Songs Of Proof: The Class Of 2025

 In an attempt to get caught up before the next ballot comes out, we're going to get to the Class Of 2025 for their songs to add to the Great Playlist.  A slightly smaller class than the previous one, but similarly chock full of amazing inductees that truly earned their spot in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.  As I told Joe this past summer on my guest episode for the Patreon of "Who Cares About The Rock Hall?", I voted in the fan vote for six of the seven Performer inductees, and I was extremely stoked about most of the inductees in the other categories.  It was a great ceremony, given what they had to work with, doing justice to most of the people involved.  So what songs are appropriate to celebrate these thirteen inductees?  Let's get into the discussion.

Bad Company:  First to be inducted at the 2025 ceremony, first to be listed here.  The whole Paul Rodgers contingency has been satisfied--hopefully--with the induction of this band.  And Mick Ralphs was absolutely no slouch with an axe, with some hot licks.  If I were to make this selection based solely on what I felt the overall gestalt was of this band, lyrically, it'd be "Shooting Star," as that would be the quintessential song about sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll--except that it ends tragically.  It also doesn't feel like we really get the quintessential Paul Rodgers vocal performance either.  When I first had them on the "Previously Considered" list, I was planning on using "Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy," but in the end, it just doesn't stand up either.  But on the opposite end of the spectrum, I can't justify using "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love," either, as it's just not detached enough from the Free oeuvre.  And since we're leaving out the Brad Howe era altogether, we're pretty much left with "Feel Like Makin' Love."  There are a couple more we could have considered, but I think this one has low and high vocal rips, guitar riffs that are memorable, and ultimately summarizes their sound succinctly.  There's a reason it was performed at the ceremony, after all, so I'm using it here.

Thom Bell:  The maestro behind the sound of smooth Philly soul.  Philly soul is one of my favorite styles of soul, whether it was produced by Bell or not, but Bell's touch really seemed to be a defining style of the era.  Most famous for his work with the Spinners, but I'm actually not going with a Spinners' song, though "One Of A Kind (Love Affair)" was a strong contender, and also a good indicator of what comes to mind first when I think of Philly soul.  I'm actually going with a song that is said to be one that the Spinners let get away.  "I'm Doin' Fine Now" by New York City is an absolute masterpiece with its string section, guitar playing with some fuzz, silky smooth vocals, tight harmonies, and a groove that made you want to dance.  It's almost the quintessential Philly soul song.  There are songs by the O'Jays that could have worked, as well as the Stylistics, the Delfonics, and the Manhattans, just to name a few.  But for my money, this is the optimal song to use.  One a side note, though, Bell's induction definitely begs for a follow up along this train of thought and means the next thing should be an induction for Linda Creed.  Inducting Bell alone was the right call, but the collaborations, along with her writing on her own, Linda is absolutely worthy of induction and would be a great induction for the Class Of 2026.  Let's hope it happens.

Chubby Checker:   The Song Of Proof for Chubby Checker will indeed by "The Twist," but that is by no means giving his entire career short shrift.  How many songs have been franchises?  You have some songs that are sequels or answer songs, but very few that became a musical franchise unto themselves.  There was the Snoopy one that was the Royal Guardsmen's, starting with "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron," but that franchise was insular, not really catching on elsewhere.  "The Wallflower" started with Etta James, had an answer song by The Midnighters, which spawned a song or two more involving Annie, but little to nothing more about Henry, staying in that moment between those two artists.  But "The Twist" as a song was a franchise, spawning a barrage of songs about or involving the twist, and the twist itself was a cultural touchstone to the point of being cultural exchange at the diplomatic level, as Jackie Kennedy demonstrated American cultural excellence by demonstrating the twist with foreign dignitaries.  But while it wouldn't have happened without Hank Ballard's original version, it didn't happen because of Hank's version either.  And you can't give all the credit to Dick Clark either for wanting that song to be performed on American Bandstand.  At some point, you have to acknowledge the talent of Chubby Checker as a singer and charm as a performer.  And his continued string of successful records that followed is a testament to his talent.  One big record can be a moment, but talent keeps you successful.  Chubby managed to keep coming back, and also helped make the Superbowl halftime show the rock and roll event that it is now.  And, as he said, it all began, but didn't end (though you could argue that it bookends) with "The Twist."

Joe Cocker:  I've made it clear in past entries what my opinion of Joe Cocker's music is, so we'll move on past the fact that he's the only Performer inductee that I didn't vote for in the fan vote.  The man's legacy as an interpreter of songs is well regarded, and his versions often bring the party.  And that's just the early career.  Songs like "You Are So Beautiful To Me" and "Up Where We Belong" cemented his legacy with versatility.  An electrifying stage experience, his Song Of Proof almost necessitates that it be a live 45 hit record, or at least one with all the energy of a live performance.  It's not required, but I do feel that is the lion's share of his credibility as a Hall Of Famer.  With all that in mind, I'm going to go with "Feelin' Alright," the studio version from his album With A Little Help From My Friends.  I couldn't justify using the title track because, while impressive, it doesn't feel like it exudes as much of Joe's image as a rocker who makes people feel good when they play his records and watch him perform as this selection does.

Nicky Hopkins:  The video package for Nicky's induction was amazing, showing the sheer number of records he played on and how his piano playing help give a song shape or tone to how the record will sound and feel by the time you're done listening.  However, where the video package really kept trying to steer the audience to pay more attention to his work with the Rolling Stones, I will not be using a Stones' song to represent Nicky Hopkins in this project.  That's not to say a Rolling Stones' song would be a bad selection.  The run of albums they had where he played with them stand out as some of the strongest in their entire catalog, but I simply felt pulled in a different direction.  Nicky played with a wide variety of musicians on some major hit records, including some major stars.  And when I think of songs where Nicky's playing really impresses but doesn't overpower, where it just feels like some good, fun rock and roll, and was a major hit, I have to go with Ringo's cover of "You're Sixteen."  Say what you want about Ringo singing this song or the problematic nature of the lyrics when you assume that the character played by the singer is anything but another sixteen year-old, or possibly seventeen, in a society that widely felt children shouldn't start dating until they were sixteen--whatever you want to say about all that, you have to admit that Nicky's tickling of the ivories instantly grabs your ears and takes you along for the simple rock and roll fun that this record is.  By the way, on the back cover of the album Ringo, the track listing includes the parenthesized "(You're Beautiful, And You're Mine);" however, the labels on the 45 RPM singles that were pressed, and therefore the song's listings on the pages of the Billboard Hot 100 in late 1973 and early 1974, do not include the parenthesized part.  So, either way to list the title is correct.

Carol Kaye:  The only living inductee who got a video package induction but did not have a a video message from the inductee accepting the honor.  And it's a shame.  I actually understand her indignance, first because of the "Wrecking Crew" label that she abhorred, but also because she thought of herself as a jazz musician, rather than a rock musician.  Because of the technical challenges that jazz frequently has that rock seldom does, I've heard that those who are accomplished as jazz players definitely feel it as an insult to be called or compared to a rock star.  Even so, I feel like if someone could have pointed out the induction of Miles Davis, explaining that even though he was a jazz musician, his music made an impact and had influence on the evolution of rock and roll, just like her contributions on all those records, they could have gotten a video message out of her as well.  Maybe.  And I think we can all agree that her video package induction was absolutely stellar.  Watching it, I boiled it down to two.  One of them was a song I had in reserve for a duo that is on the Previously Considered list, and the other is for a band that is not, and probably never will be at this point.  I actually like the latter song better, but the statement made by the former is just a little too on the nose to ignore.  Besides which, the duo is also probably never going to be inducted either, since the female half of the duo was inducted as a soloist the previous year.  In my midnight confessions, I have to come clean and concede that the better choice to represent Carol Kaye as her Song Of Proof is "The Beat Goes On" by Sonny And Cher.

Cyndi Lauper:  A stunning singer who was big, but also wasn't as big as she deserved to be.  A vast repertoire that covers multiple genres from country to EDM to pop and beyond.  Simultaneously beloved and controversial.  It's almost impossible to put into words, but just about everything screams Hall Of Famer.  And this is going to be one of those moments where I really have to disagree with the other members of the Rock Hall hobbyist community.  Her set when she performed at her induction was "True Colors," "Time After Time," and "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."  That's what a couple of the podcasts either predicted or said they hoped it would be.  But I felt slightly slighted when one of the guests mentioned some of the other possibilities, saying that wasn't what she wanted, and saying, "I don't need to hear 'She Bop'" with a tone that I interpreted as dismissive.  Maybe that wasn't how she meant to sound, and maybe my own biases and tastes are blinding me, but I do need "She Bop."  "She Bop" is also feminist, boundary pushing, norms challenging, but also extremely catchy with a beat that is undeniable.  The only thing I would have done differently with this song would be to have a cowbell line.  For some reason, I think a cowbell would've really added to it.  But that's neither here nor there.  It's an exceptional, unusual song, and that's the one I'm naming for Ms. Lauper.

Outkast:  Proof that I need to pay more attention to what I'm doing, I've been having to change my mind multiple times when it comes to these Songs Of Proof.  I remember playing "B.o.B." back in college.  That, and "Ms. Jackson" were my introductions to Outkast.  And I loved "B.o.B." and when I saw how big they were blowing up, I was sure that that had been a big pop crossover hit.  So sure in fact, that was gonna be the song chosen.   And I was wrong.  No Hot 100 action.  I still could use that song, but I'm keeping to my guidelines.  And besides, the pop crossover cache is a huge part of their legacy, so it should be a song that made Top 40.  Unfortunately, a lot of the songs that crossed over, and where they are the sole artist of credit, are the slower ones.  The sole artist of credit rule, of course, disqualified "The Whole World" and "The Way You Move."  It's a bit of turnaround for me, given this song annoyed me when it first came out, but I've come to like it, it showed them having a serious message, it was a massive hit, and has a good flow.  I'm sorry, but it's "Ms. Jackson."  I am for real, for real.

