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schleuse, you mixed up me and Harold.
1960: God save the King
Of course both first lists had Elvis at the top. These were the first four artists chosen by the critics:
1. ELVIS PRESLEY (16.71)
2. MILES DAVIS (18.09)
3. CHUCK BERRY (18.33)
4. FRANK SINATRA (18.40)
I must point to the fact that Elvis got inducted with the higher score no other artist will achieve in HOA (16.71, in Henrik’s formula lower is better). You may argue that he was 5 years into his career but in 1957 he would have been inducted with 17.11 (the best score anyway).
Accompanying Elvis we have cool-jazz hero Miles Davis, black rock ’n’ roll pioneer Chuck Berry and best crooner ever Frank Sinatra. Terrific initial line-up, isn’t it?
Our own list had Elvis and Chuck too but we included instead another rock ‘n’ roll pioneer, Buddy Holly and, as an early sign that our list was going to be heavily country-oriented, honky-tonk hero Hank Williams. So:
1. ELVIS PRESLEY: 92 (11)
2. HANK WILLIAMS: 82 (10)
3. CHUCK BERRY: 79 (12)
4. BUDDY HOLLY & THE CRICKETS: 43 (8)
1961: the year the music died
The second year the critics put late Buddy Holly on top but we had inducted him the year before, and this was not going to be the last case of us being quicker than the critics.
1. BUDDY HOLLY & THE CRICKETS (18.48)
2. LITTLE RICHARD (18.62)
3. THELONIOUS MONK (18.64)
4. RAY CHARLES (18.66)
3 mighty black artists accompanied Buddy to the Hall of Acclaim, coming from rock ‘n’ roll (Little Richard), jazz (Thelonious Monk) or soul (Ray Charles). We included Little Richard too and Davis and Sinatra remaining from last year’s critics list. And the first case of the 31 artists or bands that ended not being inducted by the critics, and perhaps the most striking and unfair. I’m talking about the genuine Lady Day.
Our inductees:
1. LITTLE RICHARD: 81 (10)
2. FRANK SINATRA: 51 (7)
3. MILES DAVIS: 47 (7)
4. BILLIE HOLIDAY: 45 (9)
1962: ah, um
Charles Mingus topped a third HOA edition filled with jazz legends.
1. CHARLES MINGUS (18.82)
2. THE EVERLY BROTHERS (18.83)
3. JOHN COLTRANE (18.92)
4. SONNY ROLLINS (19.01)
The Everly Brothers were the only non-jazz act from this edition. And Rollins got the dubious honour of being the first artist inducted by the critics that ended not being inducted by us. We choose to put on top Delta blues legendary Robert Johnson and two more “classic” jazz artists, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. Both obscure Johnson and popular Armstrong were never inducted by the critics. Our list:
1. ROBERT JOHNSON: 59 (8)
2. LOUIS ARMSTRONG: 58 (8)
3. DUKE ELLINGTON: 53 (8)
4. RAY CHARLES: 48 (8)
1963: black, brown and beige
Two excellent albums during 1962, one of them a duet with Coltrane (our number one for the year), rendered Duke Ellington enough points to top the 1963 list.
1. DUKE ELLINGTON (18.83)
2. HANK WILLIAMS (19.03)
3. ORNETTE COLEMAN (19.03)
4. ELLA FITZGERALD (19.05)
3:1. 3 black jazz artists and 1 white country artist. So far we got 11 black and 5 white, so almost 2/3 of the artists. From this very moment the percentage is going to decrease till reaching a final 27% (52/192), although there are still many great black artists to appear on both lists.
Ornette Coleman seemed destined to repeat Rollin’s deed but thanks to devoted fans like Harold Wexler that kept voting for him for many years (weeks) he finally got inducted by us as late as 2005 (42 years after the critics!).
With the exception of John Coltrane this week we got ahead of the critics, only for a year/week with Johnny Cash and Muddy Waters but for decades/months with the Killer. Jerry Lee was not going to be inducted by the critics till… 1993. Those were our inductees:
1. JOHN COLTRANE: 51 (8)
2. JOHNNY CASH: 40 (7)
3. MUDDY WATERS: 39 (7)
4. JERRY LEE LEWIS: 36 (7)
1964: when they were fab
The Fab Four topped the list as early as in 1964, when they were almost unknown outside Great Britain. Their unstoppable string of instant hits during 1963 was enough.
