Ringo Starr is the next inductee from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class of 2015, and his inclusion is certainly an example of the Hall getting sentimental.
Starr was the last of The Beatles not in the Hall as a solo artist, with John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison having been inducted in 1994, 1999 and 2004, respectively. Harrison made it in three years after his death, and I could see the Hall wanting to avoid another posthumous ceremony.
I was shocked to see Lou Reed’s name on the list of 2015 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees, a class formed a full 17 years after his initial eligibility. Reed was nominated in 2000 and 2001 before finally making it in 2015.
The long delay made more sense after I learned The Velvet Underground was inducted back in 1996. Even that seminal group had to wait its turn, however, with nominations each of its first five years of eligibility before getting voted in.
These Rock & Roll Hall of Fame posts often surface acts that are musical blindspots for me. Such is the case with the next 2015 inductee, The Paul Butterfield Blues Band.
Formed by Chicago-based harmonica-player/singer Paul Butterfield in 1963, the band recorded seven well-received albums before breaking up in 1971. They also made a splash as a live act, playing many festivals in the late 60s, including Woodstock.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has a dreadful track record when it comes to inducting women. To date, fewer than 10 percent of the 348 artists included in the Hall have been women.
The 2015 class beats that ratio, barely, by including Joan Jett among its eight inductees. Of course, her band The Blackhearts — made up of three men — was invited along with her.
Green Day made it into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility, the only member of the 2015 class to do so.
The punk pop band has sold more than 85 million records worldwide and seen more than half of their 13 studio albums reach Gold, Platinum or Diamond status. They are credited — for better or worse — with taking punk rock mainstream in the 90s. They also tried their hand at rock opera quite successfully, turning their opus American Idiot into a Tony-winning Broadway show.
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