Songs Of Proof: The Class Of 2013

And now we are at the Class Of 2013.  After the special subcommittee's election of the six groups from the year before, there's a renewed sense of optimism regarding the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.  There's also a bit of skepticism, though, because for the second time, they did a side door induction of a Performer nominee into the Early Influence category.  We've also experienced confusion regarding the Award For Musical Excellence category, as they inducted three engineers that could just as easily have been considered Non-Performer inductees.   So, we're all eager to find out what's next, but we're also wary.

Fortunately, the Class Of 2013 was about as straightforward as could be.  The inductees included two Non-Performers who were clearly most deserving of that slot.  One could have been nominated as a Performer, or could have really shaken up the Award For Musical Excellence category, having just about done it all.  The other one is a well-known, established producer who was even mentioned by name in a Simon And Garfunkel song.  The Performer category is pretty awesome this time too.  Once again, they inducted six Performers, a trend we wish would not just continue, but increase, and it's far from a homogeneous mix.  The quirky, hard-to-peg singer/songwriter, the disco queen, a major rap act, prog, the classic rock staple, and the blues.  Perhaps the biggest news, though, was the fan vote!  It's so ingenious too: the mass amalgamation accounts for a single ballot amidst six hundred to seven hundred votes, and yet the fans flock to it to participate.  And to date, the first-place finisher in the fan vote has always gotten in, and although there is no proof of causation, the correlation is so strong that any sensible hobbyist no longer bets against it when making their predictions.  And even though the trend for the fan vote has become predictable, just pick the lowest common denominator nominee to win, we'd rather still have it than not.  It's a good feature that keeps the people caring about the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, and it gives us classes like this.  As for this project, the downside is, we are coming now to classes with very few inductees that I've been passionate about.  Consequently, many of the songs chosen are the more obvious choices.  There are still some exceptions, of course, but it's largely becoming predictable as the classes themselves.  Still, I hope you enjoy a good playlist consisting of:


Lou Adler:  A big name among producers in the '60's, big enough and timely enough to be mentioned in Simon And Garfunkel's "A Simple Desultory Philippic."  He's been a successful songwriter, record label founder, concert and film producer, and venue owner.  His gift for creative overseeing is limited only by his ambition, and back in the day, that was pretty boundless in its own right.  As the founder for the record label that gave us "Eve Of Destruction," and also the man who helped foist Cheech And Chong on the world, he was as big of a driving force for the counterculture in America as his recording talent, and his songwriting talents, the latter of which included Steve Barri And P.F. Sloan, a criminally overlooked songwriting duo, in my opinion.  Of course, though, no discussion about Lou Adler's accomplishments would be anywhere near complete without mentioning him as the producer of Carole King's magnum opus, Tapestry.  If his career were nothing else but that album, he would still be a strong possibility for induction.  It simply cannot be ignored, and the song to salute him does indeed come from this album.  He is recognized by the smooth track, "It's Too Late."

Heart:  If there's one inductee from this class I would not have bet on for you to predict which song I chose, it'd be this one.  I bet if I gave you ten guesses, you wouldn't guess, because the song I've chosen is not one that is remembered much either by classic rock or adult contemporary stations.  It's odd that I wouldn't go with one of the more cliche songs, because I really am not that big of a fan of Heart.  I tend to find Ann's vocals on the early songs to be a little off-putting, and the power ballads are a little schmaltzy, in my opinion.  I suspect that latter sentiment is shared by others to the extent of being the reason it took so long to get Heart inducted.  This is a band with two notable eras, much like Van Halen, Genesis, and the Drifters.  There is the era with songs that show a very strong Led Zeppelin influence, such as "Magic Man," "Barracuda," and "Crazy On You;" and the era of the power ballads that people think they can sing along to, like "Never," "Alone," and "These Dreams."  None of which are the song that I've chosen to honor them with.  After brushing up on their singles discography a little bit better, I ultimately narrowed it down to two songs.  One of them was "If Looks Could Kill," which is one of the few songs by them that I actually really love.  It's a song that comes from their later era, but it has all the bite of their earlier works.  But it charted just a little too lowly for the standards I try to use in this project.  So I went with a song that charted higher.  The song chosen definitely skews more toward the power ballad side of things, but it still contains a great guitar solo in the middle that hearkens back to the days of songs like "Straight On," though it's much more melodic so as to fit the song.  How many of you readers out there predicted that I would choose "Who Will You Run To" as the song to represent Heart?  If you raised your hand, I'm calling you out as a liar.