1. THE BEATLES (18.31)
2. JAMES BROWN (18.89)
3. MUDDY WATERS (19.06)
4. JOHNNY CASH (19.14)
Accompanying the first non-American inducted act there were three heavy weights of their respective styles: the Godfather of Soul James Brown with his acclaimed “Live at the Apollo” album just released, the father of Chicago blues Muddy Waters and country man in black Johnny Cash.
In our own list Roy Orbison was even able to beat The Beatles (but for a slight margin). We decided not to wait till next year hit “Pretty Woman”, we were absolutely “In Dreams”.
Our inductees:
1. ROY ORBISON: 47 (7)
2. THE BEATLES: 46 (7)
3. THE EVERLY BROTHERS: 37 (6)
4. JAMES BROWN: 35 (7)
1965: a-changin’
Dylan was inducted before his electric conversion just based in his protest singer period. Prematurely? Not at all, he redefined pop music within that period and proved to be largely influential.
1. BOB DYLAN (18.71)
2. ROY ORBISON (18.99)
3. THE BEACH BOYS (19.11)
4. BO DIDDLEY (19.15)
Orbison was right behind Dylan. Although one can think at that time that there’s impossible to find two artists so different, everyone knows that they were going to join in a band at the end of the 80s, The Traveling Wilburys. And at #3 a case that maybe we can consider premature induction, The Beach Boys. They had released by then a good amount of teenage symphonies but you all know that the best was still to come. And at #4 they had the Originator.
Our list was quite similar but we inducted a recently dead Sam Cooke (he was shot in December of 1964). The critics were going to induct him the next year, a change was going to come.
We inducted:
1. BOB DYLAN: 64 (10)
2. SAM COOKE: 48 (8)
3. BO DIDDLEY: 44 (6)
4. THE BEACH BOYS: 43 (9)
1966: off of my cloud
After Beatles and Dylan it was (obviously) time for The Stones. You know, time was on their side.
1. THE ROLLING STONES (18.22)
2. THE WHO (18.74)
3. THE BYRDS (18.89)
4. SAM COOKE (18.95)
And a change came. The Beatles inaugurated a new era for pop, the bands were going to dominate the scene since then (and they’re still doing it). The critics inducted an awesome sample of those bands, the pioneers of British rhythm & blues, mod and folk-rock respectively: The Rolling Stones, The Who and The Byrds. Plus they inducted the late Sam Cooke.
But in the middle of the rock revolution of the mid 60s we were on our cloud. For the third time in 6 years (50%!) no coincidence with the critics. We inducted 4 black artists, including New Orleans R&B pianist Fats Domino as our number 1 (he was never inducted by the critics), jazz musicians as Ella Fitzgerald and Charles Mingus and Motown extraordinary singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson. Good company on our cloud, but they were precisely The Stones who were going to get off of our cloud the next year.
Our list:
1. FATS DOMINO: 51 (7)
2. ELLA FITZGERALD: 40 (6)
3. SMOKEY ROBINSON AND THE MIRACLES: 35 (7)
4. CHARLES MINGUS: 31 (5)
1967: respect for Otis
Otis Redding got the top spot just before facing his best and worst year. In 1967 he conquered the throne of soul in Monterey Festival but also died in a plane crash by the end of the year.
1. OTIS REDDING (18.72)
2. SMOKEY ROBINSON AND THE MIRACLES (19.01)
3. THE KINKS (19.02)
4. THE SUPREMES (19.04)
Otis was in good company. And I’m not talking about Stax, because two other inductees came from a rival company, Motown. The Miracles and The Supremes were two of the more valuable acts in Motown’s impressive catalogue (we are going to see al least three more artists from that company). And the fourth more important British band of the sixties (and the Britiest of them all), The Kinks.
All these artists were inducted by us except The Supremes that required a lot of insistence from some posters (Paul, Klauw, Schwah, Harold Wexler, Jonah) to ended being inducted at last in 1986… in the first position!
Back in 1967 we had The Stones, The Who, Otis and Thelonious Monk, our last jazz musician in many time (during the 80s we are going to induct Charlie Parker and Django Reinhardt).
