Rap makes it to Rock Hall of FameBY RAFER GUZMÁN
Newsday Staff Writer
January 9, 2007
Newsday Staff Writer
January 9, 2007
Van Halen, R.E.M., Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Patti Smith and The Ronettes will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame March 12 at Manhattan's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, marking one historic event and raising the possibility of another.
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, who helped define hip-hop with tracks such as "The Message" and "White Lines," will become the first rap act to be inducted into the hall, potentially opening the floodgates for others in coming years.
The question remains, however, as to whether singer David Lee Roth, who split from Van Halen in 1985, will reunite for a live performance with his old bandmates.
Roth, who made Van Halen one of the most popular rock groups of the MTV era with songs like "Jump" and "Hot for Teacher," has not been confirmed to appear, according to a publicist for the hall. Nor has Sammy Hagar, who replaced Roth and also is being inducted. Further complicating matters: Though former bassist Michael Anthony is being inducted, he was recently replaced by Eddie Van Halen's son, Wolfgang.
Things probably will go much smoother for the trailblazing college-rock band R.E.M., whose distinctively rootsy hits include "Stand" and "Losing My Religion." Drummer Bill Berry split in 1997 but has played with the band several times since and probably will do so again at the ceremony, lead singer Michael Stipe told MTV.com.
Still, this year could bring another drama-filled induction ceremony. Last year, The Sex Pistols declined to show up and instead wrote an anonymous, hand-scrawled note insulting the hall. (Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner read the missive aloud to a cackling audience.) And things got ugly when former and current members of Blondie fought at the podium over who should be allowed to play with the band.
Punk poet Patti Smith and the legendary girl-group The Ronettes are both artists that critics say have been long overlooked. The hall also will induct Ahmet Ertegun, the founder of Atlantic Records, who died last year.
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, who helped define hip-hop with tracks such as "The Message" and "White Lines," will become the first rap act to be inducted into the hall, potentially opening the floodgates for others in coming years.
The question remains, however, as to whether singer David Lee Roth, who split from Van Halen in 1985, will reunite for a live performance with his old bandmates.
Roth, who made Van Halen one of the most popular rock groups of the MTV era with songs like "Jump" and "Hot for Teacher," has not been confirmed to appear, according to a publicist for the hall. Nor has Sammy Hagar, who replaced Roth and also is being inducted. Further complicating matters: Though former bassist Michael Anthony is being inducted, he was recently replaced by Eddie Van Halen's son, Wolfgang.
Things probably will go much smoother for the trailblazing college-rock band R.E.M., whose distinctively rootsy hits include "Stand" and "Losing My Religion." Drummer Bill Berry split in 1997 but has played with the band several times since and probably will do so again at the ceremony, lead singer Michael Stipe told MTV.com.
Still, this year could bring another drama-filled induction ceremony. Last year, The Sex Pistols declined to show up and instead wrote an anonymous, hand-scrawled note insulting the hall. (Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner read the missive aloud to a cackling audience.) And things got ugly when former and current members of Blondie fought at the podium over who should be allowed to play with the band.
Punk poet Patti Smith and the legendary girl-group The Ronettes are both artists that critics say have been long overlooked. The hall also will induct Ahmet Ertegun, the founder of Atlantic Records, who died last year.
1 comment:
this is a travesty to we who grew up on rock n roll, and to our fathers who were there at the beginning. I'm appalled to think that the purity of rock music has ended in the rock hall of fame. Anyone who thinks a rap,hiphop or disco queens should be there is a corporate traiter. I can't imagine how this happened, I guess Steely Dan had it right. Rock hall has now become a JOKE and now there is no true rock hall. Who's the next inductee snoop dog?
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