Bon Jovi, The Cars, Nina Simone are among Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s class of 2018
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s class of 2018 will reach back a little further back into music history with the inductions of Bon Jovi, The Cars, Dire Straits, the Moody Blues and Nina Simone.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe, known as the “Godmother of Rock ‘n’ Roll” for her influential gospel/R&B in the ‘30s and ‘40s, will enter as well with the Award for Early Influence.
Radiohead and Rage Against the Machine, two major bands that made their mark in the ‘90s, are notable snubs. Radiohead had previously announced that it would not attend the induction, which will take place at Cleveland’sPublic Hall on April 14.
For nearly a decade, fans have been clamoring for the induction of Bon Jovi, which sold more than 120 million albums and charted such No. 1 hits as “Livin’ on a Prayer,” ‘’You Give Love a Bad Name,” ‘’Bad Medicine” and “I’ll Be There for You.” The New Jersey rockers, who were first nominated in 2011, topped the Rock Hall’s online fan poll (which accounted for one vote among the 900-plus artists and industry professionals) with more than 1.1 million votes.
Jon Bon Jovi posted a video statement saying, “Just want to say hi. Wish you all a happy holiday. Oh yeah, by the way, thank you! Thanks for inducting us into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Long time comin’! But it’s finally here. We’ll see you guys in Cleveland! Thanks for all the memories and the history we continue to make together.”
The Moody Blues, a close second in the fan vote with 948,000, are the latest of the British progressive-rock bands to enter the Hall. Best known for the classic “Nights in White Satin,” the Moody Blues were among the first bands to blend rock with orchestral music in the late ‘60s.
Singer Justin Hayward told Rolling Stone, “On Friday [the day before I heard the news], I couldn’t have cared less. On Saturday, I was thinking, ‘Wow, that’s amazing!’ I’m extremely grateful to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for two things: For creating the supreme temple to something that has brought me endless joy since I was a little boy. The second thing is for, after all these years, including us.”
British rockers Dire Straits, third in the fan vote with 614,000, hit the scene in a big way in 1977 with “Sultans of Swing,” a twangy rocker that sounded like nothing else on the radio. The band made six albums, through 19991, before frontman Mark Knopfler began focusing on his solo career.
This was the third nomination for Boston New Wave band The Cars (fourth in the fan vote with 553,000), which arrived in 1978 and broke into mainstream radio with a unique sound on the hits “Just What I Needed,” “My Best Friend’s Girl” and “Good Times Roll.”
Simone, a first-time nominee, debuted in 1958 with a jazzy, soulful sound and became part of the civil rights movement in the ‘60s, appearing at the Selma to Montgomery marches in 1965. Her music has been embraced by everyone from Aretha Franklin to John Lennon to Kanye West. She died in 2003.
This year’s other nominees included Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, LL Cool J, Kate Bush, Depeche Mode, Eurythmics, J. Geils Band, MC5, The Meters, Link Wray and The Zombies.
Artists are eligible for induction 25 years after releasing their first recording.