The Term "ROCK" is blurred further

[drew]

I don't think the founders intended for the title to be taken so literally. It's the Music Hall of Fame, and as such, everyone in it is perfectly acceptable. There are no other "Halls" anyway. What, we want the Jazz Fusion Hall of Fame? The Hardcore Acid Trance House Techno Hall of Fame?

define: rock n roll

A form of popular music arising from and incorporating a variety of musical styles, especially rhythm and blues, country music, and gospel. Originating in the United States in the 1950s, it is characterized by electronically amplified instrumentation, a heavily accented beat, and relatively simple phrase structure.

certainly leaves room for inclusion and interpretation.

I Gotta go with Es on this one.
Madonna (though I don't enjoy any of her music personally) is quite popular, and always has been...she ranks with the people who deserve to be in a Hall of Fame; and since the Rock 'n Roll HOF is all there is...well...

**BUT***
It was incorperated at a time when the term Rock 'n Roll (or Rock) means something diifferent then it did when it first came into use. Therefore Pop acts (or Rap acts as they will no doubt start to trickle in) don't seem like they belong.

Although...if they had of called it the Music Hall of Fame, it would have had to let in a far broader variety of musicians.
And the Pop Music Hall of Fame would sound stupid.

So I think by calling it Rock 'N Roll Hal of Fame...and not the Rock hall of Fame, allows them to let in acts like Madonna


But what about if they were inducted under different genres?
Like "Madonna, has been inducted into the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame under to Pop-category" ?

[Zenlunatic]

They're all on steroids anyway...

[drew]

That was just Jon Bon Jovi wasn't it?

I'd rather listen to every Madonna album a hundred times over, then to have to listen to ANYthing BonJovi has ever done.

[Zenlunatic]

How many homers did he hit?

[drew]

How many times did Jon Bon Jovi score a home run?

Probebly more times than imaginable.

[Zenlunatic]

Right...probably beyond count...definatetly juiced (eww.. that sounds kinda bad in that context doesn't it).

[sgt.null]

is Black Flag in the haul yet?

[onewyteduck]

I thought this was kind of interesting.....

The Most Neglected Band in the World

By Jeb Wright

The Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame gets their fair share of slack for obvious omissions amongst their honorees. Deep Purple, Cheap Trick, Blue Oyster Cult, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden are all bands that should be honored. However, no one has been slighted by the HOF as much as Canadian rockers Rush.

The band has sold over 35 million records worldwide. They have amassed 24 Gold or Platinum awards, 14 of which are platinum. They trail only the Beatles and Rolling Stones for consecutive Gold and Platinum selling albums. Two of their releases are multi-platinum sellers. Moving Pictures has shifted over four million copies while 2112 has moved over three million units. They consistently sell out tours and have even sold gold and platinum on DVD releases of recent concerts. Rush has also featured the same three-piece trio for over 30 years. Are there any bands in the HOF that can boast the same longevity with the same members?

Individually, all three band members have won every award that can be bestowed upon them. Neal Peart is considered the best drummer in the world, Geddy Lee is considered the best bass player in the world and Alex Lifeson is in the Guitar Player Magazine Hall of Fame. In addition to all of the accolades the band is in the Canadian Music Hall of Fame, has won nine Juno awards and been nominated for several Grammy's.

With all of these successes why then is Rush not already in the HOF? One quickly realizes that there are not many bands currently in the Hall that boast the same type of numbers that Rush does. In thinking this conundrum through I have been able to only come up with four reasons why Rush has been slighted.

A. The Rock N Roll Hall of Fame Hates Canadians
Okay, so Neil Young was put in back in 1993 and he is Canadian. All this proves is that they love Neil Young. What about BTO, the Guess Who, April Wine and Triumph? If you look at the list then it becomes obvious that Rush is the best of the bunch and they are being left out in the cold.

B. Rush are Nerds
This one is hard to argue. They have nicknames like The Professor and Geddy. I have seen the band several times in concert and have never seen any bare breasts flashed at the boys. I would be willing to bet they have signed more slide rulers than they have boobs. Still, is that any reason to deny them their just rewards? Have they not, despite being nerds, sold millions of records and gained tons of respect from those inside and outside the music industry? Nerds or not, Rush needs in. Grand Master Flash was inducted last year. Does this mean Flavor Flav will join the HOF before Rush?

