The big news in the music industry this past week was the announcement of who’s being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Generally, you don’t hear too much once the names are announced, but there’s been a bit of talk going around this year. This year’s inductees include Depeche Mode, the Doobie Brothers, T-Rex and Nine Inch Nails. But there are a couple other names that have made it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Notorious B.I.G. and Whitney Houston.
To be eligible to be nominated into the hall of fame, artists have to have released their first record at least 25 years before the year they’re nominated. Nominations in the form of ballots are cast by a panel of more than 1,000 people related to the music industry: Artists, former inductees, music historians, and other members of the industry. The 25-year thing is really the only condition an artist or group needs in order to be nominated, and ultimately the inductees are selected based on their influence on rock ‘n’ roll, as well as their innovation.
In previous years the Hall has been criticized for their lack of diversity, with both genre and gender. Some people believe the hall of fame should be open to other artists since there are many, many talented people and groups out there who are more than deserving to be immortalized. There is also a distinct lack of female representation in the hall of fame, with women making up less than eight percent of inductees. Last year Janet Jackson was inducted, and during her speech she had one message for the organization: “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, please: 2020, induct more women.”
While they’re making a good step in the right direction with the induction of Whitney Houston, people are still not satisfied because she’s not a rock artist! I think it’s great that they’re including other genres into the hall of fame. You don’t need to be rock, to rock! Houston’s influence spans generations of singers and musicians of all backgrounds. She’s the only artist to have charted seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits. She is the only artist with eight consecutive multi-platinum albums and in 1987 her second album, “Whitney,” entered the Billboard 200 Album chart at No. 1, the first time for a female artist. Not to mention her ICONIC version of “I Will Always Love You.” You’d have to be living under the biggest rock ever to not know that song. So really, how rock ‘n’ roll is that?!
Notorious B.I.G. has also had quite the impact on music, most notably his enormous hand in the reinvention of East Coast hip hop. Now, Biggie is someone I’m not very familiar with, but I definitely appreciate what he’s done for hip hop music. His debut album went quadruple platinum and he eventually broke into pop and R&B charts too. Albums were released after his death, and in 2017 the A&E documentary “Biggie: The Life of Notorious B.I.G,” further showcased his influence in hip hop and beyond.
Now that they’re opening up and adding artists from other genres, some people still don’t like it! This just goes to show that you can’t please everyone. I’m thinking they should change the name and just be the Music Hall of Fame to be inclusive of all genres. Whether you like it or not, music inspires music. If you listen to metal, you can hear jazz influences. Some pop and rock songs have folk-roots influences. Like what you like, and let’s just celebrate these musicians’ amazing milestones!
Shelby Emro is a radio student from SAIT in Calgary and is excited to be completing her practicum as a production intern at 102.1 CJCY and 105.3 ROCK.
