Image Credit: Reuters/Lucas Jackson/Landov
Alice Cooper and Tom Waits were among the five performers inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday night at the official ceremony held at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City. Cooper, whose horror-inspired shock rock first went mainstream in 1971 with his hit “I’m Eighteen,” was inducted by fellow horror-rocker Rob Zombie. He showed up for the event wearing a (presumably fake) blood-splattered shirt and had a giant albino snake wrapped around his neck. “We’ve always been a hard-rock band,” the AP reports Cooper said. “We just wanted to decorate it a little differently.”
1995 Hall of Fame inductee Neil Young inducted Waits, the gravel-voiced singer-songwriter-street poet who earned a passionate following with a prolific string of critically acclaimed albums in the 1970s. ”They say that I have no hits and that I’m difficult to work with,” he said at the induction, according to the AP, “and they say that like it’s a bad thing.” Waits won the Alternative Music Album Grammy in 1993 for Bone Machine and a Contemporary Folk Grammy in 1999 for Mule Variations.
As announced in December, the other performers inducted to the Hall this year were: Neil Diamond (inducted by Paul Simon), Darlene Love (inducted by Bette Midler), and Dr. John (inducted by John Legend). Leon Russell was also inducted, by Elton John, as a sideman, and Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman and Specialty Records founder Art Rupe were inducted as non-performers. The 26th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony will air on Fuse on Sunday, March 20 at 9 p.m. ET.
Waaaaaaaay overdue for Chicago, Kiss and, The Doobie Bros.
I absolutely agree with you! Let’s also add Whitney Houston!
Whitney Houston? Seeing how the RnR HOF frequently gets it wrong, she’ll probably get in before KISS.
Alice Cooper should be in before KISS. And I’m not saying KISS shouldn’t be in. They should. But The Coop got there first. If there was no Alice there’d be no KISS.
Whitney Houston shouldn’t even be allowed to VISIT the RNRHOF.
Whitney Houston? for a ROCK N ROLL hall of fame??????
Kiss and Journey were snubbed. They should’ve been nominated YEARS AGO!!!! Happy for Alice Cooper!!!
Kiss is a possibility, but no way should Journey ever get in, and that’s from someone who has spent 15 years in classic rock radio. Journey almost singlehandedly killed the idea of rock music with substance and attitude.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Alica Cooper…then & NOW with his golf playing. I was lucky enough to have him as a babysitter waaayyyy back when he was still Vince and later an older brother that blessed me with introducing me to his musi and became a HUGE fan….still am! My older brother saw his Salt Lake City concert back in the 70′s when the Mormons were soooo mortified!!! Wish I had been old enough to let my mother allow me to attend
KISS? Really? I think they are an ok novelty act and nothing more.
We still need The Replacements, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Joy Division!
Miss Jackson if you’re nasty!
The New York Dolls better make it in before KISS.
Don’t forget about the Moody Blues!
KISS sucks.
They will put these turkeys in there, but not Rush??? Forget it. Lame.
Agreed on KISS. The Cure, Husker Du, and Motorhead are also all sterling examples of their respective genres and deserve it.
I think that genre would be insulted to be called rock and roll.
Um, you think Whitney Houston is rock and roll. This is amusing.
As rock and roll as Darlene Love, dummy.
It’s not really the “Rock ‘n Roll” Hall of Fame. That’s just what they call it. Ella Fitzgerald is in there, for cripes’ sake.
DIO and Rush next
Don’t forget Judas Preist or Iron Maiden!!!
Perfect!! So True
Priest and Iron Maiden are real Rock and Roll long live Heavy Mental
Donovan was nominated for the first time this year. This year. The Lovin’ Spoonful and The Mamas and Papas, two lesser/important folk acts, are already in. This year’s inductees seemed a little thin.
Now they need to induct the following WAY overdue bands: Cheap Trick, KISS and Judas Priest!
Still waiting for acts such as The Cure, Depeche Mode, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys, The Smiths, Joy Division/New Order, Black Flag to have their day in the RnR HOF.
as well as Roxy Music, Eurythmics, Cheap Trick, Replacements, New York Dolls, The Jam, Cyndi Lauper, Husker Du, Joan Jett, The Damned, Sonic Youth, Duran Duran…
You, sir, could not be more right!
Some great stuff there, guys — I especially like the Cure, Depeche Mode, the Smiths, JD/NO, Roxy Music, Cheap Trick, the Replacements, the Jam and Cyndi Lauper.
I’d also like to add Rush, T. Rex, the B-52s, Big Star, and Nick Lowe (even if only for having written “What’s So Funny ‘Bout Peace, Love & Understanding?”, produced Elvis Costello and other artists, and given us “Cruel To Be Kind”!).
Duran Duran for sure. They are still making new music, touring successfully, and continue to influence new bands.
DEPECHE MODE ALREADY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Beastie Boys, KISS, Rush, Cheap Trick, & Ozzy as a solo artist.
what a crap fest, none of those guys are worthy, not to say they didn’t have some good songs, but isn’t the Hall of Fame supposed to be for the truly exceptional
Surely you are not including Alice Cooper in that statement…Groundbreaking & trendsetting are just 2 ways to describe him, besides amazing songs & live performances. He is truly deserving.
Better description: Weirdo and ugly
or tom waits. his music is beautiful. rich story telling, unique vocals and pushes to make new sounds. i love his work from “jersey girl” to “orphans”. he’s an american classic and there ain’t many of those around.
I love Tom — I’m glad he finally got in. I’d love to see Randy Newman and Warren Zevon get in there sometime, too…
Still waiting for rock legends Project Pat, Technotronic and Don Johnson to make it
It is Weird Al’s time. The guy has longer staying power than anyone else, and his band is the greatest cover band inthe world! He deserves it.
Hahaha that would be rather interesting. I never considered him before, but now that you mention it, I kindof think the guy deserves it.
Imagine Weird Al and They Might Be Giants getting in the same year and on the same show. It’ll never happen for neither, but what a show it’d be.
Add The Dead Milkmen into the mix. It will never happen, but it would amusing to see it.
Weird Al and TMBG — that would be so awesome.
ABSO-freakin’-LUTELY!
Just saw Alice Cooper perform last year. Still puts on a great show.
The fact that neither KISS or Rush is in proves how much of a joke this so-called “Hall Of Fame” really is.
I second that!
I third that!! We want RUSH!!!!!
What about Chaka Khan or her former band Rufus? or Patti LaBelle and her former groundbreaking group Labelle? I mean nothing against Madonna, but she`s in Hall of Fame before these legendary ladies!? They better not put Whitney Houston in before them!
Rush, that is all.
Chaka Kahn etc would be great – if it was the DISCO hall of fame!
You must don`t know about Chaka and her eclectic musical career.
Chaka Khan & Patti Labelle kicks Madonna’s a$$. Alice Cooper rocks! Bring on Rush now!
Really, just stop calling it the rock n’r oll hall of fame, just call it the pop music hall of fame and call it day. 2/3 of the people they let in have nothing to do with rock so it would just be less annoying every year when they announce the inductees.
I so agree with your statement. call it Pop Music Hall of Fame.
Better yet: Let them get their own Hall of Fame and leave the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as it was meant to be — just that — Rock and Roll.
Because Tom Waits is the epitome of pop.