of deciding what groups/individuals should be in the Hall of Fame. Here is the list of groups that should be in based on this "Einstein-esque" model:
5.) Deep Purple - Debut: 1968 - Records sold: 100+ million
Current status: Recording
Deep Purple has done it all in their illustrious careers. They are considered as one of the pioneers of hard rock, along with two other relatively unknown bands (Black Sabbath? Led Zeppelin?). At one point in time, they were even considered to be the "loudest band in the world" by the Guiness Book of World Records. Louder = better, but in this case, the HOF has silenced one of the most successful bands of all time.
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