Tag Archives: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

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Song of the Day #5,969: ‘Cold as Ice’ – Foreigner

Our next 2024 inductee into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is a band that fits neatly into the traditional definition of rock and roll. During a time when the Hall is increasingly adding rap, R&B, and country artists to its ranks, Foreigner feels like a throwback.

First eligible in 2003 but not nominated until this year, Foreigner has the numbers to back up their inclusion. The band’s first six albums went multi-Platinum and produced 14 Top 20 hits, including the #1 smash ‘I Want to Know What Love Is,’ plus ‘Waiting for a Girl Like You,’ which set a record for most weeks at #2 without reaching the top spot (10).

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Song of the Day #5,968: ‘Ants Marching’ – Dave Matthews Band

Dave Matthews Band has been eligible for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame since 2019 and was nominated once before — in 2021 — before making the cut this year.

A jam band known for plentiful, and obsessively attended, live shows, Dave Matthews Band has also had quite an impressive recording career. They are the only band to have seven consecutive albums debut at #1.

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Song of the Day #5,967: ‘Believe’ – Cher

Our next 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee is unquestionably a pop culture legend. Cher has been eligible for inclusion in the Hall since 1991 and yet, remarkably, was nominated for the first time this year.

That’s despite being the only solo artist in history to have #1 hits (on any Billboard chart) in each of the last seven decades. Only The Rolling Stones have matched that feat, and as Cher said, “it took four of them to be one of [her].”

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Song of the Day #5,966: ‘Real Love’ – Mary J. Blige

This week marks the fifth presidential election since I launched Meet Me in Montauk, a number that frankly surprised me.

I looked back to see how I handled the other four and was shocked to see that I largely ignored them. Only once did I program blog content related to Election Day.

That was in 2016.

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Song of the Day #5,501: ‘Day-O (Banana Boat Song)’ – Harry Belafonte

In addition to inducting artists into the Performers category, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame honors musical acts under the Musical Excellence and Early Influences banners. I’m not sure what differentiates Musical Excellence inductees from Performers.

The definitions on the Rock Hall’s site say that the former group “have had a dramatic impact on music” while the latter have “changed the course of rock & roll,” but I don’t think every “Performer” in the Hall satisfies that lofty criteria.

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