Personal Picks: 2020 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
16 nominees this year.
Below are my Personal picks, listed in alphabetical order. Most of the 16 nominees could get a Yes vote from me in other years.
Can only vote for 5, which has always been an impossible task. Because the Hall usually inducts 6 (last year's 7 was a miracle), I've listed a bonus vote, after my Top 5.
And after each of my 6 picks, I recommend some of their best recordings.
Again, these are my Personal choices, not predictions. Warning: for some reason I used the word "catalog" a lot this year.
Top 5
Doobie Brothers - 2 different bands in the same decade (70's). First part a Classic Rock juggernaut. Second half of the decade, a Blue-Eyed Soul (also Yacht Rock) juggernaut. Those later Doobie year classics courtesy of Michael McDonald.
1. Minute by Minute
2. Captain and Me
3. Very Best of
Kraftwerk - Influenced EDM, Rap, and a bunch of Rock acts that wanted to dabble in Electronica. 6th time nominated.
1. Autobahn
2. Trans-Europe Express
3. Computer World
Pat Benatar - A big voice that produced radio-friendly and later MTV-friendly hits from the late 70's through the 80's. Never had a classic album, but many great singles.
1. Greatest Hits
2. In The Heat of the Night
3. Crimes of Passion
Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
No other way to say this: but Chaka Khan has one of the most powerful voices you'll ever hear. And with and without Rufus she put out a bunch of classic hits. (5th nomination: 3 as group, 2 as solo Chaka)
1. Very Best of Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
2. Best of Chaka Khan (solo)
3. Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
Whitney Houston
Blessed with perhaps the greatest voice of her generation. Her death left behind a career that could have lasted for decades.
1. Whitney Houston
2. I Will Always Love You: Best of
3. The Greatest Hits
4. Live: Her Greatest Performances
Bonus Pick
Todd Rundgren - A Musical Excellence pick? He's got all the credentials. Producer, solo performer, Utopia, Nazz, Music Video pioneer.
1. Something/Anything?
2. Very Best of
3. Produced by Todd Rundgren (Badfinger, Meat Loaf, XTC, Grand Funk, New York Dolls, Hall & Oates, Patti Smith, Psychedelic Furs, etc.)
The Rest
Dave Matthews Band - DMB are probably the archetypical mid-90's Rock band (even more than Hootie & The Blowfish). Their mix of jam band rock, jazz, even World music gave them a devoted audience. Have to admit liking a few of their songs. Never thought they were Hall worthy though.
Depeche Mode - Probably the most popular of all the synth-Pop bands that came from the 80's. With a back catalog that deserves a deeper look.
Judas Priest - On the advise of a Metal friend, another act who I went back into their catalog and found worthy deep cuts. Hope they get in before Iron Maiden.
MC5 - Their revolution sounds more relevant than it has since the 60's/early 70's.
Motorhead - Lemmy is one of Rock's greatest characters who just happened to front one of Metal's best bands. They were loud and fast and Lemmy belted out his lyrics with enough force to tear down your walls. A 7th pick if I could make one.
Nine Inch Nails - Trent Reznor has branched out into scoring movies, but still keeps the NIN moniker going. Not one of my favorite 90's acts, but I actually like movie & TV music better.
Notorious B.I.G. - Biggie Smalls brought NY Hip-Hop back into the limelight in the mid-90's. He only released 2 proper albums, but their influence is still felt today. Who knows how much greater he could have been?
Soundgarden - The most classic rock/metal sounding of the grunge era bands. Chris Cornell's vocals always separated them from the rest of that era's vocalists. And Superunknown pushed them into Rock Hall territory.
Thin Lizzy - This is how it works for me with Thin Lizzy. Jailbreak was their greatest album. Had their most famous song. They've got other good songs scattered among good albums. But they join a long list of bands that fall short of Hall status.
T. Rex - Outside of David Bowie, Marc Bolan was the ultimate Glam/Glitter Rock artist. In the U.S. they are know for that one hit, but in England they were mega-stars. Like Thin Lizzy, they've got other good songs on other albums.