C. The HOF Hates Nerds.
Nope, Jaan Werner is involved. Nerdy does not come any larger than that. They don't hate nerds. Case closed.

D. Rush Won't Be a Big Ticket Act
Ah ha! I think we might have the truth. With the numbers the band has put up they would have to be the featured act like AC/DC, The Police and Aerosmith have been in recent years. If Rush is the featured act one has to wonder how big a deal the press would make of it. They have never been headline grabbers. There is never any Rush controversy in the tabloids. I would bet that the Paparazzi don't even know where the band members live. The only thing out of the ordinary that has happened to the band in over thirty years were the tragic deaths of Neal Peart's daughter and wife. Rush have, unfortunately for them, been a group of successful musicians who are friends and make music for music's sake. This is hardly the type of band to create the media hype necessary to sell tickets to an induction for several thousands dollars each.

Talent, loyalty, musical virtuosity and dedication are all present in the band. They also have the almighty sales numbers. What sucks is that this is a band that has done nothing NOT to deserve the Hall yet they are not allowed to enter. On the other hand, the HOF has started giving some love to classic rock bands. Aerosmith, ZZ Top and AC/DC are all now members. The problem is that they seem to think they have done their part while the rest of the world thinks they are just getting off to a good start.

Until Rush gets inducted the Hall will have a huge ugly wart on their backside. The ironic thing is that Geddy, Alex and Neal probably don't even care if they get in or not. They have enough awards, plaques and keys to the city to fill a warehouse. The Rush fans, however, feel slighted. They love the band and Rush not being able to take their place among the hallowed halls pisses them off.

I, for one, don't have anything against the institution and was thrilled last year when they honored Van Halen. I can actually see the point behind some omissions as many bands have had many line up changes and have suffered through times that are not very HOF worthy. This is not to say that I agree with their logic but I do understand the point made. However, Rush does not fall into the same category as REO Speedwagon, Kansas or Journey (even though I feel these three are no brainers to be included). Rush is in the same company as Pink Floyd, Van Halen and Aerosmith as far as sales, longevity and musical respect are concerned.

What you may ask is the answer? There really is only one thing we can do as common music fans. We must annoy the hell out of the HOF. We need to keep the fan petitions coming and let The Man know that Rush fans will not be kept down!

In the end, I am sure it is only a matter of time before they relent and induct the band. Time will see justice is done. Let's hope 2008 is the year of Rush so they can hand off the baton of being the World's Most Neglected Band to the next worthy adversary.

www.classicrockrevisited.com/Articles/A ... rticle.htm

[Zarathustra]

I agree with the article's main point: Rush deserves to be honored. The achievements listed above are quite impressive. Even if Rush had disbanded after 1980's Moving Pictures, they'd deserve a place in the HOF. However, they've never stopped in over 30 years. The longest they've gone without touring was 5 years, and that was due to Neil losing his wife and daughter--his entire family--in a two year span.

Rush is entirely unique among the legendary classic rock acts from the 70s in this aspect. While other bands from that era may get back together for a "reunion" tour every decade or so, relying on songs that are a quarter century old, Rush has never stopped being a viable working band--either touring or with new music. Their latest tour is their most successful ever, which featured a record NINE songs from the very successful new album. They added over 40 shows to this spring and summer after the 60+ shows from last year sold so well.

Imagine if Led Zepplin had never stopped, but continued touring and making albums all through the 80s, 90s, and 00s. Imagine if they had eighteen studio albums of completely original, and ever-changing music. Imagine if they could still play and sing just as well as they did in the 70s. Think about what a big deal that would have been, how grateful the fans would have been, to have received such a wealth of albums and performances over the decades. Imagine if the Stones were still making music their fans wanted to listen to--or if they *ever* played their instruments with such virtuosity as Rush.

There is simply no other musical counterpart to Rush. No other rock band has achieved what they are still doing, even in their mid 50s. They are completely unique in the entire music industry. Not only should they be in the R&R HOF, they should hold the top honor. They are truly the greatest rock band in history . . . except they are still going.

