The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will induct yet more yawn-inducing acts into the fold. This year Chubby Checker; Joe Cocker; Bad Company; Cyndi Lauper; OutKast; White Stripes; and Soundgarden enter the “prestigious” house of the holy. Of these seven, I favor OutKast more than any other. Overall, the whole lot is undeserving, in my opinion. Excluding several chart-topping tunes, why Lauper? Highly overrated Soundgarden had a couple good songs, but fall well behind the epic grunge acts of Alice in Chains and Nirvana. None of inductees had a lengthy career except Joe Cocker.
A second category – a variety basket – will also be inducted. These include Warren Zevon; Salt-N-Pepa; Carol Kaye (who?); Warner Brothers executive Lenny Waronker; and, Nicky Hopkins. An argument can be made for Zevon. Salt-N-Pepa of the MTV era – pass. I do not know what magical influence Waronker had on the industry and am unmotivated to search for the answer. However, the breadth and depth of Nicky Hopkins and his keyboard talents across several decades has long been neglected, which I covered over SEVEN years ago. Nicky Hopkins Should be in the Rock’n Roll Hall of Fame, by Mark Erickson – East Portland Blog
You can read my blurb, but must read the official HOF recognition: Nicky Hopkins | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame With expansive output prior to Hopkins’ death in 1994, he has obviously not contributed to the musical scene in three decades…why only now (SMH)?!? Congratulations, Mr. Nicky Hopkins!!!
