Predictions on the 2019 ballot

Several others of the hobbyist community, those who follow the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, have already laid in their predictions.  Their predictions for who will be nominated and placed on the ballot, that is.  People generally are thinking along the same lines, predicting a lot of similar names, and now, I'm going to level a prediction.

After a season's abstinence from predicting the ballot, I'm back and formulating my thoughts.  Harboring no illusions of any great changes coming from that peculiar institution, the names to appear here will be pretty safe, standard picks.  I don't even have a left-field nominee this year, though there were a couple names I was considering for that purpose.  And after having spent this year revealing and explaining the selections of my passion project, the energy level is a bit low, so with any luck, this will be a shorter predictions post that what other hobbyist bloggers have written.  They mostly break down into segments.

First off are the young guns.  Normally, we'd be calling this the evaluation of newly eligible artists, but after last year, it needs to be a little more encompassing.  Sure, I still think we'll have two newly eligible artists on the ballot.  For starters, Beck has got to be a bit of a darling with the powers-that-be.  His music, his image, his quirks... they all scream "prime candidate for immediate induction," or at least they did as recently as ten years ago.  His induction no longer seems as sure, but his nomination should still be happening.  In the same boat, at least in my opinion, we find OutKast, the hip-hop duo whose pop sensibilities were just so infectious, so catchy, and crossed over so effortlessly, that getting them on the ballot also seems like a relative no-brainer.  However, I think we'll also see the return of our two acts that were newly eligible last year.  First off, the seemingly sure shot Radiohead should return after somehow missing out last year.  It's a tradition that includes Aerosmith and Queen, so Radiohead should be back for another pass, hopefully with less controversy involved.  Likewise, expect Rage Against The Machine, with guitarist Tom Morello on the Nominating Committee to be given a second shot at their induction.  Those four should be the primary representatives for the youngest generation of eligible artists.

However, it wouldn't be a Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame ballot these days without it being mathematically possible for there to be an entire induction class of classic rock staples.  To that end, I think we'll see Judas Priest return for the second time in a row.  The Hall may even wish to forgo nominating another prog-rock act to focus on representing metal a little more.  As the preferred classic rock act that missed out last year, they're a strong bet to return.  But there will also be some new names appearing on the ballot to maintain the classic rock funnel.  The big story to break this past year in our circle has been the revelation of how Irving Azoff has managed to work from an unofficial nomination seat and get his clients inducted.  Most are currently eyeing to see if the Doobie Brothers make the ballot.  Maybe now that we know about it, the spell will be broken, but it'd be foolhardy to bet against it at this point, so I'm going to predict them to be on the ballot as well.  Another classic rock name that should appear will be Bad Company, after a recent tweet with a picture of Paul Rodgers and Little Steven, it appears very likely that this will be the act that the bandanna man will fight for in the room.  And with classic rock rolling strongly right now, it's more a matter of "when" than "if."  Two more names that have been coming up quite a bit throughout the past year, though not from anybody close to the Foundation, have been Foreigner and Def Leppard.  It seems a little unlikely that there'd be two metal acts on the same ballot, but then again, ask any hardcore metal fan, particularly that of Judas Priest, and they'll tell you that Def Leppard and all of hair metal isn't really heavy metal at all.  We'll see if any of the people in the room agree with that sentiment, but either way, it's a possibility, as names from the Previously Considered column continue to end up with nominations, and even some with inductions.  As for Foreigner, we know the connection to the late Ahmet Ertegun, and also that Jann S. Wenner is in their corner, so it's wise to keep them in mind too.  Lastly, because they're clearly a priority right now, let's throw in the J. Geils Band to be nominated again, too.

The J. Geils Band also fit into the next category that isn't so much about their chances of being nominated, but more of names to be wary of, should they reappear.  What do the MC5, the Zombies, and Depeche Mode all have in common?  They've all been on the ballot for both of the past two years.  Lately, the trend has been that if an act has been nominated three consecutive years, the Hall is very serious about them, and wants them in, no matter what.  Chic notwithstanding, it's a list that includes Laura Nyro, Joan Jett And The Blackhearts, and the Cars.  So, I'm predicting them all in a manner of throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.  Keep an eye on those names and see who comes back for the third consecutive nomination.

