Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's latest Shame.

The 29th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be held on Thursday April 10^th, 2014 in New York. The ceremony will be broadcast on HBO.

Like many fans of music and common sense, I’m not happy with the institution. Who the leave out and who they put in. “Rock n’ Roll could be interpreted broadly, but so broadly to include Disco, Rap and Hip Hop? To the possible exclusion of Rock and Roll artist? It’s not the “Music Hall of Fame”. But this year they made up for some past transgressions by finally including Kiss. But they still ignored Deep Purple and Yes and included the Terrorist Sympathizer, Cat Stevens, currently known as Yusuf Islam.

I find it unforgivable to include and artist that flat out condones the MURDER of a fellow artist. While he has tried to backtrack on this fact, unfortunately for him, the entire BBC interview is still available on YouTube. He also did an interview with Rolling Stone magazine a couple years ago, where he declared his newfound religion, Islam, forbids him singing but since he is giving the money to the faith, he is getting a pass and allowed to sell his new CD. Little surprise that he is also a hypocrite. Something not unique to any one religion, but still disappointing to see him honored.

Yusuf Islam is on the record as saying Salman Rushdie deserves to die, for writing a book and went on to say that if he was in an Islamist State and ordered to kill him he would. When asked if he would attend a demonstration of the writer being burned in effigy, he replied “I would hope it was the real thing”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-wjxwpvqps

This years inductees:

• Peter Gabriel

• Hall and Oates

• KISS  

• Nirvana

• Linda Ronstadt

• Cat Stevens

All eligible nominees released their first single or album at least 25 years before the year of nomination.

Rush, finally was admitted just last year! Alice Cooper took until 2001!

In an online poll set up by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the institution invited music fans to weigh in on who deserves an induction With over 1.3 Million Votes cast Deep Purple came in third out of 16 total choices. Only Kiss and Nirvana collected more votes. Fans voices are not being heard, so why ask us if we are only going to be ignored? Just do away with the pretense of even caring what we think.

Deep Purple has released 19 studio albums, along with compilations and live releases, and since ‘Shades of Deep Purple’ was unleashed in 1968, the band has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, over 8 million in the U.S.. One of the most influential bands of all time and has been eligible for inclusion for since 2003.

Not that my single experience carries any weight, but their concert from the Perfect Stranger tour, that out-grossed every artist that year except Bruce Springsteen, was the single greatest live show that I have ever seen! I have been to over 300 concerts, I have seen legends perform, before during and after their heydays. I have seen famous artist and surprise guest in private clubs, charities, and even at private parties performing. I have been very fortunate to have access to a lot of great performances up close and personal.  Those guys, on that night were magic. And by all I hear and read, many others feel the same about seeing them live.

To be fair I contacted the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame so they could explain their decision making process.  They were kind enough to give me a private tour when they first opened. But that was back when I was producing a radio show in the Los Angeles market. But still, I was curious offered them a chance to respond. They refused. – Original Email:

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(Disclaimer: I capitalized “ROCK AND ROLL” to further my point.)

“Greetings,

I am writing an article on the Museum and induction process. Specifically the inclusion of other genres such as Disco, Rap and Hip Hop and how that may relate to the possible exclusion of Rock and Roll acts?

I did my due diligence and researched online and on your website. I expected to find a quote, or two, maybe saying something to the effect that "Rock and Roll is more of a generic term, or attitude, for Music in general". But both your Mission Statement and FAQ page only reinforces the singularity of Rock and Roll in regards to the Hall of Fame.
Is there an official statement on the issue or a response that I could print?

Thank you for your time,

Tony Stengel

NBC Newsvine / Propaganda Café”

Mission Statement:

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. is the nonprofit organization that exists to educate visitors, fans and scholars from around the world about the history and continuing significance of ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC. It carries out this mission through its operation of a world-class museum that collects, preserves, exhibits and interprets this art form and through its library and archives as well as its educational programs.



From their FAQ page: What is the process for induction?
Leaders in the music industry joined together in 1983 to establish the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. One of the Foundation’s many functions is to recognize the contributions of those who have had a significant impact on the evolution, development and perpetuation of ROCK AND ROLL by inducting them into the Hall of Fame.
Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria include the influence and significance of the artist’s contribution to the development and perpetuation of ROCK AND ROLL.

Below is a partial list of some more than questionable exclusions:

Stevie Ray Vaughan, (snubbed 5 years) Yes (snubbed 19 years) Steppenwolf (snubbed 20 years) Cheap Trick (snubbed 11 years)

Journey -Number of Years Snubbed: 14

Number of Albums: 14

Chart Performance: Sold 47 million albums in the US, making them the 28th best selling band. They’ve sold over 80 million albums across the world. “Don’t Stop Believin’” is the top-selling catalog track in iTunes history with over five million digital copies sold and it’s the best-selling rock song in digital history.

