Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame "As It Should Be" - 1992, Part Three - The Inductees

Six of the seven inductees from 1992 were first-time eligibles, leaving only one spot for a previously nominated artist.


The following "Class Of 1992" were inducted in their first year of eligibility:

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Jimi Hendrix is one of the most important guitar players in all of rock n roll and certainly among the most innovative. Then again, so is Joe Satriani, but the Hall won't touch him with a ten-foot pole. What makes Hendrix a legend is more than just the way he changed the way we view the electric guitar, but the bluesy classic rock songs themselves. Tracks like "Foxy Lady" and "Purple Haze" set the stage for a career that was made legendary by his show-stealing performance at Woodstock. The band didn't make many albums before Hendrix's death, but he still left behind one of the most impressive track records in classic rock history.

Cream - Another band that made a huge impact in a very short period of time, Cream perfected psychedelic rock and produced some of the most memorable songs of the 60's such as "Crossroads", "White Room" and "Sunshine Of Your Love". This won't be the last time you see Eric Clapton getting inducted into my Hall, by the way.

Frank Zappa And The Mothers Of Invention - They were never a terribly popular band, but in the area of inventiveness and creativity, it's hard to argue that Zappa and his crew rank among the most artistic bands to come out of the rock n roll era.

The Jefferson Airplane - Few psychedelic bands were better than The Jefferson Airplane. "White Rabbit" and "Somebody To Love" rank among the best rock songs ever written and Grace Slick's vocals are unforgettable. The band didn't stay at the top for very long, however, and eventually became an atrocity called Starship, but that doesn't detract from their previous greatness.

Bob Seger - A hit machine during the 1970's, Bob Seger got his start as an underground rock star during the 60's. He eventually perfected his sound and became one of the biggest stars of classic rock with his blues rock style and radio-friendly sound.

Janis Joplin / Big Brother & the Holding Company - I'm combining the two artist as one so that Janis' backing band doesn't get screwed out of their place in the Hall as many backing bands have over the years in the actual Hall. Joplin is another tragic figure of rock n roll as she accomplished a lot in only a short amount of time before her death. Joplin is easily the best blues rock singer of the 1960's and created a style of singing that has never been reproduced.


The following artists has been inducted into the Hall Of Fame in 1992:

The MC5 - Along with The Stooges, The MC5 were the grandfathers of punk rock. While Iggy's outfit were a more straightforward punk band, The MC5 were deeply political, which probably has a lot to do with why most people have never heard of them. Their influence throughout the history of punk rock is obvious and they're frequently cited by the best of the political punk bands, Rage Against The Machine.

Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame "As It Should Be" - 1992, Part Two

The following "Class of 1992" artists are worthy of consideration, but are unlikely to make it in any time soon:

Country Joe & the Fish
Fairport Convention
Family
Gary Puckett and the Union Gap
Laura Nyro
Melissa Manchester
Percey Sledge
Tammy Wynette
Ten Years After
The 5th Dimension
The Bar-Kays
The Box Tops
The Move


The following "Class Of 1992" artists are worthy of induction, but may have to wait awhile for their turn:

Canned Heat
Gram Parsons
Harry Nilsson
Jimmy Cliff
Moby Grape
Procol Harum
Sam And Dave


The following "Class Of 1992" artists are worthy of induction and will likely make it in the near future, but didn't quite make the cut this time around:

The Mamas And The Papas
The Young Rascals

Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame "As It Should Be" - 1992, Part One

1967 makes it's debut in the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame with a full slate of psychedelic rock legends set to make their mark on the Hall. Seven artists were inducted in 1992 and for many bands this will be their last good shot at making my Hall before the tidal wave of 1968 tears through.


The following artists from the "Class of 1992" have been inducted into the actual RNR Hall Of Fame:

The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Sam And Dave
Cream
Frank Zappa
The Jefferson Airplane
The Young Rascals
The Mamas And The Papas
Bob Seger
Percey Sledge


The following artists from the "Class of 1992" have been removed from consideration from my hall:

Crazy World of Arthur Brown
Engelbert Humperdinck
Johnnie Taylor
Sons of Champlin
The Classics IV
The Cowsills
The Electric Prunes
The Nice
The Red Krayola
The Soft Machine

Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame "As It Should Be" - 1991, Part Three - The Inductees

The actual Rock Hall inducted seven artists into the Hall in 1991. Five inductees into my Hall this time around are in their first year of eligibility and two have been previously eligible.