Our 1967 inductees:
1. THE ROLLING STONES: 71 (9)
2. OTIS REDDING: 63 (8)
3. THE WHO: 45 (8)
4. THELONIOUS MONK: 31 (4)
1968: kiss the sky
At the beginning of 1967 Jimi Hendrix was unknown outside the London underground scene but by the end of the year he had released two acclaimed albums and carried out incendiary (and I mean exactly “incendiary”) stage performances particularly in Monterey that booked him a well deserved place at the top.
1. JIMI HENDRIX (17.73)
2. THE VELVET UNDERGROUND (18.14)
3. THE DOORS (18.19)
4. ARETHA FRANKLIN (18.25)
The critics travelled from Northwest to induct Seattle-born Jimi Hendrix to the East to induct mythical NYC band The Velvet Underground after their acclaimed first album with Nico, then West for the California-based band The Doors (that released like Jimi not one but two acclaimed albums during 1967) and finally Southeast to induct the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin.
We agreed with the critics with Hendrix and The Velvets and paid off a debt with two great bands, The Kinks and The Byrds. Those were our four from 1968:
1. JIMI HENDRIX: 71 (9)
2. THE KINKS: 60 (8)
3. THE BYRDS: 58 (8)
4. THE VELVET UNDERGROUND: 42 (9)
1969: astral year
The first American album from Van the man was enough to elevate him to the first position at the beginning of 1969.
1. VAN MORRISON (18.55)
2. SIMON AND GARFUNKEL (18.86)
3. CREAM (18.93)
4. LOVE (18.99)
The 10th edition of HOA (the first decade!) rendered an interesting and varied bunch of bands from both sides of the Atlantic sea accompanying the Irish singer-songwriter Morrison: the NYC folk-rock duo specialist in vocal harmonies Simon & Garfunkel, the British blues-rock super-group Cream and the Californian psychedelic band Love.
Aretha was at the top of our list and Simon & Garfunkel were at number three. But the other two were not going to be inducted by the critics, and although bluesman Howlin’ Wolf was almost inducted (with a total points of 19.18 and an overall artist rank of 204) the bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe was always far from that (with a total points of 19.81 and an artist rank of 720). But Bill got strong (and lasting) support within our forum, with Paul and Rune as his main defenders, and anyway in successive editions we are going to induct other artists even less supported by the critics. Just wait and see.
1. ARETHA FRANKLIN: 52 (7)
2. HOWLIN’ WOLF: 43 (6)
3. SIMON AND GARFUNKEL: 41 (5)
4. BILL MONROE: 29 (3)
1970: on the bayou
Three consistent albums during 1969 elevated CCR to the throne of 1970.
1. CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL (18.18)
2. THE BAND (18.22)
3. LED ZEPPELIN (18.31)
4. FRANK ZAPPA/THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION (18.47)
The first all-white line-up included two new-traditionalist bands like CCR and The Band topping the critics lists, followed by two more innovative bands like Zeppelin (creating hard-rock from blues-rock) and Zappa’s Mother of Invention (creating jazz-rock from freak-rock).
We chose both neo-traditionalists (with The Band above CCR) and we waited to induct the other two. We preferred to induct Sly Stone and most significantly the chansonnier Jacques Brel. He was the first artist on our list not singing in English out of a total of… two. Anyway it’s much more than the critics because (if we exclude Kraftwerk because they released English versions of their albums) the critics were not going to induct a single non English singing artist, which is the most obvious (and unfair) bias for pop critics.
1. THE BAND: 52 (6)
2. JACQUES BREL: 38 (4)
3. CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL: 37 (7)
4. SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE: 34 (5)
1971: turn me on, deadhead
Appearing on every rock festival and releasing two back-to-the-roots albums during 1970 won the gold medal for The Dead.
1. GRATEFUL DEAD (18.62)
2. NEIL YOUNG (18.64)
3. SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE (18.69)
4. THE STOOGES (18.79)
After/before. Neil Young was inducted after the Gold Rush (and Déjà Vu), Sly Stone before his Riot Goin’ On and the Stooges after their Fun House. We included Young and Iggy too but moreover we recruited Nick Drake two years before the critics after his brilliant Bryter Lyter and gave Morrison the top spot after his sublime Moondance.
Those were our inductees for 1971:
1. VAN MORRISON: 51 (6)
2. NEIL YOUNG: 48 (8)
3. THE STOOGES: 35 (7)
4. NICK DRAKE: 34 (5)
1972: going on
Marvin’s struggle to gain creative control in front of Motown’s industry gave him not only his masterpiece “What’s Going On” but also a deserved position at the top on the Hall of Acclaim.
