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March 12, 2008
Recap of the 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony:
Friends of mine may know my passion for music.
During the past few years I've been a supporter of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and have been fortunate to have a seat at the annual induction ceremonies at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies held at the Waldorf=Astoria in New York City. ( 2007, 2005, 2004 pictures ).
On Monday night I attended the 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. This event continues to offer a totally surrealistic experience...mostly because none of my relatives or close friends were inducted and I'm not a music industry insider.
Yes, it was great to see: Madonna, John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen, The Ventures, The Dave Clark Five, Little Walter and songwriters Gamble and Huff get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And this was a moment that was great to see shared by their close friends and family and the music industry executives who contributed to their respective careers.
The Rock Hall Induction Ceremony is one of the annual events I look forward to attending. And like wine, some years are just better than others. I have to agree with what Billy Joel said about this event during his induction speech of John Mellencamp - "It used to be a lot more fun before it became a TV show."
I would have liked to have seen more performances by the people who were being inducted. Yes it was great to see both John Mellencamp and The Ventures perform, but why didn't Madonna or Leonard Cohen also share their music directly with us? Or why not ask Lou Reed to perform Hallelujah?
While the media has written a lot about Justin Timberlakes's induction speech of Madonna, I enjoyed Billy Joel's induction speech of John Mellencamp so much more. And with all due respect to both Leonard Cohen and The Dave Clark Five, the induction speeches of both Lou Reed and Tom Hanks seemed to have rambled on and on.
Guests attending the event were given a bag that contained a commemorative program, a CD with some of the music of the people being inducted and a package of 30 blank CDs. I am still trying to understand what the meta message was from the Rock Hall of giving everyone the package of blank cDs. Do they want us to copy the CD they gave us and give it to 30 of our friends? I found that give way just wrong for a music industry event...even if everyone can benefit from having some extra blank CDs in their home.
Next year the event will be moving from the Waldorf=Astoria in NYC to Cleveland the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It should be another GREAT night for music. I hope to have the opportunity to attend next year's event in Cleveland.
The following are some of the images I was able to capture from sitting at table 52 at the event. These pictures were taking using a Nikon D80 with a 18-200mm lenses. Some of the people in these pictures include: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Chevy Chase, Larua Dern, Iggy Pop, Damien Rice, Madonna, Justin Timberlake, John Mellencamp, Billy Joel, Patti LaBelle, Lou Reed, Leonard Cohen, The Ventures, Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.
Tags: Rock Hall, Billy Joel, Lou Reed, Dave Clark Five, Leonard Cohen, Madonna, John Mellencamp,
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Posted by jeff on March 12, 2008 07:18 AM | Permalink
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Comments
The Fact that "Little Feat" has not been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a musical crime. The same is true for Emerson, Lake and Palmer. I have nothing negative to say about any other artists (do not get me started), but these two glaring non-members have me quite concerned about your Induction process.
C'mon the Feat have been playing since 1970. That's 38 years now. Okay deduct the years when they disbanded after Lowell's death. That still comes to 29 years, well beyond your 25 year time limit.
Wake up everyone, and please consider inducting Little Feat in particular. They are still a wonderful band who sing original music.
Posted by: Dave at April 6, 2008 12:25 AM
Madonna, like Howard Stern in radio, is nothing more than a VERY modestly talented "entertainer." In fact both are REALLY just marketeers.
Madonna nearly single-handedly ushered in the current era of baseless trivial pop that's all about flash (or controversy) and nothing about substance. Without Madonna we wouldn't have Britney Spears and her musically challenged peers.
Madonna is nothing but another uneducated, pompous "entertainer." She gloms onto whatever trend exists on the streets, her labels hire pricey engineers, producers and writers and squish her into some sort of sausage casing wardrobe to sell the garbage.
Madonna in the "ROCK AND ROLL" Hall of Fame? It's now no different than what's become of the Hollywood WALK of Fame. And as you may know, RYAN "The Tool" Seacrest's name is immortalized on that former honorary sidewalk.
How low CAN the bar actually go before it's underground?
Posted by: E-Dogg at March 31, 2008 01:55 PM
Time to put a toomstone in front of the hall and just board it all up. It's over...
Posted by: waylonlightfoot at March 23, 2008 12:01 AM
Thanks for the recap and pictures. Hope to see photos of Chicago and the Doobie Brothers posted on your blog next year. Why they aren't in the R & R Hall of Fame is a mystery to me....
Posted by: Jeff W. at March 21, 2008 01:29 PM
Hey Jeff - I always look forward to your post about this event. You're a lucky guy - what a bizarre mix of people, but that's the music business. Wanted to comment earlier in the week, but have been on the road. Really glad to hear you include Little Walter in your list of inductees. As a life-long blues fan, this one is a no brainer, but I suspect the vast majority of your readers or today's audience know who he was. What Jimi Hendrix was to guitar, Little Walter was to the harp. He's always been in my top 5 all time blues heros, and like Jimi, died way too young.
Posted by: Jon Arnold at March 14, 2008 12:52 PM
As someone who has given up hope of the Hall ever inducting Depeche Mode, I submit to Jeff that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame shouldn't be about narrow categorization - if that were the case, then Led Zeppelin shouldn't have been inducted because they don't have a saxophone player.
I haven't watched the show on TV in years. I'll grant that the show is probably much better in person, but on TV it's stilted. I remember the year that the aforementioned Led Zeppelin got inducted - the three surviving members and Bonham's kids stood up on stage, then we were treated to The Official Jam. Yup, the Jam was that robotic part in which the inductee is forced to become spontaneous. Other than the fact that Plant played guitar, there was nothing memorable about The Official Jam. Just my opinion.
Posted by: Ontario Emperor at March 12, 2008 04:03 PM
I am truly jealous. Iggy still looks great!
Posted by: nicole at March 12, 2008 10:16 AM
Perhaps the blank CDs were given as "room to grow", as if in a way suggesting, or promoting, future creative material from the attendees for many years to come?
Posted by: Yotam at March 12, 2008 08:21 AM
Although all of these artists are good in their genre of music, I still can't get over the fact that some of them have been inducted into the ROCK AND ROLL hall of fame. To say that Madonna has done more for Rock than KISS or Rush is absurd. Even Motley Crue has done more than her for the genre. Nominees like her are what make the common folk(at least me)skeptical of the process and wonder if money and politics is all that matters in the world process.
Posted by: Jeff at March 12, 2008 08:05 AM