Songs Of Proof: The Class Of 2017

After the disappointing homogeneity with the Class Of 2016, people were keeping a suspicious eye on the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame to see what would happen with this next class.  Watchers were not only keeping a close eye on the ballot, but  also on the fan ballot, making sure that it doesn't get hacked again.  After a class that was overwhelmingly classic rock, surely a class that was only about half classic rock would appease the hobbyist community, right?  Well, apparently not.  Why?  Well, maybe to some, it just seemed that the other inductees were a matter of either being obligatory or being tokens.  One of them seemed to be both.

The other reason that this class seemed to be unsatisfying is because it is what Mark Twain described as the other great tragedy in life: getting what you want.  After eleven failed nominations, the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Foundation finally showed their hand: it was really all just about the love for the one guy anyway.  For those who'd been clamoring to just give a special award to the guy, the result was unsatisfying.  For those who opposed this side door induction, this was infuriating.  For fans of that group, it was downright appalling.  So, with all these shenanigans going on, the fact that they still found time to make half the Performer inductees classic rock acts just did not fly with much of the hobbyist crowd.  Besides them, there's the obligatory induction of a newly eligible band that was a darling for the Nominating Committee, a seemingly token pick of a female Performer, the aforementioned side door inductee, and the rapper that was both an obligatory newly eligible and also a token African-American inductee.  But again, it's not a bad class; it's just hard to feel we got the greatest class we could have had from this ballot.  At the very least, we're happy that they inducted six Performers instead of just five.  With the Award For Musical Excellence inductee, we get seven.  Seven inductees saluted with seven songs.


Joan Baez:  As was the case with Miles Davis, the most basic problem with choosing a song for the inductee stems from the fact that even the Performer inductee doesn't consider their music to be rock and roll at all.  At her induction, Baez said that she wasn't really rock and roll, but that she had an immense impact on rock and roll.  That much is absolutely true.  Largely the reason we know who Bob Dylan is, her own music also had a wide impact on America at large.  And while she was folk, folk's roots and traditions share some of the history from which we also get country, western, bluegrass; and it is therefore quite possible to blend the parent style in with the child style.  It's also kind of ironic that she was such a huge influence on Bob Dylan, one of the most original artists of our time, considering that she herself often needed encouragement to be more daring and original, whether it was writing her own songs, or using a wider variety of instrumentation, or even using backup vocalists.  It's a long way from her live performance of "We Shall Overcome" to "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down."  As with Miles Davis, I felt the key was to choose a song with a sound that was as close enough to what we might generally consider rock and roll that it would justify her induction.  To that end, I went with "Blue Sky," with it brazen guitar sound (brazen for her, at least) and solid beat, it's a pretty rockin' song, so maybe Joan is a part-time rocker, just enough to warrant her induction.

Electric Light Orchestra:  I have to admit, I had never heard of Electric Light Orchestra until I was a teenager.  I was working in a restaurant as a dishwasher, and one of the cooks was telling me about them, how they used orchestral instruments to create a tremendous sound.  I asked, "Like Chicago?"  "Kind of..." was the reply.  Well, where Chicago used horns, Electric Light Orchestra used strings.  Their production was impeccable and their sound was unique and unmistakable.  A hit making machine to boot, this was a band that was well loved by the public, and with Jeff Lynne in the studio, they were also extremely well-connected in the industry.  It's little wonder they got in as soon as they were nominated.  The choice of song for this act is kind of fun for me, because the hobbyist community includes a very ardent fan of Electric Light Orchestra.  So, unless I choose the exact song that that fan would choose, I know I'll be disappointing at least one person with my selection.  Of course, the fact that I'm restricting it to one song probably disappoints that fan.  And because they had so many hits, I want to make sure the song chosen was a sizable hit.  Further disappointment!  Fortunately, I did not use "Don't Bring Me Down," though I do love that one.  Later Electric Light Orchestra songs don't capture that original uniqueness, as the band was greatly reduced by that point.  That said, I maintain that "Hold On Tight" sounds like it could have been a Jerry Lee Lewis song with its pumping rhythm and tone color of Jeff Lynne's voice on it.  A tribute to the Killer, and I will insist on that until my dying day.  Anyway, I actually chose "Turn To Stone," with its phasing sound, string slides, vocal harmonies, driving rhythm, and everything else about it that just seems to fully capture the ethos of the band that the Beatles might have evolved into had they not broken up.