Salt-N-Pepa:  It's usually a big "duh," but availability of the song is kind of necessary.  With the mechanics of the Great Playlist being digital now, being able to find the song on the streaming services is a prerequisite to adding it to a playlist.  In this case, though, we almost made an exception, for a couple reasons.  One, availability is a fluid thing.  When I first started putting my project on Spotify as a playlist, the only Dave Clark Five song available was a "Tequila"-like instrumental called "Chiquita."  The songs for Ray Charles, Neil Young, and Joni Mitchell were all unavailable on Spotify at some point.  So, things could change, and for Salt-N-Pepa, I sure hope so, although it appears their suit for their rights is temporarily dismissed.  However, only recently, I was able to find the song on Spotify, and I have formally added "Let's Talk About Sex" to the playlist.  The second reason I'm determined to use that song is because of the importance of the song, socially.  When the Surgeon General of the United States, C. Everett Koop, wants to use and adjust a hip-hop song to fight the AIDS epidemic and to promote safe sex practices, that is noteworthy.  That's not just hip-hop smashing the wall in a similar way to Run-D.M.C. when they teamed up with Aerosmith; that is hip-hop changing the world and continuing the work of social conscience, similar to the work rock and roll music was said to do back in the late '60s, in a way that should have made Rolling Stone magazine proud.  If that's not part of the rock and roll attitude and spirit, I don't know what is.  No disrespect to the rest of the catalog, but this was not up for debate.

Soundgarden:  Trying to find a song for Soundgarden made two things abundantly clear: one, how woefully deficient my knowledge of grunge is; two, how much grunge may have had to adapt to break through to the mainstream.  The difference between hearing "Rusty Cage" at the induction ceremony, for example, and relistening to some of their songs that charted the highest on the Mainstream and Alternative Rock charts is slightly jarring.  Sure, some of that can be chalked up to the live experience versus listening through a laptop speaker, as well as having to adapt to a different singer's style, but it wasn't just volume.  It was tempo, it was overall feel, it was the emotions that were expressed.  Maybe there's a difference between angst and anger that is best depicted in those different types of songs.  I guess I always figured Soundgarden as more of angry grunge versus angsty grunge.  But the two are the same band, and the same is true for Nirvana and Pearl Jam.  The same band that gave us "Even Flow" also gave us "Jeremy."  That said, I feel like "Black Hole Sun" is too much of an outlier to accurately represent Soundgarden and what they did for grunge and for the evolution of rock and roll as a whole, outside of breaking through and being someone's introduction to the style.  And really, that was more of what Nirvana accomplished.  I'm going with "The Day I Tried To Live," from the same album as "Black Hole Sun", that being Superunknown, as it was a respectable hit on both of the two big rock charts at the time, but may not be super familiar to those who aren't big into grunge, and is a quality meshing of the angst and the anger that the entire band brought in the main guitar lines, the timely drumming that feels delayed, plodding bass, and of course, the lyrics and emotion expressed in the vocals.

Lenny Waronker:  The video package for Lenny Waronker made it seem like Waronker was the Mort Shuman to the Doc Pomus of Mo Ostin, at least in the sense that they were inducting the other half a good two decades after the first.  Business executives that in some sense might be considered joined at the hip seemed to be the way Lenny was presented, at least in his early career.  That said, I don't quite see it that way, and I definitely did not go in that direction with the song chosen.  When Mo Ostin was inducted in 2003, they really focused on the role he played in bringing up the whole singer-songwriter scene of the the early 1970s, especially the career of James Taylor.  If I were to go that route, the obvious artist to go with would be Randy Newman.  And yet, I couldn't bring myself to do it.  Maybe that's because Randy, despite all his critical acclaim and cache in the industry, is a one-hit wonder, and that really doesn't make the best case for a record executive when talking about enshrinement into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.  It's also why anything by Van Dyke Parks was a non-starter.  The other factor is that the Rock Hall, when inducting these executives in the Non-Performer category, always tell the same narrative about how they respected their artists, listened to their artists, let the artists experiment sonically to best express themselves, and that's how they always ended up with the highest quality of music to bestow upon the masses.  I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but it just seems like that's the story we always get when it comes to inducting record label owners and executives.  And the same is true here as well.  It was under his presidential tenure at Warner/Reprise that Prince had his meteoric rise to superstardom, and a lot of that was because Waronker let Prince be Prince.  He let Prince... go crazy... get nuts.  And let's face it, we could use a little more Prince in this playlist, so "Let's Go Crazy."

The White Stripes:  Every once in awhile, you have to go with the obvious.  So, the choice here is indeed "Seven Nation Army."  It's an enduring song, thanks to its prevalence at sporting events, was one of their biggest hits, showcases both Jack's guitar chops as well as Meg's drumming, the vocals are archetypal of how most people remember Jack's singing, and is a cultural benchmark for the aughts.  This band was certainly more than that one song, but it is a modern day touchstone for rock and roll music.  Even though there are some twenty-first century songs in this playlist already ("Vertigo," "Ain't No Other Man," i.e.), and despite having a couple singles and one album released before 2000, the White Stripes are basically regarded as the first inductee whose imperial reign was wholly in this new millennium.  That's a significant benchmark for the Rock Hall.  With a foot in the door and eyes fixed on moving forward, it makes sense to introduce that new momentum for the Hall with an obvious choice for the Song Of Proof, rather than an opuscule.  

Warren Zevon:  There's something somewhat satisfying about closing this chapter of the playlist with a song by a man known for incredible songwriting, whether it was his novel yet accessible ways to express universal emotions, or his wit which could be sardonic or just fun.  He didn't have a ton of hits on any Billboard chart, so I'm not feeling any pressure to have something that crossed over to the masses.  In fact, it's probably more fitting to use a song that was not a hit, possibly not even released as a single, but yet something that is known by those in the know.  He's the kind of singer-songwriter that one would say was so brilliant that he was ahead of his time.  And the song chosen I think echoes that esteem.  Roughly forty years before the #MeToo movement, Warren Zevon was calling out toxic masculinity, the way we excuse it, the stigmatization of mental health, and so much more with the song "Excitable Boy."  The character in the song was an exaggeration, but also not an exaggeration.  A social commentary that went unheeded for so long.  That song alone is just such a clear demonstration of what some of the great works of art seeks to accomplish, and shows exactly what kind of artist he was.

And with that, we complete our celebration of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Class Of 2025.  And we are caught up.  I fell behind there for a couple years for a couple reasons, both within and beyond my control.  But we're caught up and ready to face the upcoming nomination cycle.  I have my predictions all written up as a draft and ready to post, but I wanted to sneak this one in first, just to get back on track.  Hope you enjoyed this writeup and that I've given you something upon which to cogitate.  Which songs would you have chosen?  Is my reasoning reasonable to you?  Feel free to comment below or on social media.  As a recap:

Bad Company:  "Feel Like Makin' Love"
Thom Bell:  "I'm Doin' Fine Now" by New York City
Chubby Checker:  "The Twist"
Joe Cocker:  "Feelin' Alright"
Nicky Hopkins:  "You're Sixteen" by Ringo Starr
Carol Kaye:  "The Beat Goes On" by Sonny And Cher
Cyndi Lauper:  "She Bop"
Outkast:  "Ms. Jackson"
Salt-N-Pepa:  "Let's Talk About Sex"
Soundgarden:  "The Day I Tried To Live"
Lenny Waronker:  "Let's Go Crazy" by Prince And The Revolution
the White Stripes:  "Seven Nation Army"
Warren Zevon:  "Excitable Boy"

Songs Of Proof: The Class Of 2024

 After much lollygagging and procrastination, I'm finally getting around to revealing the Songs Of Proof for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's Class Of 2024.  This has been quite the interesting class, and a delightfully large one.  Yes, it made for a long ceremony, but aside from a glut of anecdotes during the acceptance speeches, it was time very well spent.  So, hopefully I can capture that idea of time being spent well with the songs that I'm choosing to honor all sixteen of these inductees.  As always, feel free to chime in in the Comments section with the songs that you would have chosen if, as the premise of this project states, you had to make the cases with one song for each inductee.  So here are my selections.

Mary J. Blige:  Addressing the elephant in the room, I did not go with "Family Affair."  I actually ruled that song ineligible, since a song with that title is already being used as a Song Of Proof.  Admittedly, it's pretty ticky-tack as far as my rules go, but it also pushes me to be more creative and really explore an artist's catalog a bit further.  Besides, this huge playlist was also originally conceived to be a terrestrial radio station's weekend special kind of deal, so you have to throw in the less obvious ones once in awhile to keep things interesting.  "Family Affair" is a great song, and it will probably be the song she is most remembered for, but since she is the Queen Of Hip-Hop/Soul, I chose another song with a flow that is also melodic, somewhat similar to a recitative in a baroque oratorio (which is also my default comeback to the lame argument that rap isn't even music because of the way rappers perform).  This song also has a much brighter feel that feels like it may have been more created with arrangements than samples, keeping it truer to the soul side of Blige's oeuvre.  It's a bit lesser of a hit, just missing the Top 20, but still solidly in the Top 40, I'm going with "Just Fine."