Quincy Jones:  Not too many people dare to create a list of major snubs in any category other than Performer, but for those who do, someone in everyone's Top 5 got crossed off their lists in 2013.  Some have suspected the reason he was snubbed for so long was because he started up a magazine that was competition to Rolling Stone.  It's not a theory I ascribe to personally, nor do I buy the notion that it's racism, though the "disco sucks" sentiment that seemed to have captivated the powers-that-be for several years could have been a factor.  Personally, I don't have a theory, and now that he's been inducted, I don't need to have one either.  Once they're inducted, it really doesn't matter what took so long--doesn't matter if you're talking about Quincy Jones, the Moody Blues, or hopefully someday the Marvelettes.  For all the hats he's worn, it seems that one song would prove insufficient to honor him, but I did indeed stick to one.  And while I'm personally grateful for the hand he had in Lesley Gore's career, I did not use a song from her.  Though he's a behind-the-scenes kind of guy, he's also had several records where he has been the artist of credit.  Finding the right one is tricky though, because he often shared label credit with other artists, something I generally try to avoid.  The song I've chosen for him is "Stuff Like That," a solid disco record with a few disco divas singing the lyrics, and Quincy being the main man providing the overall groove of the song.  I'd love to hear more of the story of how this song came to be, and how it came to be credited to Quincy alone, but for now, I'm too busy boogieing in my chair when I listen to it.

Albert King:  Following the induction of Freddie King as an Early Influence the year before, there was a lot of worry that the same fate would befall Albert King.  Thankfully that didn't come to pass, nor should it have.  The last of the major "King" bluesmen to be inducted, his music was awfully powerful and moving.  John Mayer made an interesting argument for the notion of transitive influence, which ultimately I don't lend credence to, partially because Mayer eventually found himself enraptured directly from listening to Albert King's records.  I saw a documentary about the Wattstax benefit concert, and it included King's performance of "I'll Play The Blues For You."  Absolutely spellbinding.  His sound is often imitated but has never been truly duplicated.  That's part of what made it so difficult to choose one song for him.  Eventually I had to go back to the historically venerated, and that was what ultimately led to the selection of "Born Under A Bad Sign," a song that breaks away from the traditional A-A'-B blues format, but could have easily been done that way, too.  But anything ranging from "Crosscut Saw" to "Laundromat Blues" to "Don't Throw Your Love On Me Too Strong" would have been an absolutely stellar choice.  His entire catalog is held in high esteem by any devotee of the blues, and that's how it should be.

Randy Newman:  When I first read that Randy Newman had been nominated once before, as a candidate for the Class Of 2005, I was a bit incredulous.  It's also somewhat amusing that on that ballot, among others, he lost out to Percy Sledge.  In all fairness, if it came down to choosing between Randy Newman and Percy Sledge, I'd have probably voted for Percy Sledge too, certainly back in 2005, at least.  That said, even though I'm not a dilettante of his music, I respect his selection as part of what the Hall does.  The Hall works to enshrine and honor a variety of artists, including those whose quality of work and talent greatly overshadow their commercial success and name recognition.  That was the case for Darlene Love in 2011, and Laura Nyro in 2012.  It'd be a double-standard for me to not allow the same leeway to apply to Randy Newman as part of the Class Of 2013.  As tempting as it was to use "Short People," his lone hit on the Hot 100, I went for the more acclaimed and more rocking, "I Love L.A.," which still includes his subtle and biting wit, both in the praise of Los Angeles itself, and also in the early comments about other cities.  It's a fun record that can fly over people's heads if they get lost in the instrumentation, but still has something to say.  And yes, as a child of the '80's and '90's, my introduction to Randy Newman was indeed "You've Got A Friend In Me," from the Toy Story soundtrack.

Public Enemy:  This is another one of those instances where I had to default to the one big record that everyone knows.  "Fight The Power" is the song selected not just because of its historical impact, but because it contains all the trademark elements of Public Enemy records.  First off, the message of social conscience.  The title alone is completely without nuance.  Unlike "Night Of The Living Baseheads," where you have to have enough life experience and knowledge of urban culture just to know what a "basehead" is, you only need to have taken American history in elementary school to know that "Fight The Power" doesn't mean adopting a Luddite lifestyle and eschewing electricity.  The lyrics themselves are punchy and get to the message, but are not without nuance either--"Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamp."   It's a call to action lyrically, and the arrangement gives a beat that insists you get out of your seat and march in a protest.  Terminator X's samples and deejaying, Chuck D's power of presentation, Flavor Flav's trademark hype work... I'll be honest I've never been too clear on what Professor Griff brought to the table, but I'm not leaving him out either.  These are all things that Public Enemy is known for, and it's why had to be "Fight The Power" to represent them.