With the introduction of the Singles category this year, it seems unlikely that we'll see nominations for Chubby Checker, Procol Harum, Steppenwolf, the Kingsmen, or for Link Wray.  But where they're slamming the door on Link Wray, it could be the opening of the door for Dick Dale, another guitar legend with a group behind him that should be included in the nomination, but likely won't be.  Soul hasn't been fairing so well lately, but that doesn't stop the Hall from trying, so hopefully we'll have another nomination for the Spinners.  Post-punk has had a hard time getting in, but not too much trouble getting nominated.  Just a blind pick, let's predict Pixies to get a nod.  OutKast represent hip-hop ably, so I think LL Cool J will be getting a bye this go-around.  However, we could look at an electronic act that has been sampled in hip-hop and rap.  Kraftwerk has been playing a steady game of every other year lately. so I think this is their year to return.

Which brings us to the ladies.  Despite Steve Miller's plea and admonition, the Hall doesn't really work toward nominating more women.  They seem relatively impervious to social influence, thinking they did their part when the museum unveiled their "Women Who Rock" exhibit a few years ago.  But there will still be a few women on the ballot.  After missing out on being nominated last year, I think they'll give Janet Jackson another chance.  And they've been nominating Chaka Khan in some capacity the past few years.  I don't include her in the "three consecutive" paragraph above though, because it's been split between her solo career and her work with Rufus.  I'd like to see both of them get in, but I think it'll be the solo efforts that will be recognized this time.  And speaking of solo efforts, the final prediction to be nominated will be the solo career of Stevie Nicks.  She's already in with Fleetwood Mac.  I'm basing this prediction based on the public poll feature at the museum.  It's absolutely no guarantee, of course, but consider the fan ballot as a parallel.  When the top vote-recipient of the fan ballot gets inducted every year since the fan ballot was introduced, it's that correlation that begins to look like causation.  But now let's suppose the Hall is considering upping the game.  No longer do the fans have just a combined ballot, but what if they also have a combined nomination?  What if the top two vote-getters in the Hall end up being the "fans' submissions" in the boardroom, prior to the Feast Of The Giant Sandwich?  It just might be that this tool will be used to give the fans a say on the Nominating Committee.  Naturally, there's a world of difference between those who are able to make the trek out to the museum in Cleveland and being able to just vote online, which is where the parallel proves inexact, but could this be a further part of the hook to drive up the museum's attendance and bottom line?  I don't think that's entirely outside the realm of possibility.  It's a very tenuous prediction, but it's an alpha test both for the Foundation and for us hobbyists.  Maybe it will have no effect whatsoever, but let's predict her to make it and see if she actually does get nominated.

And by my math, that makes nineteen names, which is how big the ballot has been recently.  As I said, full of safe picks.  Nothing unexpected, and I don't think there's a name that isn't or won't be on someone else's predictions list.  But I'm okay with that.  As a disclaimer and reminder, these aren't necessarily the nineteen names I want most to see on the ballot (though now that I'm predicting them, the more I get right, the better I feel about my skills); these are just the ones that I feel will be nominated.  So, recapping, because I do that a lot these days:

Bad Company
Beck
Dick Dale
Depeche Mode
the Doobie Brothers
Foreigner
the J. Geils Band
Janet Jackson
Judas Priest
Chaka Khan
Kraftwerk
the MC5
Stevie Nicks
OutKast
Pixies
Radiohead
Rage Against The Machine
the Spinners
the Zombies

Songs Of Proof: Previously Considered

If you read this blog with any regularity, then you probably also frequent the Future Rock Legends web page, an invaluable site for information pertaining to this little hobby of ours.  When I first starting hanging out there, one of the more interesting things I found was they not only had a list of every act that had been nominated in the past, but also artists that had been "considered."  Now, to be completely clear, what it means to be "considered" in terms of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is still a little foggy.  For the longest time, I've assumed that it essentially meant that an artist was formally submitted to be put on the ballot, but never actually made it to the final ballot.  While I'm still fairly certain that this is indeed what is meant, an episode of "Who Cares About The Rock Hall" where they had a former member of the Nominating Committee as a guest, mentioned that no less than Ahmet Ertegun himself tried to make a pitch for Foreigner.  As I type this out, Foreigner is still not listed on Future Rock Legends' page of "Previously Considered" artists.  Maybe Ahmet mentioned Foreigner in a tangent while submitting another artist, or maybe I've been operating under a wrong assumption.  Either way, Foreigner is not on this list.

And it's quite an extensive list.  Even when weeding out the names that have been officially nominated before, there are still over a hundred names on this list!  That's a lot of names over the years.  And reading this list, there are names that make you say, "Yes! Absolutely!" and names that make you say, "Huh, I guess it really is all about who you know."  And as with the songs for Past Nominees, I've found it a useful habit to keep songs for all these artists too.  A lot of the nominees over the years have come from this list, and it has been an interesting spectacle to see names like Rush go from not even being on this list, to being on it, to being nominated, and then becoming inductees.  It's not always newer artists on this list either.  I remember when names like Brook Benton and Freddy Cannon were not on this lesser roll call.  And now they are.  And they have songs to honor just being submitted in the room shortly before the Feast Of The Giant Hoagie.

