A worthy class awaits induction in 'Rock Hall'

The Grammys honor what’s happening now in music, but the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame takes the long view and celebrates the significance and influence of artists over the course of their careers: a Grammy is exciting, but induction into the rock hall is the profound achievement of a lifetime.

There will be both excitement and profundity in the air on Monday, March 15, when the 19^th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony is held at the fabled Waldorf Astoria in New York City. This year’s inductees are Jackson Browne, the Dells, the late George Harrison, Prince, Bob Seger, Traffic and ZZ Top. Jann Wenner, co-founder and publisher of Rolling Stone magazine, will receive a non-performer lifetime achievement award.

Reflecting and amplifying the star power of the inductees will be Bruce Springsteen, Dave Matthews, Tom Petty, OutKast and Alicia Keys among the presenters and inductors. VH1 will tape the event, which will include live performances, for broadcast March 21.

The Inductees
The year’s inductees are a varied and worthy group, although arguably none but Prince belongs in rock’s core pantheon.

Giulio Marcocchi  /  Getty Images file

Jackson Browne was the most dominant singer-songwriter in L.A. in the '70s.

Jackson Browne: Although he was only 23 at the time, when Browne’s remarkably mature self-titled debut was released in 1972 (with classics “Doctor My Eyes” and “Rock Me On the Water”), he had already been a prominent personality on the L.A. scene for several years, and was an accomplished writer with songs recorded by Nico, Tom Rush, Linda Ronstadt and the Byrds. For the next 10 years, Browne was the L.A. rock singer-songwriter, crafting finely wrought, deeply personal songs of love, loss and life, before turning to wider affairs and politics later in his career. Ably supported by the remarkable multi-instrumentalist David Lindley, Browne could rock as well as croon. Among his indelible songs are “Take It Easy” (co-written with the Eagles’ Glen Frey), “Redneck Friend,” “Fountain of Sorrow,” “The Pretender,” “Running On Empty,” “Boulevard” and “Lawyers In Love.”

The Dells: Archetypal R&B vocal harmony group the Dells began recording doo-wop in 1953 and carry on to this very day with one lineup change in 51 years. Led by the appealingly gruff lead of Marvin Junior and the sweet high tenor of Johnny Carter, the quintet has performed and recorded in every decade since the '50s, making them one of the most influential vocal groups of all time. The Dells reached their commercial peak in the late '60s and early '70s with the smooth soul of “Stay In My Corner,” “I Can Sing a Rainbow/Love Is Blue,” “Always Together,” “Give Your Baby a Standing Ovation” and “Oh What a Night.” The Dells’ career is brilliantly contained in a new “Ultimate Collection” on Chess/Hip-O Records.

George Harrison: For a time in the early '70s — based upon the extraordinary, lush, Phil Spector-produced triple-album “All Things Must Pass,” the landmark “Concert For Bangla Desh,” and the chart-topping “Living In the Material World” — it looked like “the quiet Beatle” might end up being the most successful ex-Mop Top. Though this didn’t come to pass, Harrison’s career spanned three decades as an exceptional singer, guitarist, songwriter, producer (music and film), and as a humanitarian.

Among his best-loved songs are “My Sweet Lord,” “Isn’t It a Pity,” “What is Life,” “Give Me Love,” “All Those Years Ago” and “Got My Mind Set On You.” He was also a member of the highly appealing late '80s supergroup Traveling Wilburys (with Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne and Roy Orbison — all but Lynne are in the Rock Hall, now that’s a supergroup). Harrison died in late 2001 after a long battle with cancer.

Steven Parke  /  AP

Prince found his voice in the apparent duality of sex and God.

Prince: The Minneapolis Sound of the early-’80s was a spirited blend of funk, disco, synth-pop, R&B, soul and rock played by a multi-racial, gender-blending group of musicians under the tutelage of the child prodigy Prince , who found his voice in the apparent duality of sex and God. Prince challenged Michael Jackson and Madonna for supremacy over the pop world in the '80s, and he has long since surpassed them both in pure musical artistry and prodigious creative output.

Prince will begin his first arena tour in six years on March 29 and will give away his upcoming album, “Musicology,” free to ticket buyers at his concerts. I guess he just wants to say “thanks.”

Bob Seger: With his force-of-nature rock ‘n’ roll bellow, Detroit’s Bob Seger sounds like no one else in rock history. Beginning in the late '60s with the steamrolling “Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man,” Seger — with his trusty Silver Bullet Band usually backing him up — has compiled a crucial body of garage rockers and soulful ballads including “Get Out of Denver,” “Hollywood Nights,” “Night Moves,” “Katmandu,” “Mainstreet,” “Rock and Roll Never Forgets,” “Beautiful Loser,” and yes, “Old Time Rock & Roll.” There’s no escaping that truck commercial either, “Like a Rock.”