Journey:  When the nominees on this ballot were announced, there was little discussion about who would finish first in the fan vote.  Of course, it didn't hurt that Journey took off early, took off fast, and had a gigantic lead by the end of the first day.  After that, there was nothing else to discuss.  Journey had a lot of things going against them, keeping the band out for so long.  Journey is right up there among the first five acts one tends to rattle off when they talk about "corporate rock" from that era.  My first experiences with Journey were also rather negative.  The station I used to work for was in the Adult Contemporary format so when I thought of Journey, I thought of "Open Arms" and "Faithfully."  Of course, they had many, many more hit records that those two.  They certainly weren't a one-trick pony band, and yet, when they are discussed in modern times, it's usually one song that everyone remembers them for.  The resurgence of popularity for Journey, particularly for "Don't Stop Believin'" is something of an inexplicable phenomenon, even more so than how and why rickrolling began.  Between the television show "Glee," its popularity at weddings, and general pervasiveness, that song, and Journey as a whole, have become something that, good or bad, seems to embody Americana as a concept.  That's why "Don't Stop Believin'" is used here, even though it is far from my favorite song by them.  (Vocal Group Hall Of Fame Song Of Proof: "Lights")

Pearl Jam:  When Nirvana got nominated, I took the time to research them, and found out that a lot of the preconceived notions I'd held about grunge were due largely in part to the songs of Nirvana, not realizing they were responsible for the songs that gave me those notions.  When Pearl Jam got nominated, I similarly took the time to listen to more of their music.  And while I was surprisingly delighted to learn that Nirvana was responsible for much of the grunge I liked,  with Pearl Jam I was less than impressed.  Whereas Nirvana expressed a lot of exothermic anger and pathos, Pearl Jam's anger and pathos was more endothermic, the sound of dying inside, rather than raging to stay alive.  And it was still every bit as authentic of grunge as Nirvana.  Overall, I just don't care for their music, but I still recognize the importance of their music in helping direct the flow of rock and roll during the '90's.  They helped direct that flow in an even and steady manner.  Perhaps that's why I chose to use "Even Flow" to represent them.  And because it was one of the songs that annoyed me the least when researching them a bit further.  It was also the heaviest sounding well-known song of theirs.  It just seemed like the perfect choice over all.

Nile Rodgers:  As much as I could love to file this one just after Joan Baez, it wasn't Chic being inducted, but just Nile Rodgers.  This is one of those situations where hobbyists like me kind of say, "Yes... but no..."  On its face, it's not a bad induction.  Nile was certainly a whiz of a producer in the studio and also lent his musical chops in a sideman-like capacity numerous times.  His resume outside of Chic is quite impressive.  So, there should be no objection, right?  Well...  A lot of naysayers of Chic's repeated nominations squarely pegged it as a way of showing love for Nile Rodgers, because he was a founding member of the Foundation, and was on the Nominating Committee for a long time.  The whole business of repeated nominating Chic was just a facade to gladhand Nile Rodgers and thank him for being him and for all he's done within the Foundation.  Unfortunately, the voting bloc didn't feel that Chic's music was up to snuff.  Even more unfortunately, the subcommittees decided to shove a huge middle finger toward the voting bloc and insist on inducting Nile Rodgers this way.  Yet even more unfortunately, the music of Chic--the legacy of being sampled, the intense guitar work, the funky rhythms, the sultry singing--seems to have been flung by the wayside, proving those naysayers right.  I hope Chic comes back, even if for no other reason than to justify Nile's induction in this category as being genuinely about his extraneous work.  That said, even if Chic does come back and get inducted, the song for Nile here will still be Chic's "Le Freak," because it's on Chic's records that you can most easily identify all the production and musical prowess that Nile lent to other artists throughout his extensive career.