Which brings us to the songs.  All 113 of them, if my count is accurate.  Even 113 sentences would be a little tedious to both write and read.  So, this time, I'm just going to list the artists and their songs, and let that be that.  If you have any questions about why I chose a song for an artist, please feel free to ask me in the Comments below, and I'll explain as well as I can.  Since this is the Previously Considered list, though, I will also say that if a Song Of Proof is going to be changed, this is the stage it's most likely to happen in.  I've changed several in the past at this stage, and it could happen again.  Except for Todd Rundgren.  That one will never change, because who doesn't love a good rock and roll song that you can polka dance to?  And as always, any Vocal Group Hall Of Fame Songs Of Proof will still be mentioned.  The two that used to be on this list, but got inducted in the Award For Musical Excellence category, those two being the E Street Band and Ringo Starr, have been removed from this part of the playlist.  Also, since the Dominoes have been nominated, I'm not including a second song for "Billy Ward And The Dominoes;" it's the same group, for the most part.  So try not to let your eyes glaze over too much.  Time to honor our Previously Considered, but never actually nominated, artists for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.


Lee Andrews And The Hearts: "Teardrops"
Paul Anka: "You Are My Destiny"
Ashford And Simpson: "Solid"
the Average White Band: "Pick Up The Pieces"
Bad Company: "Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy"
Brook Benton: "Kiddio"
the B-52's: "Love Shack"
the Big Bopper: "Chantilly Lace"
Big Brother And The Holding Company: "Piece Of My Heart"
Black Flag: "Rise Above"
Blind Faith: "Can't Find My Way Home"
Blood, Sweat, And Tears: "You've Made Me So Very Happy"
Blues Incorporated: "Keep Your Hands Off"
the Blues Project: "No Time Like The Right Time"
Boogie Down Productions: "Love's Gonna Get Cha (Material Love)"
Pat Boone: "Why Baby Why"
Bobby Brown: "Humpin' Around"
Chuck Brown: "Bustin' Loose"
Johnny Burnette And The Rock 'N' Roll Trio: "The Train Kept A-Rollin'"
Canned Heat: "Let's Work Together"
Freddy Cannon: "Abigail Beecher"
Captain Beefheart: "Diddy Wah Diddy"
Chubby Checker: "The Twist"
Patsy Cline: "Crazy"
Joe Cocker: "The Letter"
Judy Collins: "Song For Judith (Open The Door)"
the Commodores: "Brick House"  (Vocal Group Hall Of Fame Song Of Proof: "Easy")
Ry Cooder: "Feelin' Bad Blues"
Country Joe And The Fish: "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine"
Crazy Horse: "Southern Pacific"
the Crystals: "Then He Kissed Me" (Vocal Group Hall Of Fame Song Of Proof: "Da Doo Ron Ron (When He Walked Home)")
Dick Dale: "Misirlou"
the Spencer Davis Group: "I'm A Man"
Def Leppard: "Photograph"
Delaney And Bonnie: "Only You Know And I Know"
De La Soul: "Me, Myself, And I"
Devo: "Whip It"
Dr. Hook: "Walk Right In"
the Doobie Brothers: "Jesus Is Just Alright"
Lee Dorsey: "Ya Ya"
Nick Drake: "Pink Moon"
Emerson, Lake, And Palmer: "Lucky Man"
Fishbone: "Sunless Saturday"
the Five Keys: "Ling Ting Tong" (Vocal Group Hall Of Fame Song Of Proof: "Close Your Eyes")
the Five Satins: "In The Still Of The Night" (Vocal Group Hall Of Fame Song Of Proof: "To The Aisle")
the Flying Burrito Brothers: "Christine's Tune"
the GAP Band: "You Dropped A Bomb On Me"
Lesley Gore: "That's The Way Boys Are"
Johnny Hallyday: "Gabrielle"
Tim Hardin: "Simple Song Of Freedom"
Slim Harpo: "Baby, Scratch My Back"
the Harptones: "Why Should I Love You"
Donny Hathaway: "I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know"
Herman's Hermits: "No Milk Today"
Hot Tuna: "Winin' Boy Blues"
Whitney Houston: "I Wanna Dance With Somebody Who Loves Me"
Ivory Joe Hunter: "Since I Met You Baby"
Iron Butterfly: "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"
Iron Maiden: "Run To The Hills"
Mick Jagger: "Just Another Night"
the Jam: "Town Called Malice"
Tommy James And The Shondells: "Mony Mony"
the Jayhawks: "Waiting For The Sun"
Jethro Tull: "Bungle In The Jungle"
George Jones: "He Stopped Loving Her Today"
Grace Jones: "I'm Not Perfect (But I'm Perfect For You)"
Fela Kuti: "Zombie"
the Last Poets: "E Pluribus Unum"
Living Colour: "Cult Of Personality"
Love: "Alone Again Or"
Manfred Mann: "Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)"
the Marshall Tucker Band: "Heard It In A Love Song"
the Monkees: "The Girl That I Knew Somewhere" (Vocal Group Hall Of Fame Song Of Proof: "Valleri")
Motorhead: "Ace Of Spades"
the Neville Brothers: "Spirits Of The World"
Sinead O'Connor: "The Emperor's New Clothes"
Junior Parker: "Next Time You See Me"
Teddy Pendergrass: "Close The Door"
Pixies: "Here Comes Your Man"
Poco: "Crazy Love"
Billy Preston: "Will It Go Round In Circles"
Cliff Richard And The Shadows: "Summer Holiday"
Keith Richards: "Take It So Hard"
Roxy Music: "Love Is The Drug"
Todd Rundgren: "Bang The Drum All Day"
Otis Rush: "I Can't Quit You Baby"
Mitch Ryder: "Sock-It To Me Baby"
Sade: "Paradise"
Doug Sahm: "(Is Anybody Going To) San Antone"
Boz Scaggs: "Lido Shuffle"
Jack Scott: "Goodbye Baby"
Gil Scott-Heron: "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised"
Neil Sedaka: "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do"
the Shangri-La's: "Leader Of The Pack" (Vocal Group Hall Of Fame Song Of Proof: "Long Live Our Love")
Simple Minds: "Sanctify Yourself"
Huey "Piano" Smith And The Clowns: "Don't You Just Know It"
Sonic Youth: "Teen Age Riot"
Sonny And Cher: "The Beat Goes On"
the Sugarhill Gang: "Rapper's Delight"
Ten Years After: "I'd Love To Change The World"
Rufus Thomas: "Walking The Dog"
Three Dog Night: "Joy To The World" (Vocal Group Hall Of Fame Song Of Proof: "Celebrate")
Peter Tosh: "Legalize It"
the Treacherous Three: "The Body Rock"
T. Rex: "Bang A Gong (Get It On)"
Tina Turner: "Better Be Good To Me"
the Turtles: "It Ain't Me Babe"
Junior Walker And The All-Stars: "Shotgun"
Junior Wells: "Little By Little"
Barry White: "Never Never Gonna Give You Up"
Lucinda Williams: "Get Right With God"
Johnny Winter: "Jumpin' Jack Flash"
X: "Los Angeles"