The following "Class Of 1991" were inducted in their first year of eligibility:


Bob Marley And The Wailers - When you think of the reggae genre of music, you think of the Marley family, in particular the patriarch Bob, who brought the genre to America and made it popular to this day. Marley and his band the Wailers created some of the most significant music of the classic rock era.

Paul Simon - It didn't take Paul long to release albums as a solo artist and he quickly proved that he could make it without Garfunkel, releasing a string of brilliantly written pop albums that has stretched his career for forty years.

The Byrds - The American answer to the British Invasion, The Byrds' sound could best be described as The Beatles by way of Dylan and while they didn't stay together for very long, they were pretty much the biggest American band of the mid-60's and many of their songs still hold up well to this day.

The Monkees - They aren't in the actual Hall Of Fame, possibly because Jan Wenner is blackballing them because of their early days as posers, but when the band actually started making their own music they were among the more influential bands of the 60's.

Cat Stevens - I'm very surprised that Cat Stevens isn't in the actual Hall. You could make an argument that his music doesn't really fit as "rock", but if that's the case, explain James Taylor. Stevens is a brilliant songwriter with a deep catalog of pop/folk music.


The following artists has been inducted into the Hall Of Fame in 1991:


Donovan - Donovan is sort of a poor man's Bob Dylan. A skilled songwriter who perhaps should be more well-known than he currently is, Donovan enjoyed great success during the psychedelic era of the late 60's, cranking out trippy songs one after another without ever going too far into the freak-out.

The Animals - Another brilliant British Invasion band, The Animals had one of the first big hits of the classic rock era with their cover of "House Of The Rising Sun" and went on to have a short but brilliant career with hits like "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" and "We've Gotta Get Outta This Place".



NEXT: Debuting bands from the Summer Of Love make their first appearance in the Hall as 1967 is honored with the debut of the "Class Of 1992". If bands want to make the Hall in the near future they'd better do it in 1992, because 1993 is going to dominate the Hall for years to come.

Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame "As It Should Be" - 1991, Part Two

The following "Class of 1991" artists are worthy of consideration, but are unlikely to make it in any time soon:

? & the Mysterians
Love
Status Quo
The Association
The Count Five
The Grass Roots
The Small Faces
The Troggs
Tim Buckley
Tim Hardin
Tommy James & the Shondells
Toots & the Maytals


The following "Class Of 1991" artists are worthy of induction, but may have to wait awhile for their turn:

Captain Beefheart
Harry Chapin
Jim Croce
Mitch Ryder And The Detroit Wheel
Scott Walker
The 13th Floor Elevators
The Bee Gees
The Dells
The Lovin' Spoonful
The O'Jays


The following "Class Of 1991" artists are worthy of induction and will likely make it in the near future, but didn't quite make the cut this time around:

The MC5

Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame "As It Should Be" - 1991, Part One

1966 wasn't quite the year for rock n roll that 1965 was, but while the heavy hitters were missing this time around, there was a great deal of depth in the "Class Of 1991".

The following artists from the "Class of 1991" have been inducted into the actual RNR Hall Of Fame:

The Byrds
Bob Marley
The Bee Gees
The Lovin' Spoonful
Paul Simon
The Dells
The O'Jays


The following artists from the "Class of 1991" have been removed from consideration from my hall:

James Carr
Janis Ian
Nicky Hopkins
The Blues Project
The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band
The Incredible String Band
The Music Machine
The Seeds

Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame "As It Should Be" - 1990, Part Three - The Inductees

The "Class Of 1990" is one of Rock N Roll's deepest, but fortunately the voters over at the real Hall inducted eight artists this year, opening the door for six newcomers and two previously overlooked artists for my Hall.



The following "Class Of 1990" were inducted in their first year of eligibility:


The Kinks - An under-rated member of the British Invasion, The Kinks would enjoy a great deal of classic rock success in the late 60's and the 70's, but they were also well ahead of their time with their quirky mid-60's pop songs which were, at times, better than what the Beatles were doing at the moment.