Jimmy Buffett:  For those who subscribe to the Patreon of the "Who Cares About The Rock Hall?" podcast, you'll recall that when I was the guest for a Patreon-exclusive episode back in 2024, I mentioned that I was still deciding some songs, and that I was working on Jimmy Buffett.  The teaser I used was, "Does it have to be 'Margaritaville?'"  At the end of the day, I have to conclude that yes, yes it does have to be "Margaritaville."  This is partially a middle finger to the myopic approach the Rock Hall took when inducting Jimmy during the ceremony, focusing almost exclusively on the coffeehouse singer/songwriter stylings of "Come Monday" and "A Pirate Looks At Forty," while trying their hardest to bury the fun side of Buffett, the usages of humor and cheerfulness as coping mechanisms for dealing with the struggles and foibles of life, as seen in songs like "Cheeseburger In Paradise," "Fruitcakes," and "Fins."  I ultimately have to conclude that "Margaritaville" is the middle ground for those two sides of the man's music.  There's the introspection that forces the narrator to claim partial, if not total, responsibility for the mess that is his life, but is ultimately met with a determination to party that accountability away and have a good time anyway, or at least appear to.  Plus, it's a crowd favorite.  It's THE crowd favorite.  It's the brand, and at the end of the day, it's a nearly perfect balance of silly and serious, between the complexity of the man and the simplicity of his persona that makes his music so accessible to his fans.  Parenthetically, I'm not a huge fan of the cocktail myself.  I seldom drink cocktails, but my faves include the Espresso Martini and the Adios Motherfucker.

Cher:  With Cher inducted as a solo artist, we can pretty much rule out any chance of getting her inducted a second time as half of Sonny And Cher.  Certainly the duo is a harder sell for induction in terms of merit as well as amount of time passed, but for their part of the cultural zeitgeist of the mid-to-late-'60s, I think there's a case to be made.  And while I'm not really stumping for his inclusion, Sonny Bono was a member of the murderer's row of session musicians sometimes referred to as the "wrecking crew" that really helped shape Phil Spector's "wall of sound."  So, you could make a couple different arguments for him.  But this is about her, not him, and she eclipses him in terms of stature in the world of rock and roll.  Controversial, yet beloved.  Sexualized, yet respected.  A fascinating person overall.  Choosing a song was pretty tough.  "Believe" would actually have been a decent choice, pioneering the use of Autotune, expanding her influence, and giving some representation of contemporary dance-pop into this playlist.  Which means I absolutely did not go that route.  I also could not go with "If I Could Turn Back Time."  I don't hate that song; I just feel it's too indicative of a moment.  It just feels very late '80s, and she was so much more than that era.  While she didn't have a very lengthy imperial phase at any period, I feel like the '70s was the closest she came to having that.  So, I'm going there, and I'm going to go with "Dark Lady," the story song with a misleading title and a cautionary tale.  Even though it was a huge hit at the time, I also feel like it's underrated when assessing her musical historiography, and I want to call attention to this one again.  So, that's the selection.

Suzanne DePasse:  I have to admit, when her name was announced as an inductee, I had no idea who she was.  I had to find out along with the rest of you.  That's not too surprising.  What is a little more surprising is that I wasn't fully sold on her credentials.  Not that it mattered, of course, she was getting inducted regardless.  However, the way she was presented in the press releases was underwhelming.  Most of the focus was on the television specials she produced, but these specials were not the kind that introduced America or the world to fresh new talent.  These were nostalgia specials, or more generously, historical retrospectives.  Look, I love history, and I've argued for Joel Whitburn to be an inductee.  But my argument for Whitburn was the amount of amazing or at least interesting music I've discovered just by randomly leafing through the pages of his books and discovering songs that the Oldies and classic rock stations abandoned.  In that spirit, I'm hoping the specials that DePasse helped make possible provided the same illumination for prospective talents.  Failing that, she at least also gets her credit as a talent scout.  Now, THAT I can get behind.  The two big names that kept getting mentioned as her big discoveries were the Jackson Five and the Commondores.  I couldn't use a Jackson Five song though.  Maybe it's some jumbled history, but I've also heard from syndicated Oldies programming back in the day that both Gladys Knight and Diana Ross have made claims to have discovered the Jackson Five.  Granted, I haven't done a whole lot of cross-referencing, and it appears I don't have to, as DePasse's claim seems to be the most credible, especially coming from Berry Gordy, Jr. himself.  But I had pretty much resolved to go with a Commodores' song instead.  I'm ashamed to say the obvious choice didn't hit me in the face until I did a dive on the Commodores' catalog for the express purpose of finding a Song Of Proof for the lady who brought them up to stardom.  It took way longer to realize than it should have, but the song must be "Lady (You Bring Me Up)."

Foreigner:  If you recall the analyses I've done of the ballot for 2024, I really skewered Foreigner, both for merits and personal taste.  Lou Gramm's voice really isn't my thing, and I overall find their music unimaginative.  That said, I'm not upset at their induction either, both because they were a shoo-in and because of that episode of "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" that they had no involvement with, but were a big part of.  So the trick of finding the right song to symbolize their contribution to rock and roll, it's going to be a big hit with a rock edge that showcases rock and roll as the backdrop and soundtrack of our lives, whatever subgenre of rock and roll raised you.  Unfortunately, with Foreigner, that's not going to be a progressive sound or progressive set of lyrics.  But, as I said about Foo Fighters back in 2021, evolution involves a lot of good old-fashioned grinding it out and creating a population of it.  And Foreigner was a big part of that, hooks and lyrics that still hang around in the nooks and crannies of our skulls.  So, it's gotta be an earworm that doesn't piss you off completely, and by "you," I mean "me," since this is my vanity project.  That rules out a good chunk of the catalog, but what it doesn't rule out is "Hot Blooded."  Admittedly, the annoying Hot Pockets commercial that parodied the song nearly disqualified it, but the song withstood, while the commercial did not.  That's why Foreigner's in the Hall, and why that is the song for them.

Peter Frampton:  It doesn't have to be one of the three from Frampton Comes Alive, but it's gotta be one of the three from Frampton Comes Alive.  It's a little sad that it has to be that way, though.  Some of his later work, especially years after "I'm In You," is pretty awesome, and his decision to remind them of other songs, such as "Baby (Somethin's Happening)" was an awesome move.  But it would also be disingenuous to use either of those two songs in this playlist.  Generally speaking, I'm not a big fan of using live cuts for the Song Of Proof, though I have done it before.  Going to the big three, though, it's pretty obvious that I'm not going with "Baby I Love Your Way."  Despite it having popular covers, it really doesn't speak to his influence as a musician, nor is it all that representative of his work.  "Do You Feel Like We Do" is a monster track that captures a lot of the essence, but it is over fourteen minutes long.  Unless it's a true disservice to not use the extremely long song, I try to keep them somewhat friendly to the hot clock, as a reminder that I once wanted this great playlist to be a special weekend long event on a commercial FM radio station.  I did it for Kraftwerk because the album and the title track "Autobahn" were so important, and I'll end up doing it for Fela Kuti when he gets in through a category because Afrobeat is by nature a genre of longer songs.  But for Peter Frampton, I don't think it's necessary.  I think "Show Me The Way" shows off the talk box, is rockin', but also punchy and short enough to ably serve in the overall scheme of this playlist.  So, that's the one I'm going with.

Kool And The Gang:  Selecting the song for this group really isn't as easy as one might believe.  No one was really thinking of using "Joanna," but it is worth acknowledging that it is ineligible because that is the group's Song Of Proof for the Vocal Group Hall Of Fame side project that I made.  For the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame selection though, they had a ton of hits, but they also had a lot of lesser known songs, and an entire era where they weren't charting well, but putting out high quality jazz music.  So how does one balance it out, honoring their jazzier era as well as their breakthrough era when they employed a lead singer?  Ideally, it would be a big hit that has hints of jazz and funk in the mix.  We actually have a large assortment of songs like that, although, I believe that rules out the big hit, "Celebration."  There a lot of songs from the '70s that could fit the bill, but I'm feeling dragged by the heart that it just has to be "Get Down On It."  As much as I love "Ladies Night," "Jungle Boogie," and "Hollywood Swinging," there's just that extra bit of pop sensibility while not abandoning the funk or jazz entirely, plus it stands out as a more unique track, in my humble opinion, while still remaining true to all the essentials that made this group worthy of induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

Alexis Korner:  From a housekeeping standpoint, I kind of wish the Hall had just inducted Blues Incorporated in the Musical Influence with Korner being the only inducted member.  I'm just saying, they did it for Steely Dan with just two people, they could have done that too here with one name.  But that's more my minor hang-up.  Blues Incorporated is on the Previously Considered list over at the Future Rock Legends site, and it would have been cleaner to just move that name from one column to another.  After all, the project known as Blues Incorporated was the crux of Korner's legacy, as the bootcamp for a lot of British musicians who went on to be rock legends.  As an aside, he was also quite into some of the folksier American records too, as he recorded versions of "Midnight Special" and other folk songs.  Sadly, because I'm so rhadamanthine about these kind of things, I had to make the effort to distinguish between the two.  This proved particularly difficult, though, as Spotify and compilation makers call it all "Alexis Korner," even if it was Blues Incorporated, CCS, Breakdown Group, or New Church.  To color inside the lines, I'm going with a song from his 1975 album Get Off My Cloud.  The song is going to be the album opener, "I Got Cha Number," as it has a bluesy feel, but imitates the styles that some of his proteges would blaze their own trails with.