1. MARVIN GAYE (17.45)
2. JOHN LENNON (17.76)
3. DAVID BOWIE (18.52)
4. BLACK SABBATH (18.74)
Behind Marvin Gaye there was the first artist inducted twice (as part of a band and as a solo artist): John Lennon. But he was not going to be the last, no less than 14 more artists were going to win that honour in posterior years. Any guesses? (anyway I will unveil it). After Lennon the critics inducted a pre-Ziggy David Bowie (he could have topped the list the following year) and the second band of the Holy Trinity of British heavy-metal pioneers, Black Sabbath.
We inducted Marvin and Led Zeppelin (after their acclaimed “IV”), Leonard Cohen 5 years before the critics and country outsider (sorry, outlaw) Merle Haggard.
1. MARVIN GAYE: 74 (9)
2. LED ZEPPELIN: 60 (7)
3. MERLE HAGGARD: 38 (4)
4. LEONARD COHEN: 28 (4)
1973: great black Wonder
The two excellent albums that Wonder released during 1972, “Music of My Mind” and “Talking Book”, helped him to join Marvin at the top of Hall of Acclaim. And we all know that these two albums were merely the first two of an astonishing string of masterpieces.
1. STEVIE WONDER (18.52)
2. NICK DRAKE (18.57)
3. CAPTAIN BEEFHEART AND HIS MAGIC BAND (18.69)
4. THE TEMPTATIONS (18.71)
Accompanying an artist equally loved by the critics and audience like Stevie Wonder there were the two quintessential critics darlings but with opposite approaches. Languid and depressive Nick Drake (in fact he was inducted after his suicide) and bizarre and uncompromising Captain Beefheart, but with one thing in common, the absence of commercial success. And at number 4 they put another successful Motown act that, like Stevie, knew how to adapt to their current times.
We agreed with the critics in the Motown artists and we inducted Bowie after his breakthrough year. About the critics darlings it was obvious that we were more willing to support Drake than Van Vliet seeing the 10 years of induction gap (we inducted the English troubadour as early as in 1971 but we waited till 1981 to induct Captain Beefheart). And finally we got ahead of the critics with Joni Mitchell, they waited till “Court & Spark” but we got enough with “Blue”. Those were our inductees:
1. DAVID BOWIE: 92 (11)
2. STEVIE WONDER: 64 (10)
3. THE TEMPTATIONS: 38 (6)
4. JONI MITCHELL: 30 (4)
1974: dark side
Prog-rock at number one, the smash hit of “Dark Side of the Moon” won the first prize for Pink Floyd.
1. PINK FLOYD (17.88)
2. AL GREEN (18.38)
3. LOU REED (18.47)
4. BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS (18.52)
Three consecutive great albums justified perfectly Green’s induction, and Lou Reed joined Lennon as the second artist inducted twice. And at number 4 the most important artist of the so-called Third World, a Bob Marley that, as Bowie before, could have reached the top the following year.
Marley and Pink Floyd showed up in our list too, accompanied by John Lennon and Black Sabbath that were inducted by the critics two years before.
We inducted:
1. PINK FLOYD: 76 (9)
2. BOB MARLEY AND THE WAILERS: 54 (8)
3. BLACK SABBATH: 41 (8)
4. JOHN LENNON: 41 (8)
1975: spark
From the spare music backing of her beginnings to the complex arrangements of her latest album, the astonishing evolution of Canadian singer-songwriter Joni Mitchell reserved a place at the top for her.
1. JONI MITCHELL (18.24)
2. ROXY MUSIC (18.35)
3. T. REX (18.63)
4. ELTON JOHN (18.70)
Joni Mitchell entered the Hall in glamorous company. Three glam-rock heroes including classy Brian Ferry fronting Roxy Music with four albums under their belt, metal guru Marc Bolan fronting T. Rex at the beginning of his decline and histrionic soft-rocker Elton John at the height of a successful career.
We put at #1 cult band Big Star after their second album, 8 years before the critics. Just the opposite as The Doors’ case, being inducted by the critics 8 years before us (in fact they topped the eligibles list for 3 weeks-years). Roxy Music and Al Green completed our quartet:
1. BIG STAR: 44 (6)
2. ROXY MUSIC: 39 (7)
3. AL GREEN: 37 (7)
4. THE DOORS: 30 (3)
1976: born to win
The Boss came running down a thunder road with his third album under his (safety) belt, parking finally at the top of the Hall.
1. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (18.08)
2. STEELY DAN (18.57)
3. CROSBY, STILLS, NASH (& YOUNG) (18.85)
4. JEFFERSON AIRPLANE (18.85)
This was the first time (if we exclude dead artists like Buddy Holly or Hank Williams) that the critics looked to the past and inducted non-active bands at the time of their induction. C,S,N&Y were on recording hiatus from 1970 (although there was a reunion tour during 1974) and Jefferson Airplane dissolved in 1974 giving place to Jefferson Starship and Hot Tuna. However Steely Dan were active, past the middle of an impressive string of six great albums in six consecutive years. And Neil Young was the third artist inducted twice (but, contrary to Lennon and Reed, he was inducted before for his solo work).
We inducted the boss and Lou-Lou and we got ahead of the critics in 3 years about George Clinton’s parallel bands. And we inducted another artist that the critics never inducted, another country artist, of course, this time country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons.
Our list:
1. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN: 83 (9)
2. PARLIAMENT/FUNKADELIC: 41 (6)
3. LOU REED: 38 (7)
4. GRAM PARSONS: 29 (5)
1977: fly like an Eagle
In what some people may find an injustice (being Gram Parsons never inducted by the critics) Eagles got the first position after their lauded “Hotel California”.
1. EAGLES (18.60)
2. ROD STEWART (18.80)
3. DEEP PURPLE (18.86)
4. LEONARD COHEN (18.88)
The critics four included Rod Stewart after a successful and prolific career (until 1976 7 solo albums and 7 with bands like Faces or Jeff Beck Group), Deep Purple just after the disbanding of his final Mark IV line-up and famous troubadour and ladies-man Leonard Cohen.
We didn’t agree at all with the decision of the critics, we were more in a pre-punk mood. In fact Rod Stewart, Deep Purple (and last week CSN&Y and Jefferson Airplane too) remained on the Top 10 of the eligibles list waiting for our induction till the final week. And Eagles were at the top of that list for almost 22 consecutive weeks (!!), being finally inducted in 1999. As I told before we were more willing to induct proto-punk heroes Ramones and Patti Smith, bizarre genius Frank Zappa (7 years after the critics) and decided to close our list with another outsider never inducted by the critics, blues-folk pioneer Leadbelly.
Our 1977 inductees were:
1. RAMONES: 49 (8)
2. PATTI SMITH: 40 (6)
3. FRANK ZAPPA/THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION: 32 (6)
4. LEADBELLY: 32 (4)
1978: a question of bollocks
The Sex Pistols fronting the punk revolution went straight to the top with 17.54 points, the second highest score of HOA, only beat by Elvis.
1. SEX PISTOLS (17.54)
2. RAMONES (18.26)
3. FLEETWOOD MAC (18.54)
4. KRAFTWERK (18.72)
The other three bands inducted with the Pistols came from different traditions but they were quite idiosyncratic inside these scenes. Ramones were the most representative band of the CBGB generation but they were the least arty. Fleetwood Mac were the most representative band of soft-rock California scene but they began as a British rhythm & blues band. And Kraftwerk were the most renowned band of Kraut-rock but they were more techno-logical and minimalistic.
Our list got Pistols at #1 and Fleetwood Mac at #3 but instead the Ramones (that we inducted the previous year) we chose another NYC proto-punk band, Television, not inducted by the critics until 1982. And finally we completed the Holy Trinity of 70s political smooth soul sending Curtis Mayfield with Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder (the critics were going to induct him in 1982 too, like Television).
Our inductees:
1. SEX PISTOLS: 76 (9)
2. TELEVISION: 45 (7)
3. FLEETWOOD MAC: 34 (5)
4. CURTIS MAYFIELD: 28 (6)
1979: pump it up
Costello’s acclaimed second album (and first with The Attractions) won the gold medal for him in the edition that closed the second decade of the Hall of Acclaim.
