This year’s class going into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame includes-pop star Madonna, folk singer Leonard Cohen, rocker John Mellencamp, British pop band The Dave Clark Five and instrumental group The Ventures.
Madonna and John ‘Cougar’ Mellencamp share the same bit of my memory-I even went to a Madonna concert in Texas Stadium where she bitched and moaned about how hot it was in Texas in the summer. Leonard Cohen is not a name that is ringing any bells-but maybe if I heard a couple of songs I’d know who he is.
But the big shocks on the list for me are The Dave Clark Five and The Ventures. These guys were powerhouses in the 1960s-why did it take so long to put them in the Hall of Fame? Telestar by the Ventures was one of my favorite albums-no one plays instrumentals on the radio anymore and that’s a bad thing. And The Dave Clark Five’s Glad All Over was just as silly and vibrant as anything The Beatles ever did. They will get their award from Tom Hanks, who met Dave Clark while filming That Thing You Do, which featured a peppy pop group not unlike The Dave Clark Five.
Left out in the cold for another year are disco queen Donna Summer, New York-based funk group Chic, rap pioneer Afrika Bambaataa and hip-hop group The Beastie Boys. To be honest, they can leave the white rapper Beastie Boys out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as far as I’m concerned. Chic was a one hit wonder and like Donna Summer was a Disco Group. I loved Donna Summer and was very jealous of her tall blond hubby-but I got over it. Bad Girls was one of the best concept albums ever recorded and a number of her songs went well past the thumping disco beat. So I expect Donna Summer to make it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame one of these days.
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