Rush:  A few weeks ago I was besought with a request regarding the song used to pay tribute to Rush.  Specifically, I was asked to not make it one of the more well-known songs that get played a lot on classic rock radio.  While I didn't leak any information, one might infer from what I did say that this person would be disappointed.  I simply said that all the songs have already been chosen.  This is a project I put together years ago, and have made efforts to maintain and update.  Rush have been Hall Of Famers for five years now, so while their song could change, it's not likely to.  When the defining traits of Rush are analyzed, we have the complexity of Neil Peart, both his drumming and the lyrics he wrote for the band; we have the high soaring voice of Geddy Lee, which doesn't appeal to me personally but has captivated legions of fans, and the low pulses of his bass and the interjections from his keyboard work; and you have the underrated guitar solos, fills, and stings that Alex Lifeson brings with impeccable precision.  So even though I'm not personally a fan of Rush, I do have respect for their musicianship.  And while it may be considered cliche, I do feel all those elements culminate rather synchronously in their second-highest hit on the pop charts, "Tom Sawyer."  It's one of the songs I was asked to avoid using to pay homage to Rush, but sometimes the great unwashed get it right.  And you may have that great unwashed to thank for getting Rush inducted, as they were the act to finish in first place in the fan vote the first year it was implemented.  So, as the fan favorite among the nominees that year, maybe it's fitting to use a fan favorite song to honor the band they voted for.  Even if you don't think it's the optimal song to use, it's not a wrong call.  It's a classic for a reason, and it epitomizes the standard to which Rush elevated prog rock.

Donna Summer:  It's a terrible tragedy that Donna Summer didn't live to see her induction, a fact that was bemoaned by her presenter, Kelly Rowland, and her family that accepted the award on her behalf.  It was hoped that her induction, along with Quincy Jones, would finally eradicate the stigma against disco in the Hall, but that really doesn't seem to be the case at all.  Just another example of the Death Fairy, inducting a person after they died, which is a particular tragedy because she'd been nominated a few times before her death, but couldn't break through until afterwards.  Her induction was something of a last hurrah for the world of R&B before classic rock started dominating the conversation.  Sadly, there are still the multitude that think R&B, particularly disco, have nothing to do with rock and roll.  Think that rock and roll is music of the guitar?  Listen to her songs more closely: there are searing guitar solos that could rival some of your classic rock favorites.  The difference is that the solos are perfunctory, not self-indulgent.  It's a quality of musicianship that anyone who took band in high school understands.  It's ultimately more important to make the song sound great, not the musician.  Maybe that's part of the problem, as the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame certainly celebrates more than its fair share of showboating egomaniacs, but a quality guitar solo that elevates the song is much preferred than a three-minute featurette that conflates virtuosity and egotism.  While I'm not a huge Donna Summer fan, it's also incredibly important to acknowledge her influence upon female musicians that followed her.  What made her stand above all the other disco divas could be production, could be luck, or more likely her talent and work ethic, but there's no denying that among the disco divas, she is their queen.  And just to prove that disco has just as much of a solid rock and roll beat, a guitar solo, and everything else that puts that bogus theory that disco ain't rock to bed, I chose "Hot Stuff," which has all that and more, and can still be danced to.  If it's not the perfect song to use for Donna Summer, it's sure a close contender, and I'm using it here.

Not much else to say after that, and no other inductees in this class, so that must complete our profile look at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's Class Of 2013.  For those who want a reminder, I went 4/6 in my selections for this class.  And my #7 seed from that list made it as well, so a definite improvement over the past couple predictions.  How about you?  How'd your predictions do that year?  What songs would you have selected?  Make mention in the Comments below.  Recapping this eight-song playlist:

Lou Adler: "It's Too Late" by Carole King
Heart: "Who Will You Run To"
Quincy Jones: "Stuff Like That"
Albert King: "Born Under A Bad Sign"
Randy Newman: "I Love L.A."
Public Enemy: "Fight The Power"
Rush: "Tom Sawyer"
Donna Summer: "Hot Stuff"