1. ELVIS COSTELLO (18.08)
2. PARLIAMENT/FUNKADELIC (18.33)
3. PATTI SMITH (18.55)
4. THE CLASH (18.60)
Excellent company for Costello! The P-Funk bands commanded by George Clinton that we inducted previously (in 1976), Patti Smith, the poet that became a crucial part of NYC proto-punk scene and finally The Clash, the London punk band that was going to release at the end of the year one of the best albums ever, “London Calling” (and, like others before, would have topped the 1980 list for sure).
We inducted Costello, The Clash, Kraftwerk (inducted by the critics the year before) and Steely Dan after the tireless support of Harold Wexler, Greg and, well, me. And that was all for the 70s, now it was time for a new decade.
Our list:
1. ELVIS COSTELLO: 73 (9)
2. KRAFTWERK: 56 (8)
3. THE CLASH: 51 (7)
4. STEELY DAN: 38 (5)
Honorio, c'est fantastique !
Great, great thread Honorio, the pictures, analysis and critics' choices were all great.
1980: buildings and food
Despite having “Fear of Music” (or so they said), Talking Heads were the first (and last) band from the CBGB scene that got the number one.
1. TALKING HEADS (18.53)
2. BRIAN ENO (18.65)
3. THE JAM (18.77)
4. RANDY NEWMAN (18.85)
Along with Talking Heads the critics induced their producer, Brian Eno, for his groundbreaking solo work. Brian joined Lennon, Reed and Young as the 4th artist inducted twice (he was inducted previously as part of Roxy Music). British mod heroes The Jam were inducted too after their first four albums, and so was also an important member of the singer-songwriter 70s scene, the sardonic and caustic Randy Newman.
Our list got only Talking Heads in common but we were quicker with Blondie, another band from the blank generation, and two artists never inducted by the critics: Fela Kuti, the Nigerian singer-activist that was going to be the second (and last) non-English singer in our list, and the extraordinaire bop pioneer Charlie Parker. About Brian Eno we chose to induct him in the backstage wing for his awesome work as a producer but I can’t complain about that, in fact I was quite responsible of that.
Our inductees:
1. TALKING HEADS: 45 (7)
2. FELA KUTI: 33 (4)
3. CHARLIE PARKER: 30 (3)
4. BLONDIE: 21 (5)
1981: tear us apart (again)
Ian Curtis’ suicide elevated Joy Division to the altars in the 1981 edition of the HOA.
1. JOY DIVISION (17.81)
2. AC/DC (18.32)
3. BLONDIE (18.66)
3. QUEEN (18.84)
Curtis’ death was not the only one in the 1981 hall of acclaim, the Australian heavy-metal band AC/DC was inducted after their masterpiece “Back to Black” recorded after the death of their singer Bon Scott. Fortunately death was not necessary for the induction of the NYC new wave band Blondie fronted by Debbie Harry (the 15th woman on the Hall by the way) and the British epic rock band Queen (although their leader Freddie Mercury was going to die in 1991 victim of AIDS).
Joy Division and AC/DC were on our list too along with The Jam, inducted by the critics the year before, and Captain Beefheart, inducted by the critics... 9 years before.
Those were our inductees for 1981:
1. JOY DIVISION: 52 (8)
2. CAPTAIN BEEFHEART AND HIS MAGIC BAND: 35 (6)
3. THE JAM: 34 (6)
4. AC/DC: 32 (5)
1982: Police and thieves
Sting, Summers and Copeland got the top spot after their fourth (and probably their weak) album, “Ghost in the Machine”.
1. THE POLICE (18.77)
2. TELEVISION (18.89)
3. BIG STAR (18.90)
4. CURTIS MAYFIELD (18.91)
The “thieves” with the Police on their back (or on their front this time) were Television, the mythical band of that NYC scene that rendered another 4 inductees, the no less mythical power pop band Big Star (that we inducted much earlier, in 1975) and the third artist of the Holy Trinity of 70s political smooth soul, Curtis Mayfield.
Having inducted before the three artists/bands of that edition, we opted for Elton John and Queen and we were quicker than the critics with American-British band Pretenders. Those were our choices:
1. THE POLICE: 31 (5)
2. ELTON JOHN: 30 (5)
3. PRETENDERS: 30 (5)
4. QUEEN: 29 (4)
1983: startin’ something
The younger brother (and lead singer) of the Jacksons got to the first position of the 1983 Hall of Acclaim after his record-breaker album “Thriller”, starting something called crossover because of the mix of black and white music styles. He was going to be whiter and whiter within a few years.
