The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame gets it...RIGHT?!

As much as I've complained about The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and its stubborn refusal to recognize so, so many worthy artists (like, say, for example, THE MONKEES!!!), it's only fair to acknowledge when the Hall gets something right.

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame got this year's class of inductees right. Or at least close enough to right.

Granted, still no Monkees, no Paul Revere and the Raiders, no Bangles, Rick James, Shangri-Las, New York Dolls, Arthur Alexander, Badfinger, Lesley Gore, Tommy James and the Shondells, Love, the Searchers, et al. None of these were on the ballot this year, so let's not get crazy.

But nor was Warren Zevon on the ballot, and the Hall bypassed the Bermuda Triangle of its often chuckleheaded voting bloc to put him in anyway. Similar executive orders installed influential hip-hop trio Salt-N-Pepa, plus accomplished (and damned near iconic) studio bassist Carol Kaye, essential Philadelphia Soul producer and songwriter Thom Bell, classic rock session pianist Nicky Hopkins, and record company executive Lenny Waronker. Ain't a one of these fresh inductees who don't deserve the honor.

(And before you even think of bitching about hip-hop acts not being part of rock 'n' roll, I'll say I think you're wrong. Rock 'n' roll is a huge, huge umbrella, and it encompasses a lot of different styles and genres. If you believe rap is too far removed from rock 'n' roll to be rock 'n' roll, I could say the same of most progressive rock. Hell, some rap is closer in spirit to Chuck Berry than, say, Yes ever got. But prog does indeed belong in the discussion. So does hip-hop.)

I'm not a Zevon fan to the extent that so many of my peers are Zevon fans, but I respect the talent and absolutely agree that his induction is very much overdue. I said a big ol' YES!! out loud when I saw Zevon's name among the 2025 honorees. It was a such a pleasant surprise, but my biggest huzzah of the night was on behalf of one fresh Hall of Famer above all others:

CHUBBY CHECKER!

After the Monkees, Chubby Checker has been my pick for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's second-most egregious snub to date. I've written a bit about Mr. Checker and his impact here, and I'll be circling back to the subject in a near-future Greatest Record Ever Made! piece about "The Twist." I'm aware of the brain-dead stupid reasons that kept Chubby Checker off the ballot until now. I'm delighted that the Hall's voters have ignored that nonsense and finally--finally--given ol' Chubby his propers.

I don't see any true head-scratchin' results among the rest of this year's class. The fact that I don't listen to Bad Company or Joe Cocker doesn't dilute my conviction that they're also overdue in getting in here. I'm more likely to spin Cyndi Lauper or OutKast, and while I'd concede that Bad Company and Cocker are more imperative because they've already waited too damned long for their official nods, I'm pleased Lauper and OutKast are being recognized.

That leaves Soundgarden and the White Stripes filling the final two spots in the Class of 2025. Could just as easily have been Oasis or Joy Division/New Order, or Billy Idol, or (I guess) the Black Crowes, each of whom were on the ballot but received fewer votes than Soundgarden or the White Stripes. I don't have a dog in this part of the hunt. Phish won the fan ballot, but I'm not bothered by their failure to qualify. I don't know Mexican group Maná at all, so I can't comment on how fair or unfair it is that they missed the cut. And unlike my view of hip-hop as part of this vast tapestry of the rock and the roll, Mariah Carey strikes me as an artist whose work is not part of that tapestry.

If I'd had a ballot--and I'm nowhere near a big enough pundit to get such a thing--my seven picks would have been Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Bad Company, Cyndi Lauper, probably OutKast, possibly Billy Idol (if only for how much his former group Generation X meant to me) and a coin toss for the last one in. That's fairly close to the actual results, so yeah, I say this year The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame got it right.

And next year, for the luvva freakin' Frodis, INDUCT THE MONKEES AWREADY!

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My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. Recent shows are archived at Westcott Radio. You can read about our history here.