The Dave Matthews Band:  When "Who Cares About The Rock Hall?" reviewed the 2024 ceremony, they may have hit the nail on the head regarding why this band needed a second nomination to get in, despite running away with the fan ballot.  When going over the band's performance, Ross had difficulty recalling songs by their titles, and Joe had to walk through the set by referring to each song as "the one that goes..." and then imitating the prevalent arrangement.  Now, that can be said about any band when talking about their body of work with somebody who is not a huge fan.  However, when that many songs have so few memorable lyrics for so many of their songs, that could be a problem.  It may be a problem for Phish, and if so, Phish will have an even harder time because they're a band known for a being a live band, with studio albums one can ignore, and they never play a song the same way twice.  Getting to the song for the Dave Matthews Band, though, it's not going to be the one that goes "Wah. Wahwah-Wah.  Wahwah-Wah."  I don't need to have "Ants Marching" stuck in my head for thirty-seven weeks every time I hear it.  "I Did It" is a song that fans of the band generally hold in comparative mild disdain, so that's out.  I think the appropriate choice is "Funny The Way It Is," as it has a jam feel that hints at the potential of sonic secret passageways that can explored when performed live.  There's that moment moment of crowd involvement every time the title is sung, but still maintains a pop sensibility that a casual listener can still enjoy, too.  Honorable mention to "What Would You Say," which was a serious contender.

John Mayall:  I remember a lot of people thought it would be a savvy timesaver to induct John Mayall and Alexis Korner back to back, because of the commonalities of their cases for induction.  I'm glad that they didn't do that.  They showed respect to each of the inductees by showcasing them separately, despite their similar orbits and accomplishments.  They also played different styles of the blues.  Also, Mayall has a little more name recognition here in the States, because the name "John Mayall's Bluesbreakers" is slightly more known by American music lovers, even if they can't name a single song.  But being the stickler for technicalities that I try to be, it can't be a song credited to the Bluesbreakers.  But one final reason that Mayall is slightly better known here is that he had two songs that charted in the U.S., one on the Hot 100, and one on the Bubbling Under charts.  The one that made the Hot 100 has a real good feel of down-on-the-farm blues, and really distinguishes him from Korner.  In that reverent spirit, I'm going with "Don't Waste My Time."

The MC5:  I don't think a single person will be surprised to know the Song Of Proof for the MC5 is going to be "Kick Out The Jams."  As much as the Rock Hall tried to steer the narrative on this band towards their political activism, it's gotta come back to the music.  The use of distortion as a feature and not a bug is innovative.  They were pioneers of punk, their garage rock sound was hard and heavy, and not too many of their songs were really all that political.  "American Ruse," absolutely, and also "Motor City Is Burning" too, and I think you could argue the same thing about "Kick Out The Jams."  It's the same message of Woodstock, but played heavier, about celebrating who we are as a means to take down the system.  It's when peace is loud, and the serenity is found after the cathartic, loud jam.  In addition to being the hit song, it really has all the elements together in one punchy tune.  So let's kick 'em out.

Ozzy Osbourne:  Given that Ozzy only had about a half dozen hits on the Hot 100, I'm not as concerned as about having a crossover hit to represent him as I might for someone that had more pop presence.  For Ozzy as a soloist, it's about the songs that distinguish his career and solo identity.  In a similar vein, I'm also glad it only took one nomination to get him in, especially after it took eight to finally get Black Sabbath in.  But also, the fact that Ozzy died within a year of being inducted, you know that if he didn't get in on that nomination, and then passed away, they'd never have nominated him again, and probably wouldn't have put him in a side category either.  Just one and done and gone.  For those who follow along, you know that I already use "Crazy Train" to represent Randy Rhoads, so that's off the table.  But Blizzard Of Ozz was only one of the albums that he became really well-known for in his solo years.  I'm going with a song from a different album, to really distinguish himself as having a Hall-worthy career.  Black Sabbath took Ozzy to the heights of stardom, but with albums like Blizzard Of Ozz and Diary Of A Madman, Ozzy was indeed "Flying High Again."  And I feel like his solo career really dealt frequently with the subject of the trappings of fame, or could be construed as such, so that also makes it a solid choice for the solo induction.

Big Mama Thornton:  For those keeping track, "Hound Dog" is the Song Of Proof for Mike Stoller, one of the cowriters.  But that was Elvis's cover.  But for those who know the rules, I don't reuse a composition.  So either pick a new song for Stoller, or pick a different song for Big Mama.  I've chosen to go with the latter route, because for better or worse, Elvis's cover is an extremely important song that really made a seismic difference in the story of rock and roll.  And it also helps to remind everyone that Thornton's importance isn't just one song alone.  If it were, it would still be worth inducting her, but thankfully it wasn't.  Thanks to Janis Joplin, we also know about the importance of "Ball And Chain," which also helped bring a greater awareness to this inductee's importance.  But it's not "Ball And Chain" either.  I'm choosing to go with a bluesy song that has a lot of the same attitude as "Hound Dog," but it's a different animal altogether, literally.  "I Smell A Rat" is the blues record with the tasty guitar licks that shows the special importance of inducting Big Mama Thornton, as more than just the artist who first recorded a seminal Elvis record, into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

A Tribe Called Quest:  Choosing the Song Of Proof for A Tribe Called Quest helps take this Songs Of Proof vanity project into new territory, possibly.  "Can I Kick It?" might otherwise make a great choice, but it heavily samples another Song Of Proof, "Walk On The Wild Side."  It raises questions for me I'm not sure I'll be happy with the results, regardless of how I answer.  I suspect that if the Hall continues to induct hip-hop and rap artists, as they absolutely should, then it probably will be inevitable that one Song Of Proof samples another Song Of Proof.  Additionally, A Tribe Called Quest also had celebrated songs that credited featured artists, and features culture is currently a big part of hip-hop.  I'm not sure if there are too many Hall-worthy rappers who ever had a major hit where they're the only artist of credit, per my rules.  It may also be inevitable to revise that standard practice of this project.  Today is not that day though.  We're gonna kick those cans down the road just a little further.  One of this group's biggest hits was a song that had a smooth, but jazzy feel, and had lyrics that were smart, yet still accessible was from arguably their most venerated album, The Low End Theory.  Check it out, it's "Check The Rhime."

Dionne Warwick:  Somewhere, Future Rock Legends community member Bill G. is pointing at me and laughing, because Dionne Warwick is a Hall Of Famer, but I'm also laughing too, because it was a side category, an induction by fiat.  It's a debate that will never be resolved, but will remain in complete suspension in perpetuity because the argument is now moot.  This does, however, put a perplexing wrinkle in choosing a song for her.  Maybe.  It's somewhat funny though, because when I think of the sound of Dionne Warwick's records, at least of the Bacharach-David era, the song that first leaps to mind isn't even a Dionne Warwick record, though she did record a version of that song later on.  When I think of a record that epitomized 1960's Dionne Warwick's sound, it's actually Jackie DeShannon's version of "What The World Needs Now Is Love" that springs to mind, and I hate that record.  So this requires an honest wiping of the slate and reassessing her discography.  It also potentially requires leaving some obvious suspects in the cold, as there aren't a whole mess of Bacharach-David songs that make a good argument for their inductions into the Rock Hall as songwriters.  In my opinion, they're very MOR songwriters that happened to be very talented and wrote their best-known songs during the heyday of rock and roll's ascent, but weren't really part of the rock and roll movement.  That said, I suspect their inductions will be inevitable, simply because inducting national treasures has been a trend lately, and even deceased, they certainly are that.  As for Dionne Warwick, the song for her will do justice to her prime and to the two nominations to the ballot she received.  A song that I was surprised to find out was her and not from a girl group of the early '60s, we're going all the way back to "Don't Make Me Over."

Norman Whitfield:  Speaking of Bacharach and David, inductions like this are exactly why we have the "Mort Shuman" rule.  The obvious dome-scratcher for all of us is trying to understand why they didn't induct Barrett Strong with Whitfield.  Maybe in the near future, they can induct Strong and also Jerry Ragovoy, a frequent writing partner of Bert Berns, and oh yeah, Estelle Axton.  I'm gonna go with "Psychedelic Shack" by the Temptations as the Song Of Proof for Norman Whitfield.  The main reason for this is that the video package for Whitfield really focused on this aspect of his songwriting, especially for the Temptations.  After Dennis Edwards replaced David Ruffin in the group, Whitfield is credited with steering the Temptations into this new creative direction.  However, since "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone" was the song that is historically remembered as being the song that really spurred the Temptations to leave Motown, I figured it would be inappropriate to use that track for him.  Since his writing is considered a pioneering part of the psychedelic soul movement, it would be appropriate to call him an architect that built the psychedelic shack, so it's fitting and proper to use that song.

And with that, we put a ribbon and bow on this review of the inductees from the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's Class Of 2024, through the songs chosen that represent and symbolize their contributions to rock and roll music as a whole.  Some required a lot of thought, deliberation, and last minute changes.  Some I knew as soon as I heard them would be the chosen ones.  All of them are important and have expanded musical horizons for me and for all who listen.  Given the time frame and how far behind I fell, the next you'll hear from me on this blog will be a prediction for the nominees for the 2026 ballot.  Hopefully I'll also be starting a rough draft to get caught up on the Songs Of Proof for the Class Of 2025.  As for this list, are there any songs you would have chosen instead?  Let me know in the Comments or on social media.  Recapping:

Mary J. Blige:  "Just Fine"
Jimmy Buffett:  "Margaritaville"
Cher:  "Dark Lady"
Suzanne DePasse:  "Lady (You Bring Me Up)" by the Commodores
Foreigner:  "Hot Blooded"
Peter Frampton:  "Show Me The Way"
Kool And The Gang:  "Get Down On It"  (Vocal Group Hall Of Fame Song Of Proof: "Joanna")
Alexis Korner:  "I Got Cha Number"
The Dave Matthews Band:  "Funny The Way It Is"
John Mayall:  "Don't Waste My Time"
The MC5:  "Kick Out The Jams"
Ozzy Osbourne:  "Flying High Again"
Big Mama Thornton:  "I Smell A Rat"
A Tribe Called Quest:  "Check The Rhime"
Dionne Warwick:  "Don't Make Me Over"
Norman Whitfield:  "Psychedelic Shack" by the Temptations

Through A Cathode-Ray Tube: Induction Ceremony 2025.