1. MICHAEL JACKSON (17.62)
2. PRINCE (18.68)
3. JANIS JOPLIN/BIG BROTHER AND THE HOLDING COMPANY (18.92)
4. THE SPECIALS (18.96)
Just behind Jackson there was another artist able to break the racial barriers of music markets, Prince, after his masterpiece “1999”. And, going back in time, the white woman with the black voice, Janis Joplin, 12 years after her death. And closing the quartet a multiracial band responsible of the second wave of ska, The Specials, recently split in two (Fun Boy Three and The Special AKA).
We put Prince at the top followed by Jacko. On the third position we put a The Cure just beginning to run away from the goth sound that characterized their previous works. And on fourth position the artist less considered by the critics of all our inductees, Django Reinhardt, with an overall position of 1897, a total of 20.00 points in Henrik’s formula and an only song (the wonderful “Nuages”) on Acclaimed Music lists. But the unstoppable support from Schwah and the slow recruitment of other voters finally made it. And how.
1. PRINCE: 86 (11)
2. MICHAEL JACKSON: 61 (7)
3. THE CURE: 33 (5)
4. DJANGO REINHARDT: 23 (3)
1984: you too
The Irish band made it after their one-two-three punch of initial albums produced by Steve Lillywhite, they didn’t need to wait to the Brian Eno period.
1. U2 (18.82)
2. GRANDMASTER FLASH (18.88)
3. KING CRIMSON (18.99)
4. DEREK AND THE DOMINOS (18.99)
The first hip-hop band entering the hall was Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five after their acclaimed Message. And two bands from the past after them (while it was unusual during the seventies to induct a non-active band, it was going to be quite common during the 80s and 90s). King Crimson in fact were still active with a new line-up from 1981 but their golden period was during the first half of the 70s. And finally the fifth artist inducted twice, Eric Clapton, oddly never inducted by a solo work that lasted for decades, instead he was inducted as member of Cream (in 1968) and now as member of a one-album band, Derek and the Dominos.
Our list was quiet different this time, with U2 as the only coincidence. Tom Waits after his renewal album “Swordfishtrombones” and R.E.M. after their stunning debut “Murmur” got our approval before than the critics. And another country outlaw artist that the critics were not going to induct, Willie Nelson, entered our own HOA in 1984.
Our list:
1. TOM WAITS: 59 (8)
2. R.E.M.: 45 (8)
3. WILLIE NELSON: 31 (5)
4. U2: 28 (6)
1985: charming men
A quick and bright beginning of their career for The Smiths (two albums and 5 songs on the AM list in barely a year and a half) were enough for them for topping the 1985 list.
1. THE SMITHS (18.57)
2. R.E.M. (18.86)
3. PRETENDERS (18.92)
4. AEROSMITH (19.00)
From newer to older, every successive artist on the list debuted earlier than the previous. R.E.M. released their lauded first LP in 1983 but their first single for an independent label dated back in 1981. Pretenders released their excellent first album in 1980 preceded by some singles in 1979, including their hit “Brass in Pocket”. And Aerosmith were around from the early 70s, with their peak in 1975-1976 (“Toys in the Attic” and “Rocks”).
Our list shared the same number one but he rest was quite different (R.E.M. and Pretenders were already inducted in 1984 and 1982 respectively). Chic was the first disco music act inducted with Schwah and Moonbeam as main defenders (the critics will take their time to recognize these disco pioneers, they inducted Chic in 1990). And we got ahead of the critics with the other two bands too, “Let It Be” was enough to induct The Replacements, the critics needed two more albums (“Tim” and “Pleased to Meet Me”) and “Power, Corruption and Lies” was enough to induct New Order, the critics waited to “Low-Life”.
Our inductees:
1. THE SMITHS: 56 (7)
2. CHIC: 29 (4)
3. THE REPLACEMENTS: 28 (4)
4. NEW ORDER: 24 (4)
1986: Tom’s wild year
The second part of his Island acclaimed trilogy elevated Tom Waits to the first position of the class of 1986.
1. TOM WAITS (18.66)
2. THE CURE (18.82)
3. NEW ORDER (18.86)
4. MADONNA (18.91)
The Cure were finally inducted after their brilliant “Head on the Door” after completing their transition from goth-rock to weird-pop. And with the induction of New Order suddenly they had three more artists inducted twice: Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris were the sixth, seventh and eighth of that exclusive list and the first (and last) case of an almost whole band inducted with two different names (Joy Division and New Order). And dance-pop queen Madonna was inducted after two albums and a movie.
