2011 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees: Who Got Snubbed?

By Jason Newman Posted Dec 15th 2010 06:05PM

Judging by the 463 comments on our Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Most Egregious Snubs article, the Hall's picks for rock immortality -- or just an extra shiny piece of plastic to throw on the mantle -- perennially inspires hand-wringing, profanity-laced invective and bemused resignation.

Alice Cooper, Tom Waits, Neil Diamond, Darlene Love and Dr. John will all be entering the Hall at the Induction Ceremony next March. They're all worthy and deserving -- be objective, Diamond haters -- but here are five more of this year's nominees that should have made the cut along with possible reasons they didn't.

Beastie Boys

Why They Should've Made It: Along with Run-D.M.C., Beastie Boys vaunted hip-hop from an insularly respected yet derisively maligned genre into a national phenomenon. 'Licensed to Ill,' the band's 1986 debut album, was the first hip-hop album to reach Number One on the Billboard 200 and, with the ubiquity of 'Fight For Your Right,' 'Brass Monkey' and 'No Sleep Till Brooklyn,' turned every sleepy suburban Whitesnake fan into a hip-hop head. 'Paul's Boutique,' the group's landmark follow-up, is a cornerstone of sampling that influenced countless producers.

Why They Probably Didn't: Hip-hop has had a rough time gaining acceptance to Hall voters. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five became the first rap group inducted in 2007 and since then, what should have been a tidal wave of inductees has been reduced to a wading pool. You'd think the Hall would take baby steps and induct the most rock-influenced group of the genre, though, right? They're a fickle bunch.

Bon Jovi

Why They Should've Made It: If you were of a certain age in 1986, Bon Jovi's third album 'Slippery When Wet,' which sold more than 12 million copies in the U.S. alone, was an totemic anthem. 'You Give Love a Bad Name,' 'Wanted Dead or Alive' and 'Livin' On a Prayer' -- the latter inspiring more than one child to listen with awe as Richie Sambora "talked with his guitar" -- were stadium classics that can now be found in every karaoke songbook. 25 years later, the group continues touring to sell-out arenas.

Why They Probably Didn't: In retrospect, the group embodied nearly every cheesy stereotype of 1980s excess -- Big riffs! Big power ballads! Big hair! -- that the Hall has generally dismissed. Nothing new, though. The band has always been denounced by critics, so the Sayreville Chamber of Commerce may want to hold off on that "Congratulations" banner.

(We all know the original and this version's better anyway.)

Chic

Why They Should've Made It: The funk-heavy sound created by Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards in the late 1970s soundtracked every club from Studio One to Studio 54 and became a leading template for 1980s funk, dance-pop and, in sampled form, hip-hop. The band's 1979 hit 'Good Times' provided the melody for 'Rapper's Delight,' one of the first commercially successful hip-hop songs. In the 1980s, Rodgers became a sought-after producer, working with everyone from Duran Duran and David Bowie to Madonna and Mick Jagger. Bottom line: No one touches Chic's bass lines. Not then. Not now. Not ever.

Why They Probably Didn't: No analysis here. We're as dumbfounded as anyone else. Maybe the voters just hate disco.

Donovan

Why He Should've Made It: With his optimistic worldview and psychedelic folk-pop tendencies, the Scottish singer-songwriter perfectly embodied the hippie movement of the 1960s and early '70s, fomenting a sound and image that made him a hero to a generation. His best albums -- 1966's 'Sunshine Superman' and 1967's 'Mellow Yellow' -- remain an indelible artifact of the movement.

Why He Probably Didn't: See last sentence above. Despite maintaining his career into the 1970s and beyond, the folkie was always shackled to the decade that made him a star. It didn't help that the "Poor man's Bob Dylan" tag never really went away. We can't say for sure what the singer was thinking three minutes into the below clip from 'Don't Look Back,' but we're guessing it's something along the lines of, "Thank you for recording the moment my soul exploded and Dylan turned me into the hippie Salieri."

