RRHOF inductees........go, Alice

Announcement

http://www.billboard.com/news/rock-hall-of-fame-to-induct-alice-cooper-1004134661.story#/news/rock-hall-of-fame-to-induct-alice-cooper-1004134661.story

It's official -- Alice Cooper, Neil Diamond, Dr. John, Darlene Love and Tom Waits will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year. The class of 2011 will be formally feted on Mar. 14 at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
 All but Waits were first-time nominees to the Hall. Acts who did not make the cut this year included first-time nominee Bon Jovi, as well as multiple nominees LL Cool J, Donna Summer, the Beastie Boys, J. Geils Band, Chuck Willis, Chic and Joe Tex.

The nomination of shock rock icon Cooper and his original band seemed a long time coming given their commercial success -- four platinum albums and five Top 40 hits between 1971-73 -- and stature as theatrical pioneers.
Cooper figures it's about time the band got into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But he wasn't worried about it."I've always felt the same way about this whole thing," he tells Billboard.com. "I kind of sat back and said, 'It will happen eventually.' "

 "It did get to be kind of a joke, not being nominated," Cooper (born Vincent Furnier) adds. "I got to the point where I was saying, 'OK, I'm the Pete Rose of rock 'n' roll!' So now that it's a reality, it's a different take on it. Now I sit there and go, 'Wow. Wow! We've got to really get up and play, and assume the position of being in the Hall of Fame.' It'll be great."

Cooper says the only time he was upset about not being on the ballot was in 2009, when Kiss, who he considers proteges of a sort, were nominated before him. "That one stung a little bit," he acknowledges. "I sat there and went, 'Now, wait a minute...Really? Are we invisible here, or what?' "

The original Cooper band -- guitarists Michael Bruce and the late Glen Buxton, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith -- splintered in 1974, after the "Muscle of Love" album. But Cooper, who's continued as a solo act ever since, says he would not have accepted induction if it wasn't for the entire band.

"The original band was cutting edge," he explains. "It was the original band that had all the iconic records from 'Love it to Death' on to 'Billion Dollar Babies' and 'Muscle of Love.' What I did after that was an aftermath. The original band were the guys that had to cut through that big, thick ice in order to become an entity out there. I can't see how I could just go up there as an individual."

The four surviving Alice Cooper members are currently together in Arizona rehearsing for a performance at Cooper's 10th Annual Christmas Pudding at Phoenix's Comerica Theater, benefiting his Solid Rock Foundation for children. (Rob Zombie, former Eagles guitarist Don Felder, Night Ranger, Glen Campbell, Cheech Marin and Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers are also performing). The group will perform at the induction ceremony, with Steve Hunter, who played in Cooper's "Welcome to My Nightmare" band, filling in for Buxton.

Major theatrics -- such as the guillotine or gallows -- are unlikely for the Hall of Fame ceremony, Cooper says, but it will hardly be a bare-bones performance.

"We'll play 'I'm Eighteen' and 'School's Out,' probably," he says, "but I'm sure there'll be weather balloons of confetti thrown into the audience and stuff like that. They'll know it's us."

(Additional reporting by Monica Herrera)
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Alice Cooper ‘Elected’ ( note the year for you brain washed ‘Bo Rhap’ was the first video fanatics)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFVrBzuyhFA&feature=fvsr

Still remember watching the ‘In Concert’ show on ABC….on a remote UHS station, because the show was banned on the two nearby VHS stations (too controversial).  The video was inserted amongst this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL-FcOrtUyc

(you can move on to the other vids)
As to the best lead singer poll in the rag that queenonline quoted so that they could mention ‘Freddy’ as #2…..where was Mr. Furnier?????
Alice was, and is, still one of the top 10.
Saw him in Saginaw, ’77.  Detroit ’87.  Kalamazoo ’88.  Still ticked that my folks would not let me go with friends to Philadelphia in ’72 during the BDB tour……….at the time, the hottest, biggest, profitable, extravagant tour.  56 cities in 90 days……..no wonder they burnt out afterwards

and..........got to golf with Alice for four holes about ten years ago..........yes, he is frickin good.

STILL no Warren Zevon? Jesus...

Alice?  Who the eff is Alice?  ; )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlzn9lVUMtE  (warning:  they drop the f-bomb in this song)

Hall of Fame's a joke, and it doesn't become any less of a joke even when they induct someone worth inducting.

Hooray!

ALICE COOPER RULES!!!!!