And with that long list, we are not only done with our look at the Previously Considered, but also our entire run of the Great Playlist.  The end of the Songs Of Proof.  I hope you've enjoyed reading this series as much as I've enjoyed compiling it and writing about it.  I do have other songs squirreled away on my computer too, of artists that have never been considered, but might conceivably be considered or nominated someday.  I'm choosing to not even get into that list because everybody's going to be quick to mention one artist that I should have stored away, but don't at present.  And really, we can debate who might be and who should be all day long.  That's part of the allure of this hobby of ours.  This entire project, though, is simply a reflection upon who is and who has been, the names that we definitely know of.  And that's where the line is being drawn.  I want to thank everyone who has read this series, everyone who's weighed in, either in the Comments sections, or on social media or other forums.  And once more, feel free to add your thoughts or questions about this or any previous entry in the series in the Comments section below.  And even those who haven't weighed in, but just read.  I hope I've prodded your brains to think about similar undertakings in our celebration of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.  Hopefully, I gave at least one person the curiosity to check out an artist, or at least a song.  Soon to come,  my predictions for the nominees for the upcoming ballot for the Class Of 2019.  I don't guarantee that it'll follow the weekly deadline that I set for myself on this project, but it'll be soon.

Once again, thank you for your readership.  It's been fun sharing and celebrating this passion project that has continued even as my career in commercial radio appears to be entirely in the past.  It's clearly evolved beyond that now, and it's fun to see where it will take me in the future.  So, that's where we'll continue to look.  Thank you for taking this journey with me through The Great Playlist: The Songs Of Proof Celebrating The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.