The next backing group inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2012 is The Midnighters, whose frontman Hank Ballard joined in 1990.
This case is more open and shut than most, in that almost all of Ballard’s success came with The Midnighters. He released three solo albums and a handful of singles, none of which amounted to much, while the band was all over the pop and R&B charts in the 50s and 60s.
The week of March 16, 1985, saw REO Speedwagon hanging on to the #1 spot of the Billboard Hot 100 with ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling.‘
In the #2 spot that week was Glenn Frey’s ‘The Heat is On,’ the lead single from the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack.
Frey was a gun for hire on this track, paid $15,000 to play guitar and provide all vocals for the song, which was written by Harold Faltermeyer and Keith Forsey. Faltermeyer also penned the iconic ‘Axel F’ theme.
Throwing back to the week of March 15, 1975, we find The Doobie Brothers’ ‘Black Water’ moving into the #1 spot. Hot on its heels, a week before its own stint at #1, was Frankie Valli’s ‘My Eyes Adored You.’
This song was initially recorded by The Four Seasons but their Motown label declined to release it. Instead, Four Seasons lead singer Valli bought the rights for $4,000 and ended up with his first solo #1.
The third non-performer inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class of 2012 was Cosimo Matassa, a New Orleans-born sound engineer and studio head who played a key role in the early rock records of the 50s and 60s.
It was in Matassa’s New Orleans studio that Fats Domino recorded 1949’s ‘The Fat Man,’ a record considered by some the first rock-n-roll song. It was also the first rock-n-roll song to sell a million copies.
The Los Angeles hard rock band Guns N’ Roses released just six albums during a contentious decades-long run marked by infighting, drug abuse, and concert riots. They also managed to sell more than 100 million albums worldwide, and release the highest-selling debut album in United States history.
All of that added up to induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the band’s first year of eligibility. It was a well-earned honor, even if the band members themselves claimed not to want it.
Meet Me In Montauk 