Another Postponement - Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame Inductions
As COVID-19 rages on, and social distancing is being observed, yet another important annual event has been postponed - the 2020 Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
What is it?
This ceremony is an annual event held in the spring where five or six acts are inducted. This year's event was originally scheduled for May 3, 2020, but has been pushed back to later in the year. As it is, the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame has not specified when the event will take place, but folks it will most likely be in the fall.
How do they get in?
To qualify for the Hall of Fame, the artists' debut album must have been issued at least twenty-five years prior to the year's induction ceremony. For example, an act eligible for the 2020 Induct must have released its debut in 1995 or sooner.
Who Are This Year's Nominees Anyway?
The Doobie Brothers
Even though their 1971 self-titled debut was really nothing to be proud of, the Doobes since pulled of a decade with a string of hits. Their career in the 70s is split into two phases - the first being between 1970 and 1975 with Tom Johnston at the helm, while the second part - roughly 1975 to 1980, is the Michael McDonald era, featuring much more softer rock then during the Johnston years.
Despite spending most of the 80s in hibernation, the band came back in 1989 with more of the Johnston-era sound, and his been active ever since.
Whitney Houston
The late, great Whitney Elizabeth Houston first made a name for herself in the mid 80s as an MTV sensation making songs targeting African-American girls and women. As the decade turned, Houston began making soundtracks for movies and most noteably in 1993 made Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You, popular (your eyes are good, that song IS a cover). Whitney has since issued a few more albums, and drowned in February 2012 as a result of coronary heart failure.
Notorious B.I.G.
If Tupac Shakur is considered Lyrical King, than Christopher George Latore Wallace (the Notorious B.I.G.) is considered the Flow King. Call him Biggie, Biggie Smalls, B.I.G., or even Poppa, he was a legend! Unfortunately, Biggie only issued one album during his living days, his 1994 debut Ready to Die.
Biggie was fatally shot in Los Angles on March 9, 1997 - shortly after his follow-up, Life After Death, was posthumously issued (In 1999, Born Again, his third and final LP, was released). Later that year, Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs recorded I'll Be Missing You, with Biggie's widow, Faith Evans as an homage to Biggie. This song samples The Police' 1984 hit Every Breath You Take, and at the 1998 VMAs, Sting appeared with Diddy playing guitar and singing the chorus.
T Rex
This Marc Bolan-led band formed in 1967. In 1971, they scored their one (and only) hit Bang a Gong (Get it On). That song spent about a month at #1 in the UK, and was also #1 in Ireland and brushed the top 10 on the other side of the pond in Canada and the US. Three other singles are also chart hits in the UK, but after Get it On, these pioneers of glam rock were never really heard from again.
Bolan died in a car collision in 1977 at the age of 30, after which the remaining members elected to split the band the following year. In 1985, the Robert Palmer-led band Power Station covered Get it On and get this, it made it in the top 10 in the US - something the T. Rex original could not.
Depeche Mode
One of UK synth-pop's big names, Depeche Mode made a name for themselves with their 1981 debut Speak & Spell. The band even ventured into electro-pop with 1986's Music for The Masses and 1987's Black Celebration. Their height came in 1990 with Violator.
Their most notorious hits include People Are People, Policy of Truth, Enjoy the Silence, and Personal Jesus - which was covered by Marilyn Manson in 2004.
Nine Inch Nails
This Cleveland band, led by virtuoso Trent Reznor, took six years to break through. In fact, Rezonr recorded their 1989 debut Pretty Hate Machine overnight while working as a janitor at a downtown Cleveland studio. NIN broke out with their 1994 album, The Downward Spiral, featuring their well-known song, Closer - a top 10 hit in Austrlia, and a top 30 hit in the US. This led to a remix album, 1995's Further Down The Spiral and the 1999 follow-up, The Fragile.
Can an artist be inducted twice?
The short answer is "yes." In fact, many bandleaders have been inducted on two counts - the first time being part of their band, and the second time as a solo artist. The most recent example of this was last year when Stevie Nicks was inducted as a solo singer. She was inducted as part of Fleetwood Mac in 1998 - as was the rest of the classic (1974-87) lineup.
