From Aretha to Harrison - More Rock Hall of Fame Criticism

Aretha Franklin switched from gospel to mainstream without changing her style of singing except for the occasional professional restraint. Her first top 10, I Never Loved A Man (The Way That I Love You) included Duane Allman on guitar. Many oldies stations have reduced Aretha’s 30 plus hits to play her remake of Otis Redding’s Respect (every shift). Think, Chain of Fools, and A Natural Woman (You Make Me Feel) are other good choices. Aretha is not really a rocker, but is more of a mainstream artist and does not fit the hall.

Marvin Gaye was a drummer on many of the early Motown recordings. Marvin scored on his own with 1963’s Hitch Hike and Pride and Joy followed by How Sweet It Is, Doggone, and Ain’t That Peculiar. Between 1967 and 1969 Marvin had 7 Top 40 hits with Tammi Terrell including Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, If I Could Build My Whole World Around You, and Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing. At the same time, Marvin’s two years in the can version of I Heard It Through The Grapevine was released and topped the charts for 7 weeks. Following Tammi’s death in 1970 from falling downstairs, Marvin’s music became less pop and more personal with the now seldom played Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology), What’s Going On, and Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler). Marvin’s creative side continued with Let’s Get It Own, Got To Give It Up – Pt. 1, and Sexual Healing. His preacher father shot Marvin, because they had an argument over Marvin’s celebration plans for his 45th birthday. Marvin’s post 60’s material warrants his membership.

Gladys Knight and the Pips began a 15 year run in the Top 40 with 1961’s Every Beat of My Heart. The band scooped Marvin Gaye by releasing their version of I Heard It Through the Grapevine a year before his, and reaching the number 2 position for 3 weeks with it. The tendency of the Pips repeating the words of Gladys was parodied often including in Ray Steven’s Moonlight Special. Other hits include Midnight Train to Georgia, Best Thing That Ever Happened to Me, and If I Were Your Woman, Etc. They are a great pop band, but they do not belong in the hall.

The Grateful Dead toured as a city. Any town booking the Dead had to prepare for its legion of touring fans, the Deadheads. The bands second album, the often overlooked Anthem of the Sun began the tradition of long jams with an interesting twist. One side of the album alternated back and forth between being recorded in the studio and live within the same track. While this approach is not as accessible as their early 70’s country rock based material, it is essential and warrants the band’s induction as it provides the blueprint for all future jam bands. Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty contain Uncle John’s Band, Casey Jones, Truckin’, and Sugar Magnolia. Beginning with1980, stick to the Dead’s live albums. Many Deadheads prefer live recordings of Dark Star.

Al Green had a falsetto voice that had an effect on the ladies loved much like the bass voice of Barry White. But unlike Barry, Al is in the Rock Hall of Fame. He shouldn’t be. Don’t get me wrong, Al has some incredible songs like Let’s Stay Together, I’m Still In Love With You, For The Good Times, Take Me To The River, and even a cover of Dylan’s Gotta Serve Somebody, but they are all pop, not rock. Everybody could use a little Al Green in his or her life.

Bill Haley may have been the first rocker. His Rocket 88, recorded in 1951, was a white band (Bill Haley and the Saddlers) cover with pulsating rhythm of a sexually suggestive rhythm and blues song. Rock The Joint is believed to be the song that gave Cleveland DJ Alan Freed the phrase Rock and Roll. Bill Haley changed his band’s name to the Comets due to the re-emergence of Halley’s Comet and got a new record contract where he recorded Shake, Rattle, and Roll that reached number 7 and made the band national stars and Rock Around the Clock that charted for a week at 23 and sold 75,000 copies. Rock Around the Clock was reborn on the charts after its inclusion in the movie Blackboard Jungle. "Rock Around the Clock" shot up the charts this time, and the result was an eight-week run in the number-one spot. It sold 25-million copies sold worldwide. It would return to the charts in 1974 due to its use as the theme of Happy Days. See You Later, Alligator was Haley’s last top 10 hit. Haley recorded hundreds of songs, but most collections of his work only contain about one dozen of his earliest tunes. Bill deserves his membership and should probably be considered the father of rock and roll.

George Harrison was often called the quiet Beatle. However George was quite funny. He produced and made an appearance in The Rutles, a movie that parodied the Beatles. George appeared in Monty Python skits and produced Life of Brian. George played guitar on Cheech and Chong’s Basketball Jones. He appeared on Saturday Night Live when Loren Michaels issued a challenge for the Beatles to reunite for a minuscule amount. George and friends Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Roy Orbison, and Jeff Lynne poked fun of the music business with their Travelling Wilburys’ albums. In many ways George was the soul of the Beatles. You can hear George harmonizing on nearly every track, and his guitar notes are perhaps the best known in music. George organized the first huge benefit concert, The Concert for Bangladesh providing the rubric for later ventures Live Aid, USA for Africa, and Tsunami Relief. His All Things Must Pass album is arguably the best former Beatles album. Post-Beatles Harrison classics include What is Life, My Sweet Lord, All Things Must Pass, Crackerbox Palace, All Those Years Ago, When We Was Fab, and more. George was never afraid to voice his disapproval of the government and saved the title track of Brainwashed just for them. George wasn’t so quiet. He deserves his place in the hall.