Sing is a musical menagerie
Hall of Fame set to honour Tupac, Baez and other musical icons
The late rapper Tupac Shakur and Seattle-based rockers Pearl Jam lead a class of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees that also include folky Joan Baez and 1970s favourites Journey, Yes and Electric Light Orchestra.
The Rock Hall also said Dec. 20, it would give a special award to Nile Rodgers, whose disco-era band Chic failed again to make the cut after its 11th time nominated.
Steppenwolf was also in the running, but not chosen.
The Hall’s 32nd annual induction ceremony will take place on April 7 in Brooklyn. HBO will show highlights later, with SiriusXM doing a radio broadcast.
Shakur was shot and killed after attending a boxing match in Las Vegas in 1996, a murder that has spawned conspiracy theories but remains unsolved. Changes, Keep Ya Head Up, Ambitionz Az a Ridah and Life Goes On are among his best-known songs.
Only 25 when he died, Shakur left behind a trove of music released posthumously.
Pearl Jam exploded in popularity from the start in the early 1990s, behind songs like Alive, Jeremy and Even Flow. After Nirvana, it is the second band with roots in Seattle’s grunge rock scene to make the Hall.
Baez was a political activist and mainstay of the folk movement, performing at the first Newport Folk Festival at age 19 in 1959. She was known primarily as an interpreter of others’ songs, introducing Bob Dylan to a wider audience at the beginning of his career. Their affair ended badly in 1965, for which Dylan later apologized.
Journey’s 1981 song Don’t Stop Believin’ was given new life by being featured in the closing scene of HBO’s The Sopranos and became a favourite of a new generation. Its 6.8 million iTunes sales make it the most-bought song on that platform from the pre-digital era, says Nielsen SoundScan.
Britain’s Yes, known for its complex compositions, was a leader of the 1970s progressive rock movement.
Its hits include I’ve Seen All Good People, Roundabout and Owner of a Lonely Heart, and fans have waged a vociferous campaign to see them honoured. Founding bass player Chris Squire, the one constant in many years of personnel changes, died in June 2015.
Electric Light Orchestra got its start melding classical influences to Beatles-influenced pop, and charted with Evil Woman, Mr. Blue Sky and Don’t Bring Me Down.
Chic, led by Rodgers and the late Bernard Edwards, has become the Rock Hall’s version of Susan Lucci and her long quest to win a Daytime Emmy.
The Hall’s award for musical excellence to songwriter and guitarist Rodgers is no consolation prize. When disco cooled, Rodgers became one of the hottest producers in the business.