Since we inducted numbers 1-3 before, only Madonna showed-up in our list. The rest of the pack was quite unusual (but not unexpected). The Supremes were finally inducted (almost twenty years after the critics) due to the insistence of Paul, Jonah and Schwah. Paul fronted also the cause of country lady Patsy Cline, followed by other voters, and so it was the case of schleuse and Paul favourites X. Both Patsy and X were not going to be inducted by the critics. 1986 was Paul’s year obviously, 1987 was going to be the year of another Paul.
Our class of 1986:
1. THE SUPREMES: 26 (5)
2. PATSY CLINE: 26 (3)
3. MADONNA: 23 (4)
4. X: 21 (3)
1987: you can call him Paul
Paul Simon was previously inducted at #2 of 1969 as part of his duo with Art Garfunkel. In 1987 he was inducted again but this time at #1 for a fascinating solo career with “Graceland” as last brilliant chapter (then).
1. PAUL SIMON (18.64)
2. RUN-D.M.C. (18.65)
3. PETER GABRIEL (18.89)
4. HÜSKER DÜ (18.94)
Two new bands and another veteran accompanied Paul Simon to the Hall. On the first group hip hop pioneers Run-D.M.C. after their commercial and (critical) break-through with “Raising Hell” (and “Walk This Way”) and hardcore pioneers Hüsker Dü just before their final album. And the other veteran was Peter Gabriel, much more acclaimed for his solo career that for his work as part of prog-rock band Genesis.
Our list showed the highest coincidence with the critics since 1965. Only Gabriel didn’t enter our hall till 1998, our choice were The Specials, inducted by the critics 4 years before.
Our choices:
1. RUN-D.M.C.: 58 (8)
2. PAUL SIMON: 45 (7)
3. THE SPECIALS: 34 (4)
4. HÜSKER DÜ: 28 (4)
1988: some candy
The Jesus & Mary Chain gained the first position of the HOA after “Darklands”, their second album, although their most acclaimed album is their debut album, “Psychocandy”.
1. THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN (18.81)
2. GUNS N’ ROSES (18.83)
3. THE REPLACEMENTS (18.94)
4. KATE BUSH (18.96)
Guns n’ Roses needed only their debut album for being inducted (it was not the first case, The Velvet Underground, The Sex Pistols and Derek & the Dominos made it before). The other two artists were inducted after their fifth album, The Replacements after their “Pleased to Meet Me” and Kate Bush after her lauded “Hounds of Love”.
We inducted Guns n’ Roses at number one but we resisted a lot with The Jesus & Mary Chain (not inducted till 2004, 16 years after the insistence of schleuse). A similar insistence from schleuse achieved the induction of T. Rex and also the insistence but this time from Harold Wexler made it for Randy Newman (it wasn’t the case for the New York Dolls). Plus we inducted trash-metal pioneers Metallica a year before the critics.
Our inductees:
1. GUNS N’ ROSES: 51 (6)
2. T. REX: 26 (3)
3. RANDY NEWMAN: 25 (4)
4. METALLICA: 21 (3)
1989: (daydream) nation of millions
Finally it took a hip hop nation of millions not to hold them back but to push them up. To push Public Enemy to the top of the list of 1989.
1. PUBLIC ENEMY (18.23)
2. SONIC YOUTH (18.46)
3. METALLICA (18.98)
4. CAROLE KING (19.01)
Along with best hip hop band ever the critics inducted Sonic Youth, the popes of alternative nation after their 1988 masterpiece “Daydream Nation”, Metallica, the new heroes of the metal nation after “...And Justice for All”. And closing the list they got the singer-songwriter nation’s icon, Carole King, almost 20 years after her breakthrough album “Tapestry”.
We chose even more suitable companions for PE and SY. Accompanying Public Enemy we inducted the creators of gansta-rap N.W.A and we inducted with Sonic Youth the other pioneers of alternative rock, Pixies.
We inducted:
1. PUBLIC ENEMY: 68 (8)
2. SONIC YOUTH: 44 (8)
3. PIXIES: 30 (6)
4. N.W.A: 28 (5)