The party's long over, and I've just shown up.  I'm finally weighing in on the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony for 2025.  I mostly echo the sentiments first stated by others on various podcasts, people who were there.  I was not there, and I only saw it on Disney+.  And in fact, the livestream itself I was about ten minutes late for, because I had trouble logging on.  I caught the final number of the Sly Stone tribute.  Watching it a second time, I've already noticed that Disney+ has done some post-production work for its streaming life.  For instance, all occurrences of asking people to sit down because they're blocking the teleprompter---gone.  They also did some post-production tampering (use of AI maybe?) to make it sound like Doja Cat didn't stumble at all during "Ms. Jackson," during the Outkast tribute.  So how did it look to someone who wasn't there?

Starting with the Sly Stone tribute, they picked the obvious pick to open up with, "Dance To The Music," but that doesn't make it any less correct or awesome.  Stevie, ?uestlove, Flea, Beck, and the whole ensemble knocked it out of the park.  Watching it on Disney+ is maybe a bit disadvantageous, as opposed to being there.  Okay, maybe very disadvantageous.  "Everyday People" was a great follow-up, and Maxwell and Stevie nailed the vocals. "Thank You (Fahlettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)"... another great performance.  Admittedly, I probably would have closed the segment with "Family Affair," although I get why they went with "I Want To Take You Higher."   It's a more energetic song, and Jennifer Hudson got to give the Rock Hall ceremony performance she'd really been wanting to give.  Looking at it through the screen, though, I don't think this necessarily lifted Beck's profile for re-nomination next year.  He gave a great harmonica solo, and added a couple perfunctory vocal bits.  But overall, I think he got overshadowed in the lineup.  But he's still Beck, so don't rule him out.

Mick Fleetwood's speech for Bad Company did indeed give hints of shade, as there seemed to be an inside joke between the members of Bad Company and Fleetwood Mac, a friendly competition, perhaps.  That said, it wasn't an awful speech either.  A bit mediocre.  The video package's drawing on footage from Free was perhaps the Hall's way of making the statement that there would be no second induction for Paul Rodgers via Free.  The array of rockers giving testimonies for this band is pretty much what one would expect.  I think the talents of Boz Burrell got buried, sadly.  And also Simon.  Mick got a little bit more love than those two, but of course, it's mostly about Paul.  One almost gets the impression that Bad Company was a mediocre band with a nonpareil of a singer.  As far as the performance, I agree with some of those who commented on the podcasts that maybe Chris Robinson and Bryan Adams should have switched songs.  "Feel Like Making Love" has a build-up to it to a peak, a style that definitely plays right into Adams' strengths, and Robinson could have met the energy head-on for "Can't Get Enough Of Your Love."  As far as how indistinguishable Bryan Adams looks... I mean, it's cheap to comment on it, given he still sounds pretty good.  That said, take a good look, Rivers Cuomo... that'll be you in about ten to fifteen years.  But let's give Joe Perry credit for the homage paid to Mick Ralphs with that solo on the second song.  Simon's speech was a little awkward, but sincere.  And thanking the road crew is truly gracious and grateful.  Road crew people will never get the Ahmet Ertegun Award, and they are considered easily replaceable, but the gratitude to them, as well as the wives of the band members, was genuine.  For a not-Paul-Rodgers member giving the speech, his was the appropriate length, in my opinion.  Paul's video speech was short and lovely, and edited down, if I understand correctly.  Oh well.

In my opinion, they should have done a video induction next instead of launching into straight into Salt-N-Pepa.  But I think Paul's video speech was the cover for the stage crew that the people running the show needed.  Missy Elliott gave an awesome speech, decked out in classic Salt-N-Pepa apparel.  On "Hall Watchers," Eric and Mary described her speech as a soul preacher giving a feisty message.  Unfortunately, the congregation was clearly CRC (pause for a rimshot for a joke that only a couple readers will get).  The video package was great.  It really drove home the point about how thick that glass ceiling they shattered was.  It's easy for me to take it for granted, since I was a elder tween/younger teen during they heyday.  I was still too naive to think about how hard it was for a rap group at that time to have songs that people in rural Michigan would have heard of and maybe even could recognize, or how much harder that was for women to accomplish, and sadly still is.  The performance brought it and thensome.  They all sounded amazing and on top of their game, including En Vogue.  Getting to the speeches, judging by the way they appeared to be standing on the stage (again, through a TV screen), I'm almost surprised they didn't ask to the Hall to Neil-Giraldo Hurby Azor when they found out they were getting inducted.  The speech segment seems like the three ladies were unofficially calling Azor an inducted member of the group.  Anyway, their speeches were great, each one touching unique points, and a big congrats to Spinderella for being the first female deejay inducted.  I don't know how many deejays the Hall will induct going forward, but it's amazing they did right by Spinderella.

Nicky Hopkins' video package induction  was really informative.  I do wish though, that they would go back to having someone in the room give a quick speech, even if only for two minutes, just to remind everyone that these contributions to the evolution and perpetuation of rock and roll were just as consequential.  But with the tail wagging the dog, just having Moira Hopkins in the room and acknowledged by the camera for a brief moment was still sweet.  

David Letterman's speech for Warren Zevon had some great moments, but he made the classic cringe cliche of "my personal Hall Of Fame."  But yes, I loved the three categories bit as well.  The video package  was great, covering a wide variety of songs, and including the clip of his last time on the Late Show.  Glad to see the members of his family that could be there.  The second part of David's speech felt long the first time I watched it, but knowing the stories he's telling, it didn't seem as long the second time.  The Killers joke could've been omitted though.  As for the Killers, a solid tribute, including the three howls.  

Thom Bell's video induction was beautiful, but also a little sad, knowing that the Stylistics and Delfonics have pretty much no chance of induction.  Or really any other artists that he worked with.  At least we got the Spinners and Bell.  And of course, beautiful that Tia could be there to honor him.

Iggy Pop was just absolutely charming, and the crowd's energy was almost on command, but no less genuine.  I loved his point of "But the kids liked it, and that's what counts!"  I especially appreciate how they tried to make it clear that the band was equal parts Jack and Meg.  Seeing the footage of Meg play drums and seeing her face as she's playing, it reminded me of watching footage of Eddie Van Halen playing "Eruption" onstage.  Just a face with a look of transcendent understanding that they have found their calling and have connected to it.  I loved Jack's acceptance speech, and one thing I have to point out is when he calls his inductor "Uncle Iggy."  If you don't know, that's such a Michigan thing.  Our rock stars are uncles and aunts.  Uncle Bob, Uncle Ted, Uncle Alice, Uncle Iggy, Aunt Madge, and of course, Uncle Jack and Aunt Meg.  Jack's giddy, nervous energy was endearing.  Olivia Rodrigo and Feist singing together was magical.  They sounded very similar when they sang in unison, and tracks-halting beautiful singing in harmony.  Twenty-One Pilots... was an interesting choice.  Using a bass instead a guitar with a full range definitely felt sterile when hitting the peak of the crescendo.  And while I wasn't a fan of their Mummenschanz-esque visual pun headwear, at least it didn't interfere with their ability to perform like Sia's did for Chaka Khan two years prior.

Moving onto Lenny Waronker's video package, it was a good package.  The problem with a lot of these record execs, when they get inducted, the inductions are cookie-cutter, making their credentials all seem kinda mid, as they're frequently hailed for their ability to understand their artists, and thus be able to give them the space to create.  To be willing to take risks and bet on creativity, knowing that it's okay if something doesn't sell big, and yet, it still often pays off.  It's almost as predictable as a Hallmark Christmas movie, but it's still the right call to induct such executives and encourage more executives to be like them.  His video speech was good; I guess he was too nervous to get onstage, or just didn't want to take up more time than necessary.  And he looks a little like he could've been related to Rene Auberjonois.  

Donald Glover was the right choice to induct Outkast, but his speech felt very standard.  Nothing wrong, but little that was memorable, especially since they edited out the part about asking those blocking the teleprompter to sit down.  I caught it on the night of the event, and noticed its absence on rewatching.  I feel like I'm being very redundant, but the cross sections in the video package were solid as well, showing the diversity of their sound.  The acceptance speeches were a lot of fun, between the game of rock, paper, scissors, to the beard picking, to the entire Dungeon family being up there.  I think Andre's speech was a little long, but it wasn't as bad as Q-Tip's last year.  And it probably felt longer when you could tell it wasn't prepared at all.  Like everyone else, I wish Andre would have performed too, but the tribute was phenomenal.  Doja Cat seemed to have a communication breakdown with the deejay (fixed in post, shown as decent on the stream now).  Tyler The Creator was absolutely the highlight of the night for me.  Janelle's performance of "Hey Ya" kinda paled in comparison, but her energy was undeniable, especially once she got down in the pits with the crowd.  In my humble opinion, "The Whole World" could have been the jam at the end, everyone singing the chorus from Bryan Adams to Cindy Lauper to Jack White.  If it wasn't for its non-album status, no one would question it as the closer for the set of the Outkast tribute.

