The 2012 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class was much larger than most, and that’s because the Hall decided that year to acknowledge backing bands that didn’t make it in with their lead singers.
Six such acts were inducted in 2012, all given the green light by a special committee and not subject to the usual voting process.
Now that I’ve put the 2024 movie year to bed, it’s time to return to music posts. And I’m kicking things off with an installment of my Hall of Fame series.
I’ve been working backward, covering each Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction class from the most recent to the inaugural class of 1986. So far, I’ve made my way back to 2013, so I’ll spend the next three weeks documenting the Class of 2012.
The week of March 2, 1985, saw George Michael’s (or Wham!’s) ‘Careless Whisper‘ holding on to the #1 spot. Right behind it was REO Speedwagon’s ‘Can’t Fight This Feeling,’ a week away from its own three-week stint in the top spot.
This was the band’s second #1 (following another power ballad, 1980’s ‘Keep On Lovin’ You’) and their last to reach even the top ten.
Throwing back to the week of March 1, 1975, we have a trio of great songs atop the Billboard Hot 100.
The first two have already appeared on the blog: ‘Best of My Love‘ by the Eagles at #1 and Olivia Newton-John’s ‘Have You Never Been Mellow‘ at #2.
At #3 that week was The Doobie Brothers’ ‘Black Water,’ the third single from their fourth album, What Were Once Vices Are Now Habits. The song would reach #1 two weeks later, becoming the band’s first chart-topper, and one of only two in their career.
Concluding my countdown of last year’s best films…
Best Films of 2024
#1. I Saw the TV Glow
The first time I saw writer/director Jane Schoenbrun’s I Saw the TV Glow, I wasn’t sure what I thought of it. I knew its story and images had affected me deeply, and that it was one of the most original visions I’d seen in years. But I couldn’t intellectualize my visceral response.
I later learned that Schoenbrun is trans, and they conceived the film as a metaphor for the “egg crack” moment trans people feel when they realize they’re living in the wrong body. And that opened the film up for me in a whole new way.
Meet Me In Montauk 