2Pac:  As a legendary rapper, a solo superstar, and something of a martyr, it was only logical to induct this Vulcan on his first year of eligibility (Thought I forgot about that joke, didn't you?).  There's no doubt that 2Pac made a monumental impact on the world of rap, and the world of music as a whole, but his career and legacy of songs also does present a potential quandary for the Hall.  See, 2Pac had a huge string of hit songs, both on the pop and R&B charts, but on very few of them was he the sole artist of credit.  If you remember my guidelines from the first post in this series, explaining the whole idea, I specifically said I tried to use songs where the inductee is the only artist of credit, as much as possible.  Well, during the mid-90's, it seems that hip-hop and rap created a new culture, where credit is given to as many as possible, to share the wealth and the fame.  Even superstars like Jay-Z and Sean Combs have several records where there is also a credit of "with," "featuring," or "introducing," or some sentiment like that.  How will this play out in the Hall?   After all, can a rapper be deemed worthy of induction if they aren't the sole artist of credit on at least one of their big hits?  As I said, this probably speaks more to a cultural shift, one that is most prominent in the rap community, but has branched out to pop, rock, electronica, and other styles.  No one does non-credited guest appearances like Paul McCartney on Donovan's "Mellow Yellow," or like Mick Jagger on Carly Simon's "You're So Vain."  Now, even the spoons player has to be credited.  Again, it's probably more of a cultural thing than an issue of lacking talent.  In this case, I managed to sidestep it though, because 2Pac's the only credited artist on "Keep Ya Head Up," a great jam with a good beat, positive message, and mad rapping skills.  There really was little need to look further once I found this song.

Yes:  Except for 2015, prog-rock has been on a fairly steady march since Rush finally got the nod in 2013.  Peter Gabriel brought his prog roots to his solo career, Deep Purple had ties to it with Lord's keyboard work, the Moody Blues got the nod this past year, and of course, we have Yes in this class.  Despite being prog, they had a pretty lengthy chart history, especially once the Album Tracks chart debuted in the '80's.  Before that, they were making legendary songs that people still love to crank up.  I'm not a big fan myself, as I'm not big into prog, Jon Anderson's voice always grated against my tympanic membrane, and "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" was completely ruined for me during my time working at McDonald's, where sophomoric co-workers used to sing along with this when it came on the Muszak, but insisted on singing it as "Owner Of A Smelly Fart."  Man, I'm so glad I don't work there anymore.  Despite that, their '80's stuff is more interesting to me, but I still went with an earlier song to salute Yes.  Funny enough though, I don't know if this song is considered a medley or not.  I've seen some say yes, others say no.  I tend to think of it as similar to a Queen song, where they change moods in the middle, and finish out the end in that second mood.  I don't see the two parts being incongruous with each other; it's just a shift.  The first part is definitely the classically inspired part; the other is the solidly rocking part.  It's "Your Move (I've Seen All Good People)"

And with that, we are at the end of our look at the Class Of 2017.  For those who don't quite remember, you can argue that I either went 5/6, or because Chic was seeded seventh, and Nile got in, that I went 5.5/7.  A lot of people did just as well as me predicting this class too.  As for the songs chosen, what do you think?  Do you agree with the song selections?  What song would have chosen instead?  Have your say in the Comments below.  Recapping:

Joan Baez: "Blue Sky"
Electric Light Orchestra: "Turn To Stone"
Journey: "Don't Stop Believin'"
Pearl Jam: "Even Flow"
Nile Rodgers: "Le Freak" by Chic
2Pac: "Keep Ya Head Up"
Yes: "Your Move (I've Seen All Good People)"