The commercial... okay cool

Jim Carrey's speech for Soundgarden was fun.  Back in the day, I was too young to stay up and watch "In Living Colour," so I didn't get some of the bits, other than just him being goofy.  He seemed healthy, but he looked like he was going through chemotherapy (that coat/robe didn't help).  That said, his passion for the music was authentic.  I actually liked his comment about their music making rock and roll come alive again.  It's what John C. Reilly said in the White Stripes package about believing in it again, and it's a lot of what the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's mission is about.  It's about the evolution of rock and roll and how it finds the youth in their culture, in their moment, and it's not owned by any single demographic.  Both his speech and the package tried to find a balance between talking about Chris and celebrating the rest of the band, but didn't quite manage.  Matt got the most love other than Chris in terms of what he brought to the band.  The live performances really worked for television.  I don't know that I could have handled an actual concert, but this was really cool.  Hiro getting political for a brief moment was classic.  It's a true mark of Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremonies, right or wrong (right, in this case).  All the Soundgarden speeches were good, really, as were the performances.

I'm always impressed at how thorough the In Memoriam segment is for me.  The harder hitting deaths for me were Connie Francis, Jerry Butler, John Edwards, the two members of the Flamingos, Sonny Curtis, Mark Vollman, Quincy Jones, Lou Christie, Richard Perry, Bobby Sherman, Sly Stone, Sam Moore, and of course, Brian Wilson.  I also found it interesting that both members of Brewer And Shipley passed the same year.  Elton sounded like he was struggling.  But also, watching it a second time, it really seems like they tried to clean up some of the messiness that actually happened.  It seemed fine second time around, but still a little off.

The Carol Kaye package was phenomenal for its bits of "without bass" and "with Carol Kaye on bass."  Demonstrations that spoke louder than words.  But as others have said, why include the disputed records, especially the Motown records?  Her indisputable catalog is just too impressive to commit unforced errors like that.

Moving on to Cyndi Lauper, Chappell Roan was a good choice.  Not wearing contacts was not a good choice, and you could hear it in how her voice changed after she got past the opening lines that she clearly memorized.  Other than that, her speech was fine.  Cyndi comes off as an absolute sweetheart in the video package: bold, yet self-deprecating; passionate, but not without whimsy.  One of the more fun video packages of the night.  Admittedly, I wasn't thrilled with the set list for Cyndi, but given the statements she was making during the performance, the setlist was optimal.  Personally, I could've gone for "Money Changes Everything," or even just a moment of youthful silliness with "Taffy Butt."  Despite her getting into names and going a little long, Cyndi's speech was perfect.

The Chubby Checker situation... it basically came off as Chubby inducting himself via video.  I agree with Darren that the Hall did their best under the circumstances.  It looked like a proffering of an olive branch, including showing his being onstage at the first induction ceremony.  And when they showed his speech from the Des Plaines concert, you could see the joy in his eyes and on his face.  And closing it out with going back to "The Twist" was an apt closing to his segment.  It's just sad that it happened that way.  If I had bought tickets to the ceremony, his bailing on the ceremony would have really pissed me off, because he was the inductee I was happiest about finally being enshrined.  However, if the Hall wanted to subtly puncture Chubby's ego, they could induct Cameo/Parkway founder Bernie Lowe next year to remind him that the world wouldn't know who he is without Lowe, while also making it look like introducing Chubby Checker to the world is reason enough to induct him.  A nice subtle touch, right?  Teehee.

Sidebar: a lot of speculation has been made about why it went down the way it did.  I probably could have devoted an entry to it.  I mentioned in a couple places my thoughts, but let's put it here.  The short version is Chubby's ego got in the way.  That surprises exactly no one, but the way it did hasn't quite been stated by anyone the way I've articulated it.  Checker's got an ego; we know that from his ads and stunts, and even the audacity to claim disco moves and breakdancing draws direct lineage from the twist, pony, fly, or limbo.  It's not too far removed to say the dance craze of the early '60s, of which Chubby is THE symbol, broke down the doors for greater individual expression via dancing, but there were other rock and roll dances before Hank Ballard And The Midnighters' version of "The Twist," the bop and the stroll, for example.  But I digress.  With this induction, I think Checker wanted top billing, in this case, closing, but he also wanted to be the first one inducted.  He wanted to be first and last for the night.  I also think he wanted to be paid to be inducted... that inducting him was so essential for the Hall's credibility that they had to pay him to be allowed to induct him.  And that line about being in front of a paying audience?  I bet he wanted a cut of the ticket sales for the induction ceremony.  He wanted preference and deference, and the Hall had to work in the real world.   So when he didn't get what he wanted from the Hall, he got it in Des Plaines.  He got his induction in front of an audience that was paying to see only him, at an event he was being paid to be at.  He got his trophy and made his induction speech months before the ceremony, cutting the line and being first in a way, and the Hall put his segment in the penultimate spot, almost letting him close it out too. Plus, returning perceived spite with perceived spite, as the "private gig in Santa Barbara" has yet to be denied or refuted.  That's my hypothesis.  Back to our regularly scheduled programming.

When I realized they were closing with Joe Cocker, I realized it was actually a smart move for the ceremony managers.  That way, they weren't gonna end on a speech like they did with Missy, and they could end with a song that had massive jam potential, instead of a massive song by a jam band, like last year.  Bryan Adams' stage presence during his speech for Joe was stiff.  His words were personal, while highlighting what made Cocker unique and special, but the body language was that of someone who was trying not to panic.  Between his speech and his performance during the Bad Company set, I really don't think Bryan won over too many people for next year.  It might be enough to get him nominated, but I think not enough people were impressed enough to vote for him.  We'll see though.  I have to admit, I was only moderately swayed by the video package, but you can't deny the validity of the credentials.  If you're going to laud Linda Ronstadt's talents as an interpreter, you must afford Cocker the same courtesy, just not as consistent a catalog.  And again, it was lovely to see his widow in the audience.  The Tedeschi Trucks Band nailed it, as did Nathaniel Rateliff and Teddy Swims.  Chris Robinson overshadowed Bryan and Cyndi on the final number, and that may help the Black Crowes' chances for next year.  I'm still not sold on their credentials, but Chris played ball, you've got to give him that.

So those are my observations from the behind the screen.  The Chubby debacle may go down as one of the biggest "WTF?" events in Rock Hall ceremony history.  And I don't think Bryan Adams is going to rocket to the top of the list at the next Feast Of Hoagie.  The Black Crowes may fare a little better, given how Chris brought it at the end.  Beck's contributions were lost in the middle of a talent-packed tribute, but he's a past nominee, so impact: neutral.  He may get another nomination.  But those are all the thoughts I currently have about what may happen in 2026.  And that wraps it up for me for now.  A good ceremony overall.  Best performance was the Outkast tribute.  Best induction speech was given by Iggy Pop.  See you all when the cycle begins anew next year.

Eine kleine neue Fanfic (or Part 5)

 I was working on the Songs Of Proof list for the Class Of 2024 when cohost of the now defunct podcast "Playlist Wars," one Brian Colburn by name, announced that he would be returning to the microphone to start up a new "season" of his current podcast "My Weekly Mixtape."  This is relevant to this post for two reasons: one, "Playlist Wars" was the podcast that these fanfic entries are patterned after: making a ten-song playlist to compete against other people's ten-song playlists to see who put together the best one, celebrating music in a competitive manner; two, Brian is modifying the format of "My Weekly Mixtape" to accommodate the changes he is making in his personal life after life threw a few kitchen sinks at him.  Instead of twenty-song playlists built collaboratively with a guest, he will randomly be selecting an idea from a pool that others have submitted, and putting together a ten-song playlist on the fly for that topic, by himself.  That's an oversimplification, which will eventually include guests, interviews, and many of the things from the first season; but it's the basic blueprint going forward as well as I understand it.  No new episodes have emerged, as currently, playlist topics are being solicited, to have a big enough pool to make it fun and diverse.  So, since the new episodes will be ten-song lists, much like the individual efforts of "Playlist Wars," it is with that spirit that I wish to encourage Brian and wish him luck for this new season by dedicating this fanfic entry to be a tribute to what he'll be bringing us.

And I've chosen to use this new crop of inductees for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame to support Brian and help baptize this new season of "My Weekly Mixtape."  However, similar to the previous fanfic lists that I've shared here, the Performer inductees are the prerequisites, and the other categories are the electives.  So, no spinning the wheel, we have our topic, and in keeping with the spirit of the new approach, I thought of this list this morning while sorting my mail load, somewhat on the spot.  Time to playlist.

EDIT:  Since first publishing, I've also switched two songs around into something that works better, in my opinion.

Track 01:  "Werewolves Of London" by Warren Zevon

We're kicking things off with a song guaranteed to get the party started.  A familiar song to perk up people's ears.  It's a goofy and fun song that everybody loves.  It's an upbeat track, the subject matter really isn't all that serious, and everybody loves to do the howl during the chorus.  It's not brash or loud in any real sense that most playlist starters are, nor does it really build up to that point.  This is purely about recognizability to kick off the playlist and grab the listeners, bringing them along on this musical journey.  

Track 02:  "Maybe He'll Know" by Cyndi Lauper

Keeping the bouncy vibe going, we're getting to our first prerequisite, an inductee who got in via the ballot.  This is one of my absolute favorite tracks from Cyndi, and one that isn't as well-known as the Zevon track, but this does sound vaguely familiar, or at the very least has the bones of Cyndi's overall gestalt of the '80s in it.  This song evokes the mental image of Cyndi kind of skipping or flitting down the road, thinking of the boy she has a major crush on, hoping that he'll be able to intuit her feelings for him.  The bounciness is the way he makes her feel, nearly walking on air.    It keeps the party going, and c'mon, it's Cyndi Lauper!