Below are my Personal picks, listed in alphabetical order. Most of the 16 nominees could get a Yes vote from me in other years.
Can only vote for 5, which has always been an impossible task. Because the Hall usually inducts 6 (last year's 7 was a miracle), I've listed a bonus vote, after my Top 5.
And after each of my 6 picks, I recommend some of their best recordings.
Again, these are my Personal choices, not predictions. Warning: for some reason I used the word "catalog" a lot this year.
Top 5
Doobie Brothers - 2 different bands in the same decade (70's). First part a Classic Rock juggernaut. Second half of the decade, a Blue-Eyed Soul (also Yacht Rock) juggernaut. Those later Doobie year classics courtesy of Michael McDonald.
1. Minute by Minute
2. Captain and Me
3. Very Best of
Kraftwerk - Influenced EDM, Rap, and a bunch of Rock acts that wanted to dabble in Electronica. 6th time nominated.
1. Autobahn
2. Trans-Europe Express
3. Computer World
Pat Benatar - A big voice that produced radio-friendly and later MTV-friendly hits from the late 70's through the 80's. Never had a classic album, but many great singles.
1. Greatest Hits
2. In The Heat of the Night
3. Crimes of Passion
Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
No other way to say this: but Chaka Khan has one of the most powerful voices you'll ever hear. And with and without Rufus she put out a bunch of classic hits. (5th nomination: 3 as group, 2 as solo Chaka)
1. Very Best of Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
2. Best of Chaka Khan (solo)
3. Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
Whitney Houston
Blessed with perhaps the greatest voice of her generation. Her death left behind a career that could have lasted for decades.
1. Whitney Houston
2. I Will Always Love You: Best of
3. The Greatest Hits
4. Live: Her Greatest Performances
Bonus Pick
Todd Rundgren - A Musical Excellence pick? He's got all the credentials. Producer, solo performer, Utopia, Nazz, Music Video pioneer.
1. Something/Anything?
2. Very Best of
3. Produced by Todd Rundgren (Badfinger, Meat Loaf, XTC, Grand Funk, New York Dolls, Hall & Oates, Patti Smith, Psychedelic Furs, etc.)
The Rest
Dave Matthews Band - DMB are probably the archetypical mid-90's Rock band (even more than Hootie & The Blowfish). Their mix of jam band rock, jazz, even World music gave them a devoted audience. Have to admit liking a few of their songs. Never thought they were Hall worthy though.
Depeche Mode - Probably the most popular of all the synth-Pop bands that came from the 80's. With a back catalog that deserves a deeper look.
Judas Priest - On the advise of a Metal friend, another act who I went back into their catalog and found worthy deep cuts. Hope they get in before Iron Maiden.
MC5 - Their revolution sounds more relevant than it has since the 60's/early 70's.
Motorhead - Lemmy is one of Rock's greatest characters who just happened to front one of Metal's best bands. They were loud and fast and Lemmy belted out his lyrics with enough force to tear down your walls. A 7th pick if I could make one.
Nine Inch Nails - Trent Reznor has branched out into scoring movies, but still keeps the NIN moniker going. Not one of my favorite 90's acts, but I actually like movie & TV music better.
Notorious B.I.G. - Biggie Smalls brought NY Hip-Hop back into the limelight in the mid-90's. He only released 2 proper albums, but their influence is still felt today. Who knows how much greater he could have been?
Soundgarden - The most classic rock/metal sounding of the grunge era bands. Chris Cornell's vocals always separated them from the rest of that era's vocalists. And Superunknown pushed them into Rock Hall territory.
Thin Lizzy - This is how it works for me with Thin Lizzy. Jailbreak was their greatest album. Had their most famous song. They've got other good songs scattered among good albums. But they join a long list of bands that fall short of Hall status.
T. Rex - Outside of David Bowie, Marc Bolan was the ultimate Glam/Glitter Rock artist. In the U.S. they are know for that one hit, but in England they were mega-stars. Like Thin Lizzy, they've got other good songs on other albums.
posted by Tom Lane at 12:18 PM
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