The RRHOF is a joke.  It will never be a "rock and roll" institution if Madonna is inducted and Yes aren't.

I know! How the fuck can Yes NOT be in?

Simple... because prog rock is over most people's heads... the Stones aren't.  Instead of giving these bands more exposure, institutions like the RRHOF punish them for their "inaccessibility."

I wish RRHOF's selecting-criteria documents appear on Wikileaks.

Anyway, Alice rocks. Totally deserved.

Megadeth better get in.  If Metallica deserves it, then Megadeth triple deserves it.

I don't think it's fair to describe the Hall of Fame as a joke, since so many artists value induction. It isn't perfect, the nominees are afterall selected by fellow human beings, and one could even argue that it is in fact far from perfect. Personally, I am astounded that Deep Purple hasn't even been nominated yet. I also think that it has too much of an American focus. However that doesn't necessarily make it a joke. Alice Cooper obviously appreciates his induction, and every Hall of Fame or award will cause controversy.


Also, regarding the induction of Madonna, the truth is that for good or for bad, many, if not most, of the inductees are not rock artists.

In that case, it should be called the "popular music hall of fame."

Musicians get inducted based on a combination of US sales and effect on US popular culture, not artistic integrity or contribution to the evolution of music... or even sales elsewhere in the world.  Cliff Richard and Nana Mouskouri haven't even been nominated, and each have sold about as many records as Queen.

The people who make the selections aren't even musicians, so they are limited in their abilities to make sound judgment.  It would be like having a vegetarian select the best meat dish of the year based on the number of times it was ordered.  But this is the way they want it, because it's all about MONEY.  The panel consists of business people, not people with a passion for music.

If they don't have artists who are popular in the US being inducted every year, how else will they sell those $20,000 tickets to the ceremony?  Lady Gaga will be inducted in 2023 before ten prog and funk bands make their way in.  Someone has to fund this thing, and this is their business plan.  It takes a few years for some artists to get in (like Queen and Alice Cooper), otherwise they'll have nobody popular there a few years down the line.  These things are most likely pre-determined many years in advance.

I've been to the museum, and it is spectacular.  But there are plenty of glaring omissions, and it won't change any time soon.

It's a marketing brand, no more, no less. That doesn't automatically make it bad or good, but it helps appreciate it for what it is rather than what it's not.

"I don't think it's fair to describe the Hall of Fame as a joke, since so many artists value induction."

That's because a lot of artists are emotionally unstable and gobble up validation like free candy!  It doesn't matter if they value the thing.  Of course they're going to value it; everyone knows the Academy Awards are a steaming pile, but it's all very different when they finally slap one on you.  Who's going to turn down a room full of people saying that (literally) you were the best this year?  Only people with a assload of integrity; that's a pretty short list.

I don't really care whether some musicians respect the Hall of Fame; it is to awards ceremonies what Rolling Stone Magazine is to music literature.  It's rubbish, and it will remain that way for all time, unless they ditch some of the 'artists' that have been inducted, and get the ones in there who deserve recognition (we know who they are).

Sir GH wrote: "The people who make the selections aren't even musicians, so they are limited in their abilities to make sound judgment."


I don't agree in the slightest. I don't think one needs to be a musician to make a sound judgement. One can disagree with some of the choices (and I have my own fair share of complaints about the nominees and non-nominees) but it is simply nonsence to say that as non-musicians 'they are limited in their abilities to make sound judgment.' Afterall, being a musician isn't like being a doctor; while you wouldn't seek a diagnosis from a non-medical professional, there is no reason why a non-musician would be capable of making an informed judgement regarding the merits of possible inductees.

"It would be like having a vegetarian select the best meat dish of the year based on the number of times it was ordered."

Except that non-musicians are not vegetarians (an interesting analogy BTW considering some of your recent posts). Simply because someone is a non-musician does not mean they aren't informed or aren't an expert. That is not to say that the organisers of the Hall are experts (Jan Weider is the only one whose name comes to mind without my looking it up), but their being non-musicains does not make them non-experts.

"But this is the way they want it, because it's all about MONEY. The panel consists of business people, not people with a passion for music."

Fair enough. I think this is a much more valid criticism than them not being musicians.

"Lady Gaga will be inducted in 2023 before ten prog and funk bands make their way in."

I've actually never listened to her. But if in 25 years time, she's still remembered, and is considered to be worthy, then I have no problem with it. Her being a pop artist is not basis for her exclusion. Her being an ordinary or bad pop artist (which I can't comment on) would be.