DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... A Legend Gets His Due.

I guess this is the last "due", due.

I never really considered Willie a rocker, but he had the vibe of a rocker. I totally understood Johnny Cash being elected because he and Elvis toured together and were there when many country artists kind of morphed in to rockers and rockers morphed in to country stars. Conway Twitty is a prime example of that.

But with all the cross over appeal it's no wonder the Rock Hall extended this award, and I agree, it's about time. Some of the special artists can't be pigeonholed in to one style. They all had a primary leaning but to box them in is a disservice.

Willie has earned it. And yes, I'm sure people don't consider him a R&R artist. But then again I don't consider Hip Hop R&R either. It's its own genre and as such deserves its own HOF. So the lines have been being blurred for a very long time now.

I've always been a bigger Waylon fan than a Willie fan but those were the first two country artists of which I actually bought their music. That and what was known as the country Outlaws album. The artists on that album were Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Jessi Colter (Waylon's wife), and Tompall Glaser, released by RCA Records in 1976. That album may be the very reason the R&R Hall is inducting Willie. Because at that time country music looked down on these artists. They were truly the shunned. It was the rockers such as myself that found their music at that time, purchased a lot of their music and supported them. As such it became the very first country album to go platinum.

It opened the door to country music for me. While I'm choosy with every genre of music and country is no different, there are artists I like. With what I call country's evolution into pop those artists are becoming more rare all the time.

Congrats Willie!

all those old timers go back to the days of Rockabilly when Rock-n-Roll was being born, and the Rock Hall claims all Rockabilly artists (and any other genre that brings appeal).

The Day the Music Died, when Buddy Holly died, he was on that plane because he took Waylon Jennings' seat. Waylon, Hank, and lots of others were Country/Rockabilly (which is a Country and R&B blend).
The 'Outlaw Country' that Waylon, Willie, Hank, and others were so identified with is really just a grown-up incarnation of what Rockabilly started as.


basically, none of it is as distinct as folks like to think, and honestly, if you wanted, you could probably trace the lineage of all of it back to Baroque, lol

One can draw lines to all sorts of genealogy lines, so to speak.

Bill Haley. Rock around the Clock. One of the first big 'Rock" songs, might be the anthem, he was a "hillbilly' singer. Elvis and Cash drew great inspiration from gospel.

No doubt rock morphed from many different influences.

I still like Rockabilly. It's just a good sound IMO. It's just that not may play it, or rather it doesn't get much radio play to any extent these days.

Marty Stuart. He has stayed pretty true to the sound. He has been a part of Nashville since he was maybe 13 years old. Been an ambassador to country for maybe 50 years now, and he just got elected to the Country Hall last year. He and his band the Superlatives put on a great concert. I have paid to see them 4 times.

This is good news.

I never paid too much attention to the RnR HofF because so many of the inductees (and those who were ridiculously excluded for so long) didn't make much sense to me.

I will say his Kennedy Center Honors tribute was very good.

Willie is also one of the best when it comes to duets (especially with women):

The rock and roll hall of fame is a joke. I love Dolly Parton but she doesn’t belong there, neither does Willie. Both very talented but not rockers.

Styx, Foreigner: two classic 70s/80s bands who aren’t in. Seriously?

Dolly even said "no thanks" citing the fact that she's never even made a rock album... "Others are more deserving".

They still inducted her.

___________________________


I have said for years that this monument is (and was always) poorly-named, and focused too narrowly.
For years, I have advocated that its name should be adjusted to reflect the true breadth and depth of the genres that move(d) popular culture.

As long as this museum sports "Rock & Roll," in its name, there will always be people who will insist that only R&R (by their own definitions) should be allowed in. Personally, I find that to be extremely limiting.

Change the name to something like "Popular Music Hall of Fame."
It will more accurately describe the eclecticism of the range of inductees... and it will eliminate the endless debate among hidebounds as to what this memorial monument actually represents.



.02

You can keep Rock in the name sine it was the original intent. But no doubt, rock has changed and you can't keep inducting 70 year olds...lol.

Maybe Rock/Pop Hall.

Pop isn't just bubble gum. It's popular music. Popular can be any type of music. I myself don't like Rap, but it is popular and it doesn't have it's own hall, but many of the artists deserve a place.

This.
The Rock Hall doesn't care about being a true Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame, it's just an inclusivity vessel that wants to be everything to every genre. It claims everything it can as its own (kinda like the music industry in general) and feels justified in doing so because a) $$$ and b) Rock is derived from everything. Still, if you have an R&B artist that never ventured out of pure R&B into Rock, they shouldn't be in the Rock Hall, same for Country, Gospel, or other artists. BUT, the more the Rock Hall can claim, the wider its draw and appeal. Afterall, its a business built to attract people to a museum, so they have to keep it relevant to as many as possible.

There is a Hip Hop Hall of Fame, though ..... and Rap sure fits there a whole lot better than a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I have said, from almost the start, that the Hall Of Fame was unfortunately/inaccurately named.

"Rock & Roll" is, and always was, too limited/specific a genre, for what this museum was always destined to be... and the first cracks regarding the limitations of such a specific moniker became evident in Year One of its existence.

James Brown, practitioner extraordinaire of Soul & R&B, the seminal Godfather of the Pop Music subgenre known as Funk... was one of the first 10 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at its inaugural induction in New York on January 23, 1986. First ballot Hall of Famer. But he was never "Rock & Roll," per se. Ask any diehard Funk fan, he'll tell you: the only thing James' music had in common with R&R is that they both wrote their music in 4/4 time.


So you see, this museum was never strictly about Rock & Roll, even from Day One of its existence.


More accurately, this museum gives tribute to American Recorded Popular Music, and its name should reflect as such.

Changing its name to something like The Popular Music Hall of Fame would put to rest, once and for all, the unfortunate naming of this important museum on the shore of Lake Erie. Perhaps then, Dolly Parton would feel that she's worthy of a spot in this 'hallowed' hall.

It's a shame that some of us are so hidebound that labels prevent us from giving worthy people their just due.

[/rant]


.02,
an anonymous noise-making professional.

To me it's like saying that Terry Bradshaw was the greatest Browns player of all time. He was a great player, in fact, a Hall of Fame player, but he was never a Brown, even though he played in the same broader league.

Cool, then I agree.

As I have said, Purp, and a few others. The hall has to induct somebody. They can't just induct every band that ever played rock music. They are starting to run out of people to induct.

The problem is the rock hall inducted too many per year. They probably average around 7 entries per year. There comes a point where you start to run out of quality inductees.

I don't believe that actually has anything to do with it and you pointed out why in your post. They named it wrong. If you're going to call it the R&R HOF, then make it the R&R HOF. If that's not what it is then name it accordingly. I don't believe it's the fault of anyone on this board or their distaste for other certain genres that begrudge those artists recognition.

I have no problem with a popular music HOF. I have no problem with artists of other genres getting their due. I'm fine if it's all inclusive under one roof. But labeling in under the pretext of R&R isn't my fault. And expecting something called the R&R HOF to be about R&R is not some shameful act to prevent other artists from getting their just dues.