From a small northwestern observatory…

OK, so I have some real mixed emotions about this year’s nominees. First, at the top of my list, I’m grateful that the RHOF has FINALLY nominated Carol King and Tina Turner! Full disclosure — King was elected in 1990 as part of the Goffin-King team of non-performing writers. (Apparently, it’s taken until now for anyone in the Rock Hall to buy a copy of Tapestry.) Turner was elected in 1991 as part of the Ike and Tina Turner duo. However, it’s common for individual performers who broke-out from their bands or duos to be named in their own right. Both Turner (2005) and King (2015) received Kennedy Center Honors, among many others, and are long overdue for individual election.

I’m glad to see the Go-Go’s as representatives of otherwise underrepresented all-female bands. My own nominee would have been the Bangles, but maybe next year. Dionne Warwick! Wow! A long overlooked contributor to the pop music genre!

Yes, it does look like the RHOF is trying to make up for years of overlooking stellar female performers. However, knowing how the voters work, I’m sure the male performers will (sigh…) again dominate. It’s hard to pick out from the rest of the bunch who will lead. Some of the performers still have “star” power and that may carry the day — LL Cool J, Jay-Z, and the Foo Fighters immediately come to mind. I hate to say it but Chaka Khan and Mary J. Blige may both deserve a seat at the table, but may split a lot of votes. The same may oddly be true of Iron Maiden and the New York Dolls. Nothing wrong with the rest of the nominees, and it will be interesting to see how this turns out. Check out my previous post (Part 3) to see my running list of who I think are the most deserving overlooked artists.