We're gonna getcha getcha getcha in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. That's right! Later this month, they're inducting Blondie.
This makes Debbie Harry only the 43rd woman -- out of nearly 500 people total -- to be honored by the rock hall since it opened in 1983.
Hm. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame claims you don't have to have a penis to get in:
Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria include the influence and significance of the artist's contribution to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll.
If members of the selection committee are scratching their heads over significant women rockers deserving of admission, they can borrow my copy of She's a Rebel: A History of Women in Rock and Roll for a few ideas.
Or I can suggest Wanda Jackson, Odetta, the Shangri-Las, Heart, Patti Smith, Marianne Faithfull, Kate Bush, the Raincoats, the Slits, Siouxsie Sue... Which women would you like to see in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
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I'd add Joan Armatrading, Grace Slick, L7 (or Sleator Kinney), and Laurie Anderson, assuming none of them are already in.
The Raincoats, hands down.
Kim Gordon, also.
To improve the percentages, I'd like to see a number of subpar bands ejected from the Hall of Fame.
Jefferson Airplane was a 1996 inductee. L7 and Sleater-Kinney won't be eligible until 2015 and 2020, respectively. Sonic Youth will be eligible in 2010.
Checking the math: Aretha 1 Supremes 4 Bessie Smith 5 Ma Rainey 6 LaVern Baker 7 Tina Turner 8 Ruth Brown 9 Etta James 10 Dinah Washington 11 Janis Joplin 12 Marth & the Vandellas 15 Gladys Knight 16 Shirelles 19 Joni Mitchell 20 Mahalia Jackson 21 Stevie Nicks & Christine McVie 23 Michelle Phillips and Mama Cass 25 Dusty Springfield 26 The Staples sisters 29 Bonnie Riatt 30 Billie Holliday 31 Brenda Lee 32 Tina Weymouth (Talking heads) 33 Chrissie Hynde 34 Debbie Harry 35.
I guess I'm missing a few. Of the ones Ann lists, Heart and Patti Smith have a legitimate shot. I vote for the three ladies (one deceased) of Stereolab, eligible in 2015.
You're missing 1 member of the Platters (Zola Taylor), 2 members of Sly and the Family Stone (Rose Stone and Cynthia Robinson), Carole King (as a songwriter, not a performer), 1 member of the Grateful Dead (Donna Godchaux), 5 members of Martha and the Vandellas (not 3) and Grace Slick (Jefferson Airplane).
And I'm definitely on board with a Kim Gordon induction campaign in 2010.
Oh, and I'm thinking Sonic Youth will be eligible earlier than that, because their debut album (Confusion is Sex)was out in 1983. Kim Gordon in '08!
And I second the Mary Hansen/Laetitia Sadier nominations. But they won't be eligible until 2017, right? (Peng! was released in 1992.)
What about Mo Tucker?
Also, when will X be eligible?
Damn! You're right, Thomas. Moe Tucker (inducted w/ the VU in 1996) brings the count to 44.
X was eligible in 2005.
Ann, at the risk of provoking an anti-Rollins tirade, one could also make a case for Black Flag (in, what, 2007?), which in its later incarnation would include Kira Roessler.
And of course the Pixies, with Kim Deal, ought to be first-bid inductees. But that's still about ten years away.
Damn, they should have renamed that outfit Martha and The Army of Vandellas.
I used to think that Sonic Youth/the Pixies would have been dark horse candidates, but I'm sure they'll get in (my memory's rusty, but the Pixies would be eligible in 2012 or 2013). I'm not sure who will break the SoCal punk barrier, if anyone.
Of course, I don't know if I'd be clamoring for the same recognition that's been bestowed on Jackson Browne, Bob Seger, and The Lovin' Spoonful.
P.S. Does Nico count?
Nico wasn't inducted with the Velvet Underground. Robbed!
I'm surprised at that percentage. Really, how is it someone like P. Smith is not in and Bob Seeger is? Oy.
Kate Bush needs to get in there. Her songs are origional, terrifying, beautiful, and honest.
Out of all the ones you mention, Heart seems to fit the definition of rock & roll the most.