Simon And Garfunkel - Aside from Bob Dylan, no folk singers from the 1960's were more popular or more influential than Simon And Garfunkel. The band was only together for a short period of time but nonetheless managed to create some of the best singer-songwriter music of their generation.

The Who - One of rock n roll's greatest bands and certainly one of the biggest bands of the classic rock era, The Who got their start during the British Invasion with their Mod period. Their songwriting was a decade ahead of it's time with songs like "My Generation", "I Can See For Miles" and "The Seeker". The band could have hung it up in 1967 and retired as one of rock n roll's biggest bands, but they only got bigger from there, inventing the rock opera with Tommy and Quadrophenia and then defining classic rock during the 1970's with stadium rocking monsters like "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again". The world would be missing about half a dozen genres of music (in particular punk) were it not for The Who and for that they get into my Hall as soon as possible.

The Guess Who - An overlooked band with great chops and clever lyrics, The Guess Who is perhaps the greatest Canadian rock band, even though they're best known for their USA-bashing hit "American Woman". They've never been seriously considered for the real Hall but in my opinion they're more than worthy of a spot.

Randy Newman - Shockingly, Randy Newman, one of the greatest singer-songwriter in rock n roll is not a member of the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame. I'm not sure what it's going to take for them to recognize the quirky brilliance of Newman's sarcastic and witty music, but hopefully they'll figure it out pretty damn soon.

Rod Stewart - He ain't much these days in my opinion, but back in the 1960's, Rod Stewart was such a dynamic performer that he inspired Jimmy Page to hire Robert Plant to be the lead singer of Led Zeppelin because he was looking for a "Rod Stewart type" of front-man. During his years with bands like The Faces and his early solo work, Stewart built up a great reputation as a classic rock legend before pissing all over his legacy with a string of ridiculous cover albums in recent years that sold incredibly well but made him the butt of many well-deserved jokes.



The following artists has been inducted into the Hall Of Fame in 1990:


The Ronettes - Perhaps the best of the girl groups that wasn't affiliated with Motown, The Ronettes had a string of dynamic female vocal performances that inspired artists in a myriad of genres for generations to come.

Martha And The Vandellas - Another Motown act, Martha And The Vandellas had a long line of huge hits in the 1960's, in particular "Dancing In The Streets" and "Heat Wave".

Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame "As It Should Be" - 1990, Part Two

The following "Class of 1990" artists are worthy of consideration, but are unlikely to make it in any time soon:

Cher
Edwin Starr
Golden Earring
Herman's Hermits
Joe Tex
Junior Walker & the All-Stars
Junior Wells
Nico
Sonny & Cher
The Buckinghams
The Chieftains
The Easybeats
The Shangri-Las
The Sonics
The Turtles
Tom Jones


The following "Class Of 1990" artists are worthy of induction, but may have to wait awhile for their turn:

Boz Scaggs
John Cale
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
Merle Haggard
Richie Havens
The Spencer Davis Group
The Yardbirds


The following "Class Of 1990" artists are worthy of induction and will likely make it in the near future, but didn't quite make the cut this time around:

Donovan
Dusty Springfield
The Animals

Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame "As It Should Be" - 1990, Part One

1965 was a very big year for Rock N Roll. The British invasion was in full swing while American songwriters inspired by Bob Dylan soared to new heights.


The following artists from the "Class of 1990" have been inducted into the actual RNR Hall Of Fame:

The Kinks
Simon And Garfunkel
The Who
The Yardbirds
The Animals
Rod Stewart
Dusty Springfield


The following artists from the "Class of 1990" have been removed from consideration from my hall:

Al Jarreau
Albert Collins
Dobie Gray
Don Ho
Gary Lewis and the Playboys
The Fugs
The Pretty Things

Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame "As It Should Be" - 1989, Part Three - The Inductees

The following "Class Of 1989" were inducted in their first year of eligibility:


The Rolling Stones - Arguably the second greatest rock band of all-time and frequently compared to the Beatles, The Rolling Stones have maintained a high level of excellence for most of their forty-plus year history. The band started out as something of a "dark side Beatles", but eventually expanded into a classic rock monster that's created some of the most unique and interesting music of the 20th century.