Track 03:  "Shout It Out" by Nicky Hopkins

Finding a way to weasel in ten different artists even in this situation, we're going to the album Nicky Hopkins released as a solo artist, The Tin Man Was A Dreamer.  I was originally thinking of using "Banana Anna" for the second slot, because the piano stylings are somewhat similar and it just seemed to fit.  However, I didn't think it was all that wise to have a super deep cut so early in the playlist.  Putting something deeper in the third position seems to be not much more logical, but coming out of "Maybe He'll Know," it works better than other songs.  With this track, the piano line still has a bit of movement to it, but the overall feel of the song is softer, slightly less frenetic.  It does get a little lathered in parts, but the fade out at the end helps it lead into the fourth track.  Either way, I'm pretty proud to include this curveball to keep this playlist interesting and not get repetitive.

Track 04:  "Shoop" by Salt-N-Pepa

There's another fanfic playlist that uses this song, but it's more of a "play along at home" playlist of an episode of "Playlist Wars" that actually exists.  On that one, it's also track four, but that's really neither here nor there.  This is still a bouncy song, but it's not as spritely as the first two songs thus, or as fast as the third.  This will open the door to go elsewhere in this playlist.  One of the better known songs by this rap outfit, it saw a slight resurgence due to its use in the first "Deadpool" movie.  While slower and less bouncy, this is still every bit of fun, keeping the party going.  

Track 05:  "In The Cold, Cold Night" by the White Stripes

Since Performer inductees are prerequisites, the rest of this playlist consists of artists that got in through the ballot.  And since this is "My Weekly Mixtape" and not "Playlist Wars," the idea of finishing Side A is much more a thing to take into account when forging these playlists.  Even though a playlist is a continuous play, "My Weekly Mixtape" likes to take the idea of ending a side and starting fresh on the flip side, like a Memorex blank tape that we spent money on at the grocery stores, or at least I certainly did.  But I knew I wanted to end Side A with this song because I think it's highly underrated in the White Stripes' catalog.  Meg's voice is sultry, sexy, and seductive.  She's a siren on this cut, and Jack plays his guitar to fit the song and her voice perfectly.  And the ethereal mist that surrounds this song lingers even as the tape hits a hard stop, when it needs to be flipped.  I love this song as much, if not more, than the usual suspects like "Seven Nation Army," "Doorbell," and "We're Going To Be Friends."

Track 06:  "She Wants T'Swim" by Chubby Checker

Getting to the first song on the second side, we once again want to grab the listeners' collective attention, but because it's the second side, it doesn't have to be as bombastic or recognizable as the first song of Side A.  From 1964, this song only reached #50 on the Hot 100, but this is one of my two all-time favorites from Chubby Checker.  Part of this is because of the background singers, and once more, I'm going to remind the Hall of the importance of background singers.  They should be inducted under Award For Musical Excellence, and that should begin with the Jordanaires, but I digress.  This song also has a lot of the same arrangement style of Bobby Freeman's "C'mon And Swim," which first introduced that particular dance to the world.  But this is a really fun track, and Chubby's vocals suit it really well, going with the surf-ish style that accompanies the dance that mimics the motion of swimming.  And going from underrated song to another underrated song, just on the other side, is still fitting, even though everything else is a radical shift following the White Stripes.  Enjoy.

Track 07:  "Hey Ya!" by Outkast

We go from a few relatively obscure and underrated tracks to one of the premiere examples of monoculture in the United States during the twenty-first century.  And let's face it, if you got sick of this song in its heyday, no you didn't, and you definitely don't object to hearing this song again, now that it's off the charts.  And coming out of the Chubby Checker track, this is an upbeat track that is all about wanting to dance, from the lyric of "Y'all don't wanna hear me; you just wanna dance," to the music video that is a pastiche of "American Bandstand"  or the "Ed Sullivan Show."   But essentially, this can't be all deep cuts.  This is fun song, and it was enough to get Bob Merliss to vote for them.  And it's the best song from the remaining inductees to serve as the lynchpin for this whole mixtape in the seventh slot.  It's no secret weapon, but sometimes subtlety isn't necessary when hitting with the big guns.  And who didn't love the overdubs with the footage from the Charlie Brown Christmas special, too?  Please don't sue us.

Track 08:  "Outshined" by Soundgarden

Of the three remaining prerequisite, Performer inductees, Soundgarden probably seems like the oddest choice to follow Outkast, but this song still has a high voltage amount of energy.  And grunge in general would be a bit of downer, vibe-wise, to end the mixtape on, so we gotta fit it in prior to that.  This track definitely has a bit of the groove of the track prior, and that's why I feel it follows up the Outkast selection surprisingly well.  It's not as fast or joyful, but I feel it's a song that could keep the kids out on the dance floor, even if they had to switch up their moves a bit, to gyrations that are slower, more sludgy and intentional.  And being a little slower, it gives permission to do a stylistic left turn later on, which we don't really have yet on this side of the mixtape.  Slowing it down, but still grooving.  I'm not a huge Soundgarden fan, but I love how well this one fits into the pocket with this mixtape.  

Track 09:  "Love Me Somebody" by Bad Company

If this were still a "Playlist Wars" fanfic entry, I would argue that this is a song that is probably pretty well-known to the diehard fans of Paul Rodgers, but not as well-known to the general masses, but in both cases, this is a rare flex of versatility in a band whose songs rarely deviated from the axiom of "Sex, drugs, and rock and roll."  A surprisingly beautiful song that borders on soulful, this isn't a plea to get laid, but an entreaty for actual intimacy, for genuine connection on a level that runs deeper than Mammoth Cave.  And we needed a stylistic hard left turn from what we've had so far.  It's not completely a hard left turn, as the Soundgarden selection has a certain plodding pathos to it that carries through into this song.  Additionally, we need something soft and heartfelt on this side of the playlist just to mix it up a little bit.  This isn't a "leg day" playlist or something that requires a relative sameness across the board.  We're celebrating excellence in rock and roll, and it can reveal itself in even the most heartfelt moments.  Let's savor that here, shall we?

Track 10:  "Cry Me A River" by Joe Cocker

I'm gonna level with you: the reason that Joe Cocker is closing out this playlist is because he's the last Performer inductee that I remembered.  I told you I formulated this playlist over the course of the morning's office time, before I hit the road to start delivering.  But coming out of the Bad Company selection, it's a bit of a left turn.  That said, I don't care.  I feel that the rest of the "mixtape" hangs together relatively coherently, and I feel we need to end the playlist on a party vibe once again.  That requires a hard turn out of the soulful versatility of the track above.  And the album Mad Dogs And Englishmen, being a live album, gives us the greatest opportunity to close with a party (even though it's early on the actual album).  Between the call and response between Joe and the background singers, this is a great selection to usher the audience out of the building and out of the mixtape, telling everyone goodnight, and that it's time to go home, but we've really enjoyed your company.  And so have I.  I've enjoyed sharing this playlist with you, celebrating the Class of 2025 in this format.

And there we have it.  Our "Weekly Mixtape" celebrating the Class Of 2025.  No hidden bonus tracks this time, and no honorable mentions, as there's no one really leftover who had a recording career as a credited artist.  Finding the Nicky Hopkins album felt like a shoestring catch, in a way, just to make sure I had ten.  As I said at the top, I'm currently working on typing up my explanations for the Class Of 2024's Songs Of Proof.  I do apologize if this feels out of turn, doing a list for 2025 before putting the final bow on 2024's Class.  But I really wanted to get this typed up quickly, at least as a rough draft.  This whole entry is dedicated to Brian Colburn as he once again finds his motivation to share his love of music with all of us.  This is my tribute to what is yet to come.  Godspeed to you, Brian, and if you feel you need to step away from the mic to deal with real life, we understand and we're there for you, and hopefully this playlist/mixtape will remind you of that.  For everyone else, I hope you enjoyed the ride.  I made this list in a couple hours' time of cogitating while working on Tuesday (minus one song change I made on Wednesday) .  And I've typed up this rough draft the same night.  I wanted to get it done quickly.  Let's hope it's an entertaining read.  And as always, enjoy the tunes.

Son of a... CHIPMUNK! The Class Of 2025

 The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's Class Of 2025 has been announced.  I didn't watch "American Idol," opting instead to hear it on "Who Cares About The Rock Hall?", the podcast hosted by Joe Kwaczala and Kristen Studard.  So, as promised, this is a quick rundown of my thoughts about the inductees this year.

So, first of all, I was correct in there being only seven Performer inductees this year.  So, that's a minor victory.  Let's get the embarrassing part out of the way: Billy Idol, my number one seed, fell short. This is not the first time my top seed didn't make it, but it looks bad whenever it happens.  I will admit, over the past few days, I kind of debated bumping him down as low as number four.  Either way, though, I think almost everybody had him predicted to make it.  And that turned out to not be the case.  So, we'll all take the L on that one, holding hands and singing Beck's "Loser" in unison.  

