Last week, my father’s 80th birthday lined up with a post about Willie Nelson, allowing me to celebrate two legends at once. Today, it’s my mom’s turn.
I’m glad she wasn’t born on the 17th, or she would have had to share the spotlight with the aggressive, off-putting rap metal of Rage Against the Machine. Instead, I get to recognize her birthday to the smooth soul of The Spinners.
Our next inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2023 class is Los Angeles rap metal band Rage Against the Machine.
My knowledge and appreciation for Rage Against the Machine can be summed up by the fact that this is the first of their songs to show up on the blog through nearly 5,500 Songs of the Day. Hard rock/heavy metal just isn’t my genre, no matter how potent the message behind it.
Before I get to today’s featured artist, allow me to wish a very happy 80th birthday to my father! It’s quite a milestone for a man who has lived an extraordinary life while making the lives of those around him richer as well.
Fate has conspired to serve up an appropriate subject for today’s song in Mr. Willie Nelson, who turned 90 this past April. Willie has a decade on my dad, and I can’t say they are very much alike, but I’m happy to celebrate one legendary figure while writing about another one.
The next member of the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class, George Michael, has been eligible for inclusion since 2012 but went un-nominated until this year.
Michael will be inducted as a solo performer, meaning his contributions with Wham! will go unrecognized. Wham! could theoretically be inducted separately, and have been eligible since 2008, but that seems highly unlikely now that Michael is entering the Hall. After all, the pop duo released only three albums during their short run.
Hip-hop artists have been a part of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame since Grandmaster Flash & The Furious 5 broke that ceiling in 2007. Nine other rap artists have been inducted since then, but it wasn’t until this year that a female hip-hop act made the cut. Appropriately, the woman to break that ground is Missy Elliott, entering the Hall in her first year of eligibility.
Going by the criteria I mentioned in yesterday’s post, Elliott is a no-brainer for inclusion in the Hall. Unless you believe hip-hop has no place in the institution whatsoever — an argument that clearly isn’t accepted by the Hall itself — I can’t see a case against inviting her.
Meet Me In Montauk 