Just some of their awards, as listed on Wikipedia:

Rush has received several awards and nominations throughout their three decade career. [88][89]

[edit] Juno awards

Rush has been awarded the following Juno awards:

* 1974 Most promising group of the year
* 1977 Group of the year
* 1978 Group of the year
* 1990 Artist of the Decade (80's)
* 1991 Best Heavy Metal Album
* 1991 Best album cover - Presto
* 1992 Best Hard Rock Album
* 1992 Best album cover - Roll the Bones
* 2004 Music DVD of the year - Rush in Rio

[edit] Grammy nominations

* 1981 nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance
o "YYZ" — lost to The Police's "Behind My Camel"
* 1992 nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance
o "Where's My Thing?" — lost to Eric Johnson's "Cliffs of Dover"
* 1995 nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance
o "Leave That Thing Alone" — lost to Pink Floyd's "Marooned"
* 2004 nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance
o "O Baterista" from Rush In Rio — lost to Brian Wilson's "Mrs. O'Leary's Cow"
* 2008 nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance
o "Malignant Narcissism" from Snakes & Arrows

[edit] Miscellaneous awards

* December 1990 - Rush wins Mayor's Award at the Toronto Music Awards.
* October 1992 - Recipients of the Harold Moon Award by the Society of Composers, Authors, and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN). It is the most prestigious songwriter’s award in Canada.
* May 1993 - Rush is inducted into the Harvard National Lampoon and named “Group Of The Millennium”.
* October 1993 - Recipients of the Toronto Arts Award.
* March 1994 - Rush inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame[90]
* May 1996 - Lee, Lifeson, and Peart are made Officers of the Order of Canada, the first rock musicians so honored.
* December 1996 - Performance magazine, a publication for the touring industry, nominated Rush as "Rock Act of the Year" for their 1996 Performance Readers Poll Awards.
* May 1997 - The Foundation Forum and F Musicfest have announced Rush this year's recipient of the "Concrete/Foundations Outstanding Contribution to Music Award. Rush joins a distinguished list of receipts including Van Halen, Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne and Alice Cooper.
* May 1999 - Rush was inducted into Canada's Walk Of Fame in Toronto.
* January 2000 - Rush has topped JAM! Music's online poll, which determines them "Best Canadian Musicians of All Time".
* 2003 - Inducted into the CMW Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame

[edit] Magazine awards

[edit] Geddy Lee

* Bass Hall of Fame - Guitar Player Magazine
* 6 time winner: "Best Rock Bass" - Guitar Player Magazine
* 1993 - "Best Rock Bass Player" Bass Player readers' poll

[edit] Alex Lifeson

* "Best Rock Talent" by Guitar for the Practicing Musician in 1983
* "Best Rock Guitarist" by Guitar Player in 1984
* Runner-up for "Best Rock Guitarist" in Guitar Player in 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986
* Inducted into the Guitar for the Practicing Musician Hall of Fame, 1991

[edit] Neil Peart

Peart has received the following awards in the Modern Drummer magazine reader's poll:

* Hall of Fame: 1983
* Best Rock Drummer: 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 2006 (won vote count, but ineligible*)
* Best Multi-Percussionist: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986
* Best Percussion Instrumentalist: 1982
* Most Promising New Drummer: 1980
* Best All Around: 1986
* 1986 Honor Roll: Rock Drummer, Multi-Percussion

(* - As a member of the Honor Roll in these categories, he is no longer eligible for votes in the above categories.)

* Best Instructional Video: 2006, for Anatomy of A Drum Solo
* Best Drum Recording of the 1980s, 2007, for "YYZ" from Exit...Stage Left

* Best Recorded Performance:
o 1980: Permanent Waves
o 1981: Moving Pictures
o 1982: Exit...Stage Left
o 1983: Signals
o 1985: Grace Under Pressure
o 1986: Power Windows
o 1988: Hold Your Fire
o 1989: A Show of Hands
o 1990: Presto
o 1992: Roll the Bones
o 1993: Counterparts
o 1997: Test for Echo
o 1999: Different Stages
o 2002: Vapor Trails
o 2004: R30
o 2007: Snakes and Arrows

Peart has received the following awards from DRUM! magazine for 2007:[91]

* Drummer of the Year
* Best Progressive Rock Drummer
* Best Live Performer
* Best DVD ("Anatomy Of A Drum Solo")
* Best Drumming Album (Snakes & Arrows)