Trunk Road: The Devaluation of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

It’s been more than 25 years since Jann Wenner completed the machinations which resulted in the creation of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame concept that took tangible form in 1995 when the I.M. Pei designed building opened its doors in Cleveland, Ohio. At its inception, the entire concept seemed ripe with possibilities and existed as a truly inspired focal point for acknowledging the musicians that invented, innovated and propelled rock and roll. Initially, the choices for induction hardly needed qualification; the initial class that included Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Little Richard was followed up quickly by classes that brought The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Otis Redding and The Who into its then-fictional hallowed halls. With artists becoming eligible 25 years from the date of their first release, the ’90s and most of the ’00s saw many classic rock stalwarts like Elton John, The Grateful Dead and The Allman Brothers Band receive their rightful acclaim.

For this year’s inductees, the honoring of Guns N’ Roses was essentially and deservedly a foregone conclusion. That GnR’s feting would include bizarre ramblings from Axl Rose was also foreseeable, we just all hoped it would accompany a reunion with Slash and Izzy Stradlin. Amidst the multitude of verbiage that included Rose rejecting his own induction and publicly demanding that no one mention him in conjunction with Guns N’ Roses’ induction except himself, Rose called to task those who hold the Hall in such high esteem by openly pondering the qualifications of the people who serve as the museum’s gatekeepers. While always easy (and fun) to discount Rose’s ramblings, the Botoxed one raised an interesting point: who determines who rocks enough to be in the Hall of Fame?

Surprisingly, Rose’s question isn’t that easy to answer. The Hall itself provides this cryptic explanation:

The Foundation’s nominating committee, composed of rock and roll historians, selects nominees each year in the Performer category. Ballots are then sent to an international voting body of about 1,000 rock experts. Those performers who receive the highest number of votes, and more than 50 percent of the vote, are inducted. The Foundation generally inducts five to seven performers each year.

Missing from the explanation, who’s in the Foundation? Besides David Fricke, who else is qualified to credibly call themself a rock and roll historian? Who are the rock and roll historians that comprise the Foundation? Who is on the international voting body? If there are 1,000 experts, why can’t one be found? There are elements of the Department of Homeland Security that act with more transparency than the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Once the word “historian” or “critic” gets paired with the words “rock and roll,” the aesthete replaces the populist and Neil Diamond and ABBA are in the Rock Hall, Rush, Jethro Tull and Warren Zevon are left out front to peer through the plate glass windows and that there’s not a single person to answer for the decision. The Sex Pistols are unquestionably influential; they released all of one album. Does their shadow loom larger than that of Rush, who invented the time change or KISS, that invented rock and roll marketing? The Rock Hall may have inducted no bigger icon than Madonna; she is hardly of the world of rock and roll. Run D.M.C. and Grandmaster Flash & The Funky Five changed the way music is composed and received; perhaps they should be cornerstones in the rap/hip-hop Hall of Fame. It would be interesting to debate their qualifications or receive an explanation as to their induction. However, there’s no one to question.

The Rock Hall has reached the point where the obvious choices have been inducted, the glaring snubs have been irrevocably kicked to the curb and the current classes are drawing heavily from the B-list of rock legends. This could be directly attributed to their self-imposed requirement that they admit five artists per year, regardless of historical significance. This has to be the only explanation for the Red Hot Chili Peppers being deemed worthy of the Rock Hall. (Either that or their inventiveness with hosiery). Where “Rock & Roll Hall of Famer” used to signify an influential personage in the world of classic rock, it is well on its way to being devalued down to signifying anyone that’s been around long enough to earn the honor.

Leave it to Axl Rose to raise a good point that no one seemed to pick up. It begs the question: if a rock star that everyone’s stopped listening to makes a good point, does it still resonate?

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4 Responses

  1. The Rock and Roll Hall is an embarrassment. Not something I pay attention to in the least and would have zero plans on visiting even if I was next door and had a free afternoon and someone paid my admission.

    1. Parker – it’s actually a pretty cool museum. Say what you will about the “hall” aspect of it, but it’s a damn fine place to visit. Any music fan knows this.

  2. The Rock and Roll used to have a free night. It’s a fabulous museum. You can not take it all in, in one visit. The Hendrix section is worth a visit in itself. Long live rock and roll.

  3. The Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame, is a nice place to see, but how they pick who will be in the hall is complete crap. Rush, Kiss, Phish, and several others should be in this Hall. Madonna, please, come on there are many in there that make you shake your head. I think who they bring in is based on money, not who actually had an affect on music and had staying power.

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