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Van Halen on 2007 RRHOF ballot
Van Halen, R.E.M. on upcoming ballot for Hall of Fame
Saturday, October 28, 2006
John Soeder
Plain Dealer Pop Music Critic
Go ahead and jump -- for joy! -- Van Halen fans. The hard-rocking band has been nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007, along with eight other acts.
This is the first nomination for Van Halen, although the group has been eligible for at least the past three years.
R.E.M. and the Ronettes are the other first-time nominees on the latest Rock Hall ballot, which also has Chic, the Dave Clark Five, Grandmaster Flash, Patti Smith, the Stooges and Joe Tex in the running again for enshrinement, according to a source familiar with the nomination proceedings.
Van Halen has sold more than 56 million albums in the United States alone, on the strength of such hits as "Why Can't This Be Love" and the chart-topping "Jump." The Los Angeles band released its self-titled debut in 1978. Hotshot guitarist Eddie Van Halen has been a mainstay, but the group has had a succession of lead singers, including David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar and Gary Cherone.
R.E.M., the jingle-jangle alt-rock pride of Athens, Ga., is fronted by vocalist Michael Stipe. After winning over the college-radio crowd in the early 1980s, the band found mainstream success to the tune of "Losing My Religion" and other Top 40 singles.
New York City's Ronettes were a quintessential R&B girl group, groomed by producer Phil Spector, whose eight-year marriage to singer Ronnie Spector of the Ronettes ended in 1974.
The trio is best known for its 1963 smash "Be My Baby."
The Dave Clark Five became one of England's leading musical exports in the 1960s, riding high on the charts with "Over and Over," "Because," "Bits and Pieces" and other British Invasion tunes.
New York singer-poet Smith and Detroit's Stooges, led by Iggy Pop, paved the way for punk by taking a no-frills approach to rock in the late '60s and early '70s.
"The Message" and "White Lines" were hits in the '80s for Grandmaster Flash. This marks the third consecutive nomination for the groundbreaking New York DJ, who would be the first hip-hop artist in the Rock Hall if he makes the cut.
Chic, helmed by Bernard Edwards (who died of pneumonia in 1996) and Nile Rodgers, also has a hip-hop connection. The funky groove from the disco-era New York band's "Good Times" resurfaced on the Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight," the first major hip-hop single.
Soul singer Tex of Rogers, Texas, reached the Top 5 in 1965 with "Hold What You've Got." He died of a heart attack in 1982.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, based in New York, oversees the induction process. Artists are eligible 25 years after the release of their first recording.
The foundation recently downsized its nominating committee, made up of music industry insiders and chaired by Bruce Springsteen's manager, Jon Landau.
"We've made the committee smaller to move things along quicker," said Joel Peresman, president and CEO of the foundation.
Ballots are set to be mailed in the next few days to an international pool of voters, including record company executives and previous inductees.
Plans for the 2007 induction ceremony have not been announced.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
jsoeder@plaind.com, 216-999-4562http://www.cleveland.com/entertainme...610.xml&coll=2
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