The Moody Blues - One of the best bands to not be in the actual Hall Of Fame, The Moody Blues have put together a long string of great classic rock hits that range from their earlier adult contemporary type songs, into psychedelic rock and then later into prog-ier ventures as their career extended all the way into the 1980's.

The Zombies - There are always a few bands that exist who won't be appreciated in their own time and the Zombies are one of them. The band stayed together for only a brief period of time but still managed to craft songs like "She's Not There" and "Time Of The Season" that inspired rock music for generations yet to come. They're not in the actual Hall Of Fame yet, but they damn well should be.


The following artist has been inducted into the Hall Of Fame in 1989:

Patsy Cline - Another overachieving artists from the early days of country makes my Hall with Patsy Cline, one of the first big stars of the rock n roll era, Cline left behind a legacy of great performances that inspired countless artists from a myriad of genres and backgrounds.

The Dave Clark Five - The second major group of the British Invasion, the Dave Clark Five never came close to taking people's attention from the Beatles but they did manage to create a string of fantastic, upbeat rock songs that helped to establish their style of rock n roll as a dominant form of music for much of the 1960's. Some of their great songs include "Bits And Pieces", "Glad All Over" and "I Like It Like That".

Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame "As It Should Be" - 1989, Part Two

The following "Class of 1989" artists are worthy of consideration, but are unlikely to make it in any time soon:

Marianne Faithfull
Phil Ochs
The Shadows of Knight
Son House
The Standells


The following "Class Of 1989" artists are worthy of induction, but may have to wait awhile for their turn:

Them
Waylon Jennings


The following "Class Of 1989" artists are worthy of induction and will likely make it in the near future, but didn't quite make the cut this time around:

Martha And The Vandellas
The Dixie Cups
The Hollies
The Impressions
The Righteous Brothers
The Ronettes
Wilson Pickett

Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame "As It Should Be" - 1989, Part One

After the stellar line-up in the "Class of 1988", the "Class of 1989" was sure to be a let down. While The class does include one of the greatest rock bands in The Rolling Stones, they were the only "must-add" artist to debut in 1989. That being said, three artists from the class made my hall on their first try, leaving two openings for those previously considered, as only five artists were inducted into the real Hall in 1989.


The following artists from the "Class of 1989" have been inducted into the actual RNR Hall Of Fame:

Martha And The Vandellas
The Impressions
The Righteous Brothers
The Rolling Stones
The Ronettes
Wilson Pickett


The following artists from the "Class of 1989" have been removed from consideration from my hall:

Buffy Sainte-Marie
George Benson
Johnny Rivers
P.J. Proby
Peter and Gordon
Sergio Mendes

Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame "As It Should Be" - 1988, Part Three - The Inductees

The Hall Of Fame only inducted five performing artists in 1988 and the "Class Of 1988" accounts for four of the new inductees into my hall, meaning there's only one slot available for an artist who was previously passed over.

The following "Class Of 1988" were inducted in their first year of eligibility:


Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan is perhaps the most important figure in American music in the last century. As a singer, songwriter or musician he easily ranks among the all-time greats in all three categories. His influence on popular music can be seen over and over again through the last 45 years. After all, whenever a new artist comes along that has a certain style to them, they're not called "the next Donovan" are they?

Stevie Wonder - The best performer from the legendary Motown Records, Stevie Wonder got his start singing at a very young age and managed to keep his career going strong for more than forty years. The best period of his career spanned from the late 60's through the 70's when his music ventured out beyond the limits of pure pop music and into soul, funk, R&B and even into classic rock at times.

The Beach Boys - The best surf rock band in rock n roll, The Beach Boys might not have made my Hall if not for their mid-career expansion into more artistic avenues, producing many of their best songs such as "Good Vibrations", "God Only Knows" and the Pet Sounds album, which inspired a generation of musicians to become more experimental with their music.

The Beatles - Widely regarded as the greatest band in all of rock n roll, The Beatles started out making the most brilliant pop music