It was just a few weeks ago that Bon Jovi was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in ceremonies that will be shown on HBO, beginning this Saturday night. It didn’t take long for the classic rock hair band, along with other big-name classic rockers, to take a kick in the crotch.
Vulture.com tasked one of its longtime music columnists, Bill Wyman (no relation to the famous Rolling Stones bass man), with ranking the 214 bands and acts in the Hall. To this Wyman’s credit, he right off says that the whole idea of rebellious rockers getting together to pat themselves on the back is wrong. “There is nothing less rock and roll than a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” he correctly wrote. That said, I’m not gonna rain on this parade. The Rock Hall’s not perfect – I don’t care about the majority of the people in it – but it’s better to have it than not.
Wyman used a criteria of “appropriateness” of each artist’s induction, not basing it on the quality of their music alone. He asked himself if the acts were influential, did they do something “first,” or were they “simply brilliant at what they did.” Influence, importance and quality were his criteria for the list.
Classic rockers took the biggest hits in his rankings. Bon Jovi was named the worst act in the Hall, followed by Queen, Journey, Chicago, Rush and KISS. Joan Jett came in at #9 on the worst artists in the Hall list. I get that musicians borrow from others, it’s been going on forever. Even his top 10 best acts borrowed from previous sounds to create something fresh or new, a fact that he doesn’t account for. He feels these bands were copycats, I guess.
His top act is Chuck Berry, followed by The Beatles, Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley. Aside from The Beatles, no other classic rocker made his top 10 best list. Led Zeppelin came in at #13, The Rolling Stones at #15, The Clash at #17, David Bowie at #21 and Jimi Hendrix at #22.
I won’t bother defending his worst acts top 10 except to say, popularity is not a bad thing. What good is your brilliant music if no one but your girl friend hears it? I’m not a huge fan of Bon Jovi or Rush or KISS, but they’re beloved by the masses. Talent becomes popular for a few reasons – first off, they’re damn good at what they do – and who am I to piss on the joy people get from those bands’ music? Being commercially successful doesn’t necessarily mean selling out. I strongly disagree, for instance, with Queen holding down the #2 spot on his worst list. He calls Queen “the most overrated band in the history of pop music.” Being popular shouldn’t evoke a negative connotation. . And I love lots of bands and music that are not on the radio or loved by everyone, so what? That’s what my I Tunes account is for.
You can view the Hall of Fame list – it’s fun to read what he thinks of your favorites, though probably a fairly harsh criticism – and the author’s comments on all of the 214 Hall inductees HERE.
Doc Watson
