Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

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The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at sunset.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, dedicated to recording the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, and other people who have in some major way influenced the music industry, particularly in the area of rock and roll.

Recently, the Hall hit the news because of an alleged corruption scandal, which related to results of inductees been rigged.^[1]

1 Hall of Fame
2 Foundation and museum
3 Criticism
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Hall of Fame

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, showing Lake Erie in the foreground.

A handful of artists are inducted into the Hall of Fame in an annual induction ceremony in New York City. The first group of inductees, inducted on January 23, 1986, included Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley.

Currently, groups or individuals are qualified for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Nominees should have demonstrable influence and significance within the history of rock and roll. Four categories are recognized: Performers, Non-Performers, Early Influences, and since 2000, Sidemen.

[edit] Performers

Performers include singers and instrumentalists.

A nominating committee composed of music historians selects names for the Performers category, which are then voted on by roughly 1000 experts, including academics, journalists, producers, and others with music industry experience. Performers receiving the highest number of votes greater than 50% of the votes received are selected for induction; each year, about five to seven nominees make the cut.

[edit] Non-performers

Guitar sculptures outside the Rock Hall in 2004

Non-performers include songwriters, producers, disc jockeys, music industry executives, journalists, and other professionals.

A separate selection committee selects inductees directly in the Non-Performers and Early Influences category.

[edit] Early influences

Early Influences includes artists from earlier eras, primarily country, folk, and blues, whose music inspired and influenced rock and roll artists. The most recent of this category to be inducted were Nat King Cole and Billie Holiday in 2000.

[edit] Sidemen

The Sidemen category includes veteran session and concert players who are selected by a large committee composed primarily of producers.

[edit] Foundation and museum

Trabant cars from U2's Zoo TV Tour hanging in the lobby of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame + Museum

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation was created in 1983. The groundbreaking ceremony was June 7, 1993, with Pete Townshend and Chuck Berry doing the honors. The museum opened on September 2, 1995 in a building designed by I. M. Pei. During early discussions on where to build the museum, the Foundation's board considered the Cuyahoga River. Ultimately, the chosen location was in downtown Cleveland by Lake Erie, just east of Cleveland Browns Stadium and the Great Lakes Science Center. Cleveland lobbied to be chosen, citing the facts that one-time Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed is widely credited with promoting the new genre (and the term) of "rock and roll", and that Cleveland was the location of the first rock and roll concert. After a petition drive that was signed by 600,000 fans favoring Cleveland over Memphis, and a USA Today poll which Cleveland won by 100,000 votes, the hall of fame board voted to build the museum in Cleveland.

The museum documents the entire history of rock and roll, regardless of induction status. Hall of Fame inductees are honored in a special exhibit inside the museum's spire.

While the museum is located in Cleveland, the induction ceremony is held in New York City. This has been a source of controversy and signifies tension between the Foundation's commitment to a yearly showcase and the Hall of Fame itself.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Criticism

The main criticism is that the nomination process is controlled by a few individuals, such as founder Jann Wenner, former foundation director Suzan Evans, and writer Dave Marsh, reflecting their tastes rather than the views of the rock world as a whole. A former member of the nominations board once said:

At one point Suzan Evans lamented the choices being made because there weren't enough big names that would sell tickets to the dinner. That was quickly remedied by dropping one of the doo-wop groups being considered in favor of a 'name' artist ... I saw how certain pioneering artists of the 50s and early 60s were shunned because there needed to be more name power on the list, resulting in 70s superstars getting in before the people who made it possible for them. Some of those pioneers still aren't in today — but Queen is.^[2]

Petitions with tens of thousands of signatures were also being ignored and some groups that were signed with certain labels or companies or were affiliated with various committee members have even been put up for nomination with no discussion at all.^[2]

Another criticism is that too many artists are inducted, allowing for several lesser acts to make it in. In fifteen years, 97 different artists have been inducted. A minimum of 50% of the vote is needed to be inducted, although the final percentages are not announced and a certain number of inductees (5 in 2007) is set before the ballots are shipped.^[3]

The Sex Pistols, inducted in 2006, refused to attend the ceremony, calling the museum a "piss stain."^[4]