Rush, Public Enemy among Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees

HOLLYWOOD - JUNE 25: (L-R) Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee band members of RUSH who were honored with the 2,412th Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on June 25, 2010 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Alex Lifeson;Geddy Lee / Frazer Harrison

Rush, Deep Purple, Public Enemy and N.W.A. are among the group of first-time nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

They join returnees Heart, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Randy Newman, Donna Summer and Kraftwerk among the 15 artists vying for entry.

Even in the iPod age, the list of nominees up for induction in 2013 is as eclectic as they come. Nominees differ wildly in sound, origin and influence, ranging from the enduring prog rock of Canadian trio Rush and Procul Harum to German proto-electronica act Kraftwerk, the disco of Chic and Summer to the New Orleans funk of The Meters and the blues of Albert King and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.

Motown also is represented by first-ballot entries The Mavelettes.

Joel Peresman, President and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, acknowledged the extreme variety of this year's nominee class in a Thursday news release.

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Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2012

"The definition of 'rock and roll' means different things to different people, but as broad as the classifications may be, they all share a common love of the music," Peresman said. "This year we again proudly put forth a fantastic array of groups and artists that span the entire genre that is `rock and roll.'"

A group of 600 artists, music historians and members of the industry will choose 2013's inductees. They will be honored April 18 in Los Angeles.

It's the sixth time on the ballot for Summer, but the first since her death in May at age 63. Chic is on the ballot for the seventh time since 2003.

Through the years, some fans have been outraged that bands such as Rush have been left off the list. That changes this year, but classic rock lovers still haven't seen nominations for other groups, including The Cars, Bad Company, Dire Straits, The Steve Miller Band, Jethro Tull, Yes, The Doobie Brothers, The Moody Blues and Journey. Kiss was nominated once, in 2010, but hasn't been since.

Tell us: What do you think of this year's nominees?

[gracescalia]

Hey "hypnotoad72": If you consider that Rush has the THIRD MOST SOLD ALBUMS *EVER* (1st is The Rolling Stones, 2nd is The Beatles, and 3rd is Rush), then I suppose they should be in there. At least songs like "Bastille Day," "Anthem," and "Tom Sawyer" ARE rock 'n roll. But, I'm not sure they'd want to be included.

Alex Lifeson said "the band would have about a 5 minute conversation about whether or not to show up to an induction" because they DON'T really care about being inducted. C'mon--they'd be in there with Madonna. That's NOT "Rock 'n Roll." And 'NWA'--are you KIDDING ME?!! Yeah, RIGHT, THAT'S an appropriate nomination for the hall of fame...

Besides, they're touring the world through 2013 and will be in South America at the time of the ceremony. I DOUBT they'd break the tour, playing to sold-out crowds (for example, they played to 60,000+ people in Sao Paulo last tour) to appear.

Its kinda fun to see if they'll SNUB the hall of fame because they're too busy kicking butt and playing to their fans instead of making the time to show-up. I'd bet they'd set an EXAMPLE to other bands that the hall of fame is interesting, but NOT really "Rock 'n Roll" based.

[hypnotoad72]

I love Public Enemy, but they are not Rock and Roll.

Neither is Madonna.

Indeed, PE deserves it more than a pop artist - certainly on an intellectual level.

The R&RHoF seems to be suffering from "feature creep" (web search it).

I heard a Rush song this morning. Not sure what makes that group stand out from others that are in the HoF... but that's my two cents. Pity those who nominated Rush didn't explain their POV...

Indeed, noting that some groups, who fought for musical autonomy and made their own images IN Rock and Roll have been snubbed and in favor of pop pablum, why should I care about the veracity of those currently calling the shots? They dilute their own product and looking like a mockery as a result...

Rock and Roll is a genre.

So is Country.

Let's see Queen Latifah win a place in the Country Hall of Fame. Sounds idiotic, doesn't it? Because it is. Queen Latifah, back in 1990, came out with some great stuff (pity she never listened to the word she sung...), but if the Country Music Hall of Fame tried to pawn off the same excuse, we'd be laughing for hours... why should the R&RHoF person get a free ride for making the excuse of putting in non-rock artists?

So, to offer a solution since one doesn't seem to exist that I know of, let's have a general Music hall of fame that can encompass ALL groups and let the standouts from each all share under that umbrella? PE, Madonna, and others are all deserving entries...

Or, for another perspective, let's go to a pretend website - "JamesBondFanSite.com" and replace the james Bond theme music with the theme to "Alien". Doesn't make much sense, does it? But that's effectively what the RRHoF folks are doing. Losing focus of what their point is.

[johnady]

And again, the sham of a Rock & Roll HoF blows off one of the greatest guitarists ever to wield an axe — the late, great Stevie Ray Vaughan. And nice timing, too; he would have been 58 on Oct. 3.

[shipwrecked54]

You mean to tell me Randy Newman and 'N.W.A.' but no Chicago, Bad Company, Cars ,ELP, or Hall and Oats? The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is a joke. How about Hall of Shame? The City of Cleveland is a joke!

[popalis]

How can anyone take the Hall of fame seriously when so many great classic bands are outside looking in, fans are furious and the hall could care less?

[obiden08]

It's about time Rush was nominated to the HoF. I was beginning to think these people were rock and roll burn outs with no taste in Music.