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Song of the Day #5,982: ‘Parasite’ – Nick Drake

To close out this third week of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame posts, I’ll feature three artists who have failed to make the cut so far despite being fully worthy. For daily commenter Dana’s sake, I will not include The Smiths, who absolutely should be in the Hall by now.

Nick Drake isn’t a slam dunk Hall of Fame pick. He died at age 26 with only three albums to his name and didn’t find a wide audience during his lifetime or for many years after. But if the Hall rewards influence as much as success, I think he deserves a nod.

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Song of the Day #5,981: ‘Ain’t Too Proud to Beg’ – The Temptations

The final inductee into the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class is the sort of artist for whom the Musical Excellence category was designed.

Norman Whitfield is not a performer, and not a name most people would recognize, but his fingerprints are all over some of the greatest songs ever recorded. As a writer and producer, he played a key role in developing the Motown sound.

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Song of the Day #5,980: ‘Anyone Who Had a Heart’ – Dionne Warwick

Dionne Warwick was nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice, in 2021 and 2022, but didn’t make the cut either time. The Hall went ahead and inducted her this year in the Musical Excellence category.

I’m shocked Warwick didn’t make it in on those ballots, or years earlier for that matter. She is one of the most successful singers of all time, with dozens of charting singles and more than 100 million album sales worldwide. She’s won a slew of awards, both competitive and for lifetime achievement. And she is the inspiration for a very funny SNL sketch.

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Song of the Day #5,979: ‘Leader of the Pack’ – The Shangri-Las

From yesterday’s girl group The Chordettes, topping the charts in 1954, we jump a decade to a pair of girl groups owning the #1 and #2 positions on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964.

The week of Nov. 17 that year found The Supremes atop the chart with their classic ‘Baby Love,’ already featured on the blog. In the second slot that week, on its way to a #1 berth a couple of weeks later, was The Shangri-Las’ ‘Leader of the Pack.’

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Song of the Day #5,978: ‘Mr. Sandman’ – The Chordettes

Throwing back to the week of Nov. 16, 1954, Eddie Fisher tops the Billboard hits chart with ‘I Need You Now.’ This was the song’s third straight week at #1, and its last, because it was about to be overtaken by the song at #2.

That was ‘Mr. Sandman’ by The Chordettes. This song would go on to spend seven weeks at #1, giving the vocal quartet their biggest hit (followed closely by ‘Lollipop’ four years later).

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