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“Katmandu,” “Beautiful Loser” and “Rock and Roll Never Forgets” can be found on his fine “Greatest Hits 2,” released back in November on Capitol.

Traffic: Among the most listenable rock-based groups to ever record, Traffic — with a core of singer/songwriter/keyboardist/guitarist Steve Winwood, singer/songwriter/drummer Jim Capaldi, singer/songwriter/guitarist Dave Mason and Chris Wood on tasty woodwinds — emerged at the tail end of the British Invasion as a psychedelic pop-rock group before evolving into the first group that we would recognize today as a “jam band.” They also brought in deep Anglo-folk roots into the groovy stew of extended improvs and sturdy rock beats.

I love Traffic probably more than is reasonable and am so inclined to ramble on, but some of their greatest songs are “Paper Sun,” “Heaven Is In Your Mind,” “Dear Mr. Fantasy,” “Feelin’ Alright,” “Medicated Goo,” “Glad,” “John Barleycorn,” “Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys,” “Light Up Or Leave Me Alone” and “When the Eagle Flies.” All of these and more can be found on the exceptional two-CD collection “Smiling Phases” on Polygram.

Kevin Winter  /  Getty Images file

ZZ Top slashed their way through the 1970s with earthy, minimalist gems such as "Tush."

ZZ Top: The venerable blues-based Texas power trio of singer/guitarist Billy Gibbons, bassist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard have been rocking with an almost maniacal determination for over three decades. They chopped and slashed their way through the '70s with earthy, minimalist gems like “La Grange,” “Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers,” “Tush,” “I’m Bad, I’m Nationwide” and “Cheap Sunglasses,” before morphing into hip, boogieing space-Amish icons in the '80s. They added synths and electronics to their sound, long beards, hats and coats to their look, and dove into the video generation to produce “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Legs,” “Sleeping Bag” and the oddly gentle “Rough Boy.”

Jann Wenner: A Lifetime Achievement Award winner in the non-performer category, in 1967 Wenner co-founded Rolling Stone magazine with writer Ralph J. Gleason and set the standard for premier rock journalism by treating the interests of America’s youth culture with a seriousness of purpose previously unknown to the field. Rolling Stone is still the music magazine of record and along the way it launched the writing careers of Jon Landau (now Bruce Springsteen’s manager), screenwriter Joe Esterhas, gonzo journalist Hunter Thompson and screenwriter Cameron Crowe.

Though as much of a music insider as anyone, Wenner is still no industry shill, as he proved in a recent Billboard interview. “I wish the business had responded quicker and a lot more intelligently to the rise of the Internet,” he said. “I wish the industry had embraced it instead of fighting it … And now I wish the music business would stop blaming all its ills on the Internet.” Word, Jann, word.

Banner Year for the Rock Hall
As satisfying as is the gathering and induction of another noteworthy class into the hall, 2004 also looks to be the best year in some time for the organization and its physical home, the stunning Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum on Cleveland’s lakefront. Although some feel a grand commemorative edifice is in direct violation of rock ‘n’ roll’s living spirit — that any “Rock Hall” would be a mausoleum, a place where dead things go to pretend that the race with time hasn’t been lost — the place sure feels alive with rock ‘n’ roll spirit to me.

Designed by acclaimed architect I.M. Pei, the museum is a glass-dominated 150,000-square-foot structure, punctuated by a 162-foot tower, and stuffed with accessories to magic. While paid attendance decreased about 6 percent last year, this is seen as a victory in the midst of a tough economy and a downturn in tourism. Better still, through Feb. 15, year-to-date total attendance for 2004 was up 1.8 percent over last year, and the organization is ahead of schedule in paying off long-term debt.

Now just a year-and-a-half away from its 10^th anniversary, the Rock Hall recently announced exciting plans, including collaborating with Cleveland’s Case Western Reserve University to house the hall’s library and archives on the university campus, solving a dire space shortage at the hall itself. A new television series will pair veteran musicians with up-and-coming artists for performances starting in May on the hall’s main stage, with four episodes set to air nationally; and the hall is scouting permanent, revenue-generating satellite locations for its traveling exhibitions in Phoenix and Memphis, Tenn.

All recording artists become eligible for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25 years after the release of their first recording. The nominations and inductions are supervised by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, based in New York, which is made up of record company heads and other industry executives. Each year the Foundation assembles a comprehensive list of all eligible artists, which is pared to about 15 nominees by a mysterious committee of rock historians and selected poobahs. A body of about 700 current inductees, journalists, record execs, and others “experts” then vote on the nominees - an artist’s name must appear on more than 50% of the ballots to be inducted.

Check out bios of inductees, exhibit news, rock history, and more on the Rock Hall site.

Eric Olsen is editor of Blogcritics.org and a regular contributor to MSNBC.com.