The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees for 2015 have been announced, and it’s not embarrassing. The official list: Lou Reed, Green Day, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Bill Withers and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. There’s also Ringo Starr getting the Award For Musical Excellence, and the 1950s R&B group the “5” Royales will receive the Early Influence Award. [photo: Jason Nelson/Getty]
We know that the real criteria for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a joke. This lineup still isn’t some kind of a sham. Nobody’s going to argue with Lou Reed, who made great albums in the ’60s and ’70s, and four good albums in the ’80s, and–well, then he made more albums. We still wish that Lou’s guitarist Dick Wagner was getting some attention. That guy passed away in July, and his work with Reed is really important. Check out Dick Wagner setting up Lou for one of the greatest intros in the history of rock (not that you can actually see Dick in this 1973 video)…
Aging punks will be upset to learn that Green Day has been around long enough to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There are lots of artists who deserve to be inducted before Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, but we won’t complain too much about that. We’re just wondering which members of the Blackhearts will get the official honor. We know a few of them, but let’s not pretend the Blackhearts were some kind of legendary backing band.
The late Stevie Ray Vaughan’s induction should make a lot of people happy, and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band always deserve more attention. It’s also good to see Bill Withers getting a proper induction. That guy had an amazing 15-year recording streak of soulful pop classics. In fact, we’re going to spend the next half-hour just watching Bill Withers doing a BBC concert–also from 1973, which was a pretty great year for rock ‘n roll, plus classic soul [UPDATE: Hey, here’s a COED writer agreeing with us via VH1]…