What is it?
This ceremony is an annual event held in the spring where five or six acts are inducted. This year's event was originally scheduled for May 3, 2020, but has been pushed back to later in the year. As it is, the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame has not specified when the event will take place, but folks it will most likely be in the fall.
How do they get in?
To qualify for the Hall of Fame, the artists' debut album must have been issued at least twenty-five years prior to the year's induction ceremony. For example, an act eligible for the 2020 Induct must have released its debut in 1995 or sooner.
Who Are This Year's Nominees Anyway?
The Doobie Brothers
Even though their 1971 self-titled debut was really nothing to be proud of, the Doobes since pulled of a decade with a string of hits. Their career in the 70s is split into two phases - the first being between 1970 and 1975 with Tom Johnston at the helm, while the second part - roughly 1975 to 1980, is the Michael McDonald era, featuring much more softer rock then during the Johnston years.
Despite spending most of the 80s in hibernation, the band came back in 1989 with more of the Johnston-era sound, and his been active ever since.
Whitney Houston
The late, great Whitney Elizabeth Houston first made a name for herself in the mid 80s as an MTV sensation making songs targeting African-American girls and women. As the decade turned, Houston began making soundtracks for movies and most noteably in 1993 made Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You, popular (your eyes are good, that song IS a cover). Whitney has since issued a few more albums, and drowned in February 2012 as a result of coronary heart failure.
Notorious B.I.G.
If Tupac Shakur is considered Lyrical King, than Christopher George Latore Wallace (the Notorious B.I.G.) is considered the Flow King. Call him Biggie, Biggie Smalls, B.I.G., or even Poppa, he was a legend! Unfortunately, Biggie only issued one album during his living days, his 1994 debut Ready to Die.
Biggie was fatally shot in Los Angles on March 9, 1997 - shortly after his follow-up, Life After Death, was posthumously issued (In 1999, Born Again, his third and final LP, was released). Later that year, Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs recorded I'll Be Missing You, with Biggie's widow, Faith Evans as an homage to Biggie. This song samples The Police' 1984 hit Every Breath You Take, and at the 1998 VMAs, Sting appeared with Diddy playing guitar and singing the chorus.
T Rex
This Marc Bolan-led band formed in 1967. In 1971, they scored their one (and only) hit Bang a Gong (Get it On). That song spent about a month at #1 in the UK, and was also #1 in Ireland and brushed the top 10 on the other side of the pond in Canada and the US. Three other singles are also chart hits in the UK, but after Get it On, these pioneers of glam rock were never really heard from again.
Bolan died in a car collision in 1977 at the age of 30, after which the remaining members elected to split the band the following year. In 1985, the Robert Palmer-led band Power Station covered Get it On and get this, it made it in the top 10 in the US - something the T. Rex original could not.
Depeche Mode
One of UK synth-pop's big names, Depeche Mode made a name for themselves with their 1981 debut Speak & Spell. The band even ventured into electro-pop with 1986's Music for The Masses and 1987's Black Celebration. Their height came in 1990 with Violator.
Their most notorious hits include People Are People, Policy of Truth, Enjoy the Silence, and Personal Jesus - which was covered by Marilyn Manson in 2004.
Nine Inch Nails
This Cleveland band, led by virtuoso Trent Reznor, took six years to break through. In fact, Rezonr recorded their 1989 debut Pretty Hate Machine overnight while working as a janitor at a downtown Cleveland studio. NIN broke out with their 1994 album, The Downward Spiral, featuring their well-known song, Closer - a top 10 hit in Austrlia, and a top 30 hit in the US. This led to a remix album, 1995's Further Down The Spiral and the 1999 follow-up, The Fragile.
Can an artist be inducted twice?
The short answer is "yes." In fact, many bandleaders have been inducted on two counts - the first time being part of their band, and the second time as a solo artist. The most recent example of this was last year when Stevie Nicks was inducted as a solo singer. She was inducted as part of Fleetwood Mac in 1998 - as was the rest of the classic (1974-87) lineup.
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