Tag Archives: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

by

Song of the Day #6,102: ‘Scar Tissue’ – Red Hot Chili Peppers

The Red Hot Chili Peppers were first eligible for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2010 and were nominated that year but didn’t make the cut. They were passed over for a nomination in 2011 before being inducted the following year into the class of 2012.

The Los Angeles-based alternative funk rock band has sold more than 120 million albums worldwide since their 1984 debut. Five of their 13 studio albums have gone multi-platinum, with 1999’s Californication and 1991’s Blood Sugar Sex Magik leading the way with more than 8 million sales each.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #6,101: ‘Stoney End’ – Laura Nyro

Laura Nyro was first eligible for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, but it took until 2010 for her to be nominated. After missing the cut in 2010 and 2011, she was inducted into the class of 2012.

Nyro is an artist who impressed critics and influenced other performers but didn’t have much of a commercial footprint. Her biggest hits were songs she wrote for others, including the 5th Dimension, Three Dog Night, and Barbra Streisand (who recorded today’s SOTD, among other Nyro tunes).

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #6,100: ‘Shop Around’ – The Miracles

The final backing band I’ll cover as part of my look at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class of 2012 is also the most egregious oversight.

The Miracles were Motown’s signature act, putting more than 50 songs on the Billboard charts, including sixteen in the Hot 100 Top 20.

And while Smokey Robinson was the lead singer and principal songwriter for the band, it was very much a band. Robinson didn’t embark on a solo career until he had released 17 albums over 12 years with The Miracles.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #6,099: ‘Let’s Go, Let’s Go, Let’s Go’ – Hank Ballard and The Midnighters

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.

Continue reading →

by

Song of the Day #6,096: ‘Tutti Frutti’ – Little Richard

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.

Continue reading →