I have an issue with “Hall of Fame” voting… not just for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, whose 2017 Induction Nominees were revealed today, but any “Hall of Fame,” and the Toy Hall of Fame is particularly irksome. The problem is that all of the nominees are deserving of being inducted, and the fact that just five are included every year makes things seem unfairly light. In many ways, the “Rock” Hall is more of a “Music” Hall, honoring performers of many genres, and I think that’s a great thing… but it also makes trimming 19 worthy nominees down to five each year a daunting task, and one that ultimately leaves the growing overall list of inductees feel incomplete. The 2017 Nominees (up for fan vote) are…
BAD BRAINS, CHAKA KHAN, CHIC, DEPECHE MODE, ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA (ELO), THE J. GEILS BAND, JANE’S ADDICTION, JANET JACKSON, JOAN BAEZ, JOE TEX, JOURNEY, KRAFTWERK, MC5, PEARL JAM, STEPPENWOLF, THE CARS, THE ZOMBIES, TUPAC SHAKUR and YES.
The artists with the most votes will be announced in December, with the ceremony taking place in Brooklyn in April of 2017. As usual, HBO will broadcast the festivities sometime later in the year.