Motörhead - Number of Years Snubbed: 12
Number of Albums: 21
Chart Performance: As of 2012, Motörhead have sold more than 30 million albums worldwide.
Accolades: a Grammy in the Best Metal Performance category and the Metal Hammer Golden God Award.

Iron Maiden - Number of Years Snubbed: 9
Number of Albums: 15
Chart Performance: With little radio or television support, Iron Maiden have sold over 85 million records worldwide. And yet regardless of line up shifts, several of their albums have received platinum and gold albums both stateside and overseas, specifically 1982′s The Number of the Beast, 1983′s Piece of Mind, 1984′s Powerslave, 1985′s live release Live After Death, 1986′s Somewhere in Time, and 1988′s Seventh Son of a Seventh Son.
Accolades: As of October 2013, the band have played over 2,000 live shows throughout their career. In 2002, they received the Ivor Novello Award for international achievement, and in 2005, were also inducted into the Hollywood RockWalk on Sunset Boulevard.

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The Sex Pistols refused to attend their induction ceremony in 2006.  In a hand-written letter, they stated the Hall of Fame "is a piss stain".

A “Piss Stain” that is now honoring Yusuf Islam and not Deep Purple.

Rally To Restore…. Cat Stevens?

The “Rally To Restore Sanity” was a blast! I felt compelled to make the event. I am a big fan of Stewart. I do not share a lot of his views. For instance I would like to see illegal immigrants go back home and get in line but I do not blame them one bit for wanting to be here. I also think that we should strengthen Civil Unions, get the Government out of church weddings and let marriage stay between a man and women. I do not see it as a civil rights issue at all. We are on the same page regarding Gays being born Gay and serving in the military as well as drug policy reform, disdain for hypocrisy in government and the failure of mainstream media. But on issues like immigration and gay marriage the fact that we disagree could be get ugly among closed minded partisans and one might think it would turn me off as a fan, but no. I am moved by the message that we can disagree without being disagreeable. Besides that I find his show damn smart, funny and important. And I reserve the right to have my mind changed on these and most other issues.

Still, I was very surprised to see an extremist like Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) on stage. Since he said he would "personally hand over Salman Rushdie to be murdered for insulting Islam". We as a people are very open to sincere apologizes but instead he has tried to deny it. Too bad he said it on BBC TV and millions of people, including myself, saw him say it. He also admitted that his religion forbids his sort of songs but he was allowed to sing them because any proceeds would go to Islamic causes. This hypocritical extremist seems to be the antithesis of everything this event was supposed to be about. Maybe having that shameful person on stage was meant to be inclusive?

This has caused a good amount of debate with some trying to quote his spin found on Wikipedia. I enjoy that sight but let’s face it, it has always been hit and miss with the facts and since I heard and saw the interview, in context there is really no debate. I was a big Cat Stevens fan and remain disappointed. His display of hypocrisy in his Rolling Stone article does show that Muslims can be just as hypocritical as Christians. It's sad but maybe that's a place were we can start to come together?

One women mentioned that “no one asked Tony Bennett if he agrees with catholic church covering up all their crimes”. And true that. Please do not get me started on the Catholics. Still "Apples to Oranges" unless Bennett called for someone to be murdered and then admitted that his faith only lets him sing if he pays them. Furthermore are all "wrongs" equal? Of course not.
I would have loved to hear or read him apologize. In the very recent Rolling Stone interview he denied his statement. The same interview where he admitted to being able to break the rules regarding his singing as long as the money went to Islam. Seems that would have been the perfect place to set the record straight. I'm sure most of his fans would forgive him. I know I would and more importantly Rushdie has proved that he too would forgive him as he has others. But now it just seems worse, the denial followed by admitting he had to pay off his religion to perform.

I also found out that Mr. Rushdie spent his weekend watching someone who called for him to be murdered for blasphemy playing to an adoring crowd of thousands in front of the U.S. Capitol at a rally dedicated to sanity. Rushdie actually spoke with Jon and is quoted:
“I spoke to Jon Stewart about Yusuf Islam’s appearance. He said he was sorry it upset me, but really, it was plain that he was fine with it. Depressing.”
I am very glad that I was not the only person to notice! Also convenient the Yusuf has teamed up with the monopoly monster Ticket Master so we can boycott them both at the same time. I do not want to make this single important fact take away from all the otherwise very cool people and intent of the rally. We can and should be able to disagree without being disagreeable. And true that only Hitler is Hitler.

But with over one billion Muslims in the world they really could not find a better representative of Islam?

I wish we could all just get along and jam to "Tea For The Tillerman". A great album from a rotten person, who should never been allowed on stage.