Donna Summer

Why She Should've Made It: With electronic music and disco pioneer Giorgio Moroder (another Hall of Fame snub) by her side, disco chanteuse Donna Summer created sonic orgasms -- 'Love To Love You Baby' below is basically sex with a bass line -- that helped define the synth-driven, post-Bee Gees era of disco. 'Bad Girls' and 'On the Radio' were two of 1979's biggest songs and 1983's 'She Works Hard For the Money' became the first MTV video place in heavy rotation by an African-American female.

Why She Probably Didn't: Although now enshrined in quasi-urban legend lore, Summer's alleged anti-gay remarks in the 1980s spurred a widespread backlash that temporarily halted her career. Summer denied making the remarks, but the legend is always truer than the facts. Either that, or they just couldn't excuse the back-up dancing below.

Who Deserves To Be In? Tell Us on Facebook

Tags: beastie boys, bon jovi

Comments

(51)

Wednesday 22 December

By John Donatelli

Vote down Vote up Report this

Once again Connie Francis, the first lady of rock n roll, has been snubbed. This is all politics. The RRHOF sucks!

Wednesday 12 January

By Skispike

What about the greatest Candian band of all time, Rush? I mean this guys touring constantly for thirty five years and are one of the top grossing concert bands yearly and of all time! Unless you've seen them you might not know what I'm talking about, but I've seen them six times and plan on seeing them two more in the next few months. I've seen some of the greatest groups in concert over the last 35 years or so like the stones 4X, Zed Zeppelin, the Who 2x,in and Pink Floyd, Iggy Pop, Pretenders, Black Sabbath, Bad Co, Talking Heads and most of the groups above that everyone else are talking about just to name a very few, and I'd stack Rush up against any of them. It's very biased, and a damn shame. I agee with Razor, it is a joke. It's like everthing else these days. It's a racket.

By Angela "RoadAngel" Moraglia

I can't believe that The Doobie Brothers have not made it in yet. What is the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame deaf??? Great writing, and great performances for so many years. Have they heard the new CD "World Gone Crazy" - it is a masterpiece of music - see them live - you won't be disappointed. Great Band. Thank you Doobie Brothers for all the years of great music - you are number one to me.

Thursday 23 December

By FM Talks

These snubs happen because you have RRHF board members who are are biased toward their personal favorites instead of being objective about artists' contributions to the history of the genre. There's not a whole lot of integrity to the Hall of Fame or to a lot of other awards.

By alvy singer

Leon Russell could be the most egregious missing name of all.

By StillInCleveland

INDUCT Jane Scott into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rock's first rock critic

See INDUCT Jane Scott on facebook and add your name.

Tuesday 01 February

By Kevin Potter

I never realized it until I heard Eddie Trunk talk about it on That Metal Show, but it is absolutely ridiculous the bands that are eligible that are not even NOMINATED. How can you even call it the ROCK AND ROLL hall of fame and not include Kiss, Rush, Iron Maiden, and Judas Priest? There are others too that I believe should be in there if it is the ROCK AND ROLL hall of fame. Take, for instance, The Scorpions. They released their first album in 1972, and still are releasing new material today. Not like it's junk, either. They just straight up make good music.
Just my opinion, but even considering disco scts like Chic and Donna Summer should prevent them from calling it the ROCK AND ROLL hall of fame. They should just call it what it is, the pop hall of fame. That way someone would be able to open an actual ROCK AND ROLL hall of fame.

Sunday 20 February

By Paul

I am really annoyed about inducted members of the R & R HOF. Yes! most inductees belong in Rock/Roll etc. Unless I missed something why aren't SPANIELS in the H O F. A group that formed in the late 40's by Pookie Hudson and Billy Shelton from Gary, Indiana. Some of the inductees like Harvey Fuqua and the Moonglows and the Flamingos(now known as Terry Johnson's Flamingos) are in the Hall but NO Spaniels. All three(3) groups are ground breakers for Rhythm and Blues, Doo Wop and Rock and Roll as we know it today.

Thursday 03 March

By Jody

Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble.....anybody?

Monday 14 March

By Tony

Not only has Connie Francis been snubbed, how about Pat Boone and Paul Anka? Paul Revere and the Raiders should also get some serious consideration.

Monday 21 March

By Skeeter

What about the late great Laura Nyro? Friggin' Madonna is in but Laura isn't? WTF? The Runaways too.

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