Other than that, the other six of my top seven seeds all made it.  I'll start on the personal note and breathe a humongous sigh of relief that Chubby Checker is in via the ballot.  To me, it proves that the singles category was a sham and that these are artists who should remain in the conversation.  He also extends my streak of names coming off my list of one hundred to twenty-one years.  I'm enthusiastic for this, but I'm also dreading for how self-aggrandizing his speech will be.  I'd love to see a twist medley be the jam, just as a fun way to work in all the Performers, and maybe the presenters and side category inductees taking part.  If Mana had made it, they could sing part of "La Paloma Twist."  This is a huge win for my heart.  I feel the era of rock and roll between the "day the music died" and the arrival of the Beatles is so unfairly maligned.  Yes, there was a softening to some degree, but it was also a new, different wave of teenagers and young adults defining the youth culture during the Camelot years.  But as I believe I said on the "Rock In Retrospect" episode I was a guest on, how many songs actually become a franchise?  Like, a franchise with more than two parts to it.  Yes, there are plenty of answer songs, but going beyond two, the only other one I can think of is "Snoopy Vs. The Red Baron" by the Royal Guardsmen, which in turn spawned "The Return Of The Red Baron," "Snoopy For President," "The Smallest Astronaut," and of course, the biggest hit on Billboard's Christmas charts during the twentieth century, "Snoopy's Christmas", all by the Royal Guardsmen.  The twist franchise spanned across several artists including Hall Of Famers like Sam Cooke and Chuck Berry.   And I'll also say this thought, which I think I forgot to verbalize, or maybe it got edited, "The Twist" was the initial blastoff at Cape Canaveral that the whole nation paid attention to.  But that first blast couldn't have taken the twist as a craze, or the dance craze culture of that era through the stratosphere and into orbit.  Chubby kept up a prodigious dance output, maintaining the propulsion to keep it going.  The death of the dance craze was really ushered in by three things.  One of which was the Beatles, but the first one, in my opinion, was the assassination of John F. Kennedy.  The youthful-looking president who gave off cool older brother vibes, along with his Camelot idealism, also set a national tone that gave the kids of that time an optimism that let them dance.  His assassination was a seismic disruption in the culture.  The third, in my opinion, and probably also in reaction to the British Invasion, was a shift in vision and location of "American Bandstand."  But anyway, for that time period, Chubby was massive and massively important.  This is long overdue, and now the Marvelettes are, in my opinion, the biggest potential Performer inductee snub, though Mariah Carey is getting into that territory too, now that she's been passed up again.

Mariah didn't make it, and she'd been my most deserving artist on the ballot, but the second-most deserving act, Outkast, is in.  Not much surprise here.  I wanted this one too, I predicted it, and I was super-confident about it happening.  In spirit, I'm jumpin' 'round like a kangaroo about this.  I hope they perform.

From the second-most deserving, to my second favorite artist on the Personal Tastes List.  Cyndi Lauper is an inductee.  Not surprised, and not upset.  I'm pretty happy with this.  This is great.  

Soundgarden made it, and this is a huge win for harder rock.  Yes, grunge has gotten in before, but lately, some of the harder-edged acts haven't been able to get in.  Classic rock hasn't though, not recently, as evidenced by the inclusion of Bad Company in this class.  This was one where no one was surprised, but there was a lot of eye-rolling and sighing that "Hall gonna Hall."  At the same time, everyone can name at least one song by them that they like.  So, few truly love it, but no one really hates it, a net win overall.

We can't always get what we want, and for me, that's Joe Cocker getting in.  But hey, it's not about me, and a lot of my friends in the Hall watching community are over the moon for this.  I'm happy for them, and let's face it, even I liked him a bit more than I thought I would.  I'm happy for my friends and Cocker's widow and family.  

The only name I didn't predict as making it, but did have them as very likely to bust my predictions, was the White Stripes, but this is one I'm happy about.  As a native Great Lake Stater, I root, root, root for the home bands.  But I was in earnest and honest about rating them in the upper half of both merits and personal enjoyment, even lowering them below Soundgarden and Joy Division / New Order this time after having them ranked above them on the previous merits list last time all three were on the ballot together.  

So, just by the stats of my lists: only four of the top seven on my Merits List made it, five of the top seven of my Personal Tastes List, six of the seven that I voted for in the Fan Vote, and six of my top seven seeds.  So, for my voting and my prognostications, I feel I'm doing pretty well.

The Performer category was overall pretty predictable, the other categories were anything but.  Admittedly, when I saw a tweet from the Nicky Hopkins account about the upcoming inductee announcement, I had a strong suspicion that he was getting inducted in the Award For Musical Excellence category.  And that was correct.  And I've no objection.  This was a pretty logical successor to Al Kooper, so I'm pretty happy with this one.  I knew who he was, but didn't quite know the scope of his resume, and probably still don't, but I did know that was very extensive and probably warranted induction.  Being a solo Beatles fan, I know he was all over Ringo's big album "Ringo."  

Somewhat surprising is the induction of Thom Bell in this category.  What made it surprising is that this is one that many of us in the hobbyist community badly wanted, but had lost hope of happening after he passed away, and certainly lost hope of happening after the Spinners got inducted.  I love Philly soul, and would love to see the Delfonics, Stylistics, and other 70s soul vocal groups get inducted.  Sadly, this may be the final representation of that era of soul music.  That's tragic, but getting this man inducted is deeply satisfying.

What really feels satisfying though, is getting Carol Kaye inducted.  This is a victory lap that all of us should take.  Joe, Kristen, Eric, Mary, Nick, Tom, Michelle, Mark, Charles, Jason, Neil, Greg, Donnie, Rick, Darren, Darin, Kyle, and anyone else I forgot... we should all take credit for this one.  And I will objectively include myself in that list, as I tried to perpetuate the EveryDayWithCarolKaye hashtag on Twitter to show how ridiculous it is to exclude a woman who was the most in-demand session bassist during the '60s and whose discography is likely in quintuple digits.  We did it, gang.  We didn't get Estelle Axton, yet, but we got Carol, and that is huge.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the New York Dolls not getting induction after the final member passing away.  The Musical Influence category choices, though, that were chosen were even wilder.  Listening to Joe and Kristen, there was desperate cry of "Make it make sense!" from them as well as their guest, Joey Devine.  What was so nonsensical?  Try Warren Zevon being inducted as an Influence.  Traditionally, even with the redefining of this category, there was always a sense that this was for artists whose music was progenitive of subgenres or styles that came later.  That really can't be said of Zevon, I don't think.  I could be wrong, but I'm not familiar with subgenres that Warren Zevon's music spawned.  And it's ludicrous how this is happening after he'd only been on the ballot once before.  They gave up after one try and a couple failed attempts to re-nominate him?  I can only imagine the frustration of the NomComm member who figured the only hope was to get him in through whichever side category committee they were on, but it still feeds odd.  And not the same kind of odd that Zevon himself could be in his music, but odd as in the house is leaning a little too much for my liking kind of way.   Even wilder in this category is Salt-N-Pepa.  This is even crazier than Jimmy Buffett last year.  They could be on the ballot.  Would they make it?  Maybe?  Maybe not?  Yes they were influential for women in hip-hop, but to never even nominate them and see if the voting body would go for them?  I couldn't call myself a diehard fan of them, but even I am flabbergasted.

Which brings me to a point that I have harped on repeatedly in the past and have been criticized for.  And I'm kind of hoping these two inductions will allow my critics to see my point of view a little more clearly now.  As I type this, reaction episodes from "Hall Watchers" and "Rock In Retrospect" haven't dropped, but Joe, Kristen, and Joey all seemed quite upset at these two Musical Influence inductees, for not trying them (again) on the ballot, and how recent they are for this category.  And the upset from Jimmy Buffett just going in as a reactionary measure when he'd have run away with the voting through the ballot last year.  But I've been harping for years now on how it is not the same honor, just because your obituary will still say "Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer."  Well, it'll say that for all three ladies in Salt-N-Pepa, but that doesn't seem to make anyone happy.  I guess if you care about an artist enough and their legacy, it's not the same honor when they could have been voted in.  That layer of validation from the voting body matters when it's an artist you care so much about.  For me, it's about the institution and its integrity to operate within their parameters and not just change the rules as it suits them, but this year, it was also about caring so much about Chubby Checker's contributions as a rock and roller.  This year, I won on that gamble, and others lost.  Again, maybe the other podcasts will just be happy they're in, regardless of category, but if Joe K. and J-Kidding are predictive, no they won't.  Or at the very least, increased dismay and incredulity from the panels.  But it just won't feel like the same honor.

Turning to the last inductee, the least exciting name for any of us, is that of Lenny Waronker getting the Non-Performer induction, officially called the Ahmet Ertegun award.  The reason I saved this for last, is because when Joe called him a nepo-kid, a light bulb in my head went off.  I'd known the name Waronker before, I had to check, and sure enough, I was right:  Lenny is the son of Simon Waronker, an executive at Liberty Records back in the late '50s and early '60s.  You may not know of Daddy Waronker's accomplishments, but his name lives on because, and this is absolutely true, the blue-clad, brainy brother in Alvin And The Chipmunks is named after Simon Waronker.  Simon, the smart chipmunk and beau of Jeanette of the Chipettes, is named after the dad of this year's Non-Performer inductee.  I won't go so far as to call it hilarious, but it's definitely amusing to find a link to what for many about my age was the first musical group they loved, because they were part of our Saturday morning viewing habits.  It's such a weird piece of trivia, and I am here for it!

So that's my reaction to the class, hastily assembled as foretold.  A lot of the things we said about the ballot apply to the class, just with a few more women and a few more people of color.  The stats still ain't great, but it's what we have now.  So, with that, I'll bid you a happy time of sitting with this class and maybe digging deep into each of these inductee's legacies.  I know I definitely need to brush up on a few of them a bit more.  I still have the previous class's Songs Of Proof to publish, and hopefully I get to that over the summer.  But that's where I am right now.  Take care everybody.