“Variety” Writer Wants To Know Why Chicago Isn’t In The Rock Hall Of Fame

anthonyjmiccio | June 5, 2008 5:30 am
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I’ve actively avoided the early work of Chicago (thanks to a childhood spent hearing its later material), so I can’t say whether I agree with Variety’s Phil Gallo and his contention that the band and its “superb musicianship” has been unfairly kept out of the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. But I’m intrigued by one of his claims: “It shows the bias of the hall’s voters–they are either too old to have the wistful childhood memories of the early ’70s or too young to fully appreciate how distinctive they were in the pop landscape at the time.” Whether it’s due to this alleged age schism (I doubt that the “rock experts” who get ballots don’t include people with childhood memories of the early ’70s) or not, there are quite a few commercially successful and even critically acclaimed artists who released notable works in that decade and have been ignored by the voting public.

I can’t say I’m a fan of all these artists, but I could see an argument why these bands have as much as a right to be in the Hall Of Fame as Madonna or the Dave Clark Five.

ABBA Bachman-Turner Overdrive Boston Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band Cars Deep Purple Devo Neil Diamond Doobie Brothers Electric Light Orchestra Emerson, Lake & Palmer Foreigner Peter Gabriel Genesis Guess Who Hall & Oates Hawkwind Heart Jethro Tull KC & The Sunshine Band King Crimson Kiss Moody Blues Procol Harum Randy Newman Todd Rundgren Roxy Music Rush Styx Supertramp Richard & Linda Thompson Three Dog Night Loudon Wainwright III Yes

And there are undoubtedly some flagrant absences that haven’t even occurred to me. A good number of the above artists will probably trickle in over the years, especially once they realize that hoary rock bands like some of these will probably be more apt to jam during the induction ceremony than younger post-punk acts.

Adding Transparency To A Critical Process: Giving Chicago Its Proper Place In The Rock ‘n’ Roll Canon [The Set List]

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