for those who never gave up their turntables
ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME includes articles about the artists who I believe deserve serious consideration for induction into the Hall. As I reserve most of my negative energy for politics, you won’t find me arguing for the removal of any artists already inducted.
You will, however, find me arguing for the Hall adopting something resembling “objective” standards or criteria for induction.
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“THE DOOBIES IN THE HALL OF FAME?” That’s a question that’s been asked a bit in the wake of their recent induction into said Hall. There was a version of that question (“Are the Doobie Brothers Hall of Fame Worthy”) on Quora this morning. I answered it there and wanted to share my answer here. [Continue reading]
A SERIES OF ARTICLES about Elvis Presley’s Gold Standard records has been taking up most of my time (along with redesigning the look of all my blogs). Because of that, I have been ignoring both the readers of this blog and those who salivate waiting for me to answer a question on Quora. [Continue reading]
I HAVEN’T BEEN PAYING a lot of attention to Quora lately, but this question caused me to respond; “Will Link Wray ever make the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?” Wray had one seminal hit, Rumble, in 1958 that Cub Koda stated popularized “popularized “the power chord, the major modus operandi of modern rock guitarists.” [Continue reading]
ONCE UPON A TIME, it looked like the Byrds had a long, successful, productive career in front of them. In 1965, they had two #1 hits, Mr. Tambourine Man and Turn! Turn! Turn!, that effectively defined the recently coined term folk-rock. Their two albums were pivotal in the transition of rock musicians from being primarily singles-oriented to being primarily album-oriented. [Continue reading]
THERE ARE GOOD PEOPLE AMONG US. They see a wrong and right it. Mostly, they fail. Nonetheless, we think of them as heroic for their efforts. There are others who set out merely to succeed at their own goals. While achieving those goals, they may also break down a barrier or expand an established horizon. [Continue reading]
THE QUESTION ON QUORA was “Who was the first rock & roll superstar to be discarded and forgotten to time?” I answered with Bill Haley, Pat Boone, and Connie Francis. Each singer was a big star in their heyday—the word “superstar” did not exist then—but each has been under-appreciated by most critics and historians since rock & roll became self-reflective decades ago. [Continue reading]
THE READERS AT QUORA have been keeping me busy—once I answered a question or two intelligently and fairly, I’ve been getting requests to answer others. Answer one question, and another pops up, even if it wasn’t asked directly of me. Many questions I just pass by, but this one was right in my ballpark: “Why isn’t Connie Francis in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?” [Continue reading]
IN A RECENT EDITION OF QUORA, someone asked why the Moody Blues haven’t been inducted into the bloody Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It would certainly seem that the Moody Blues are far more qualified than many inductees, so I began preparing a lengthy answer, thinking I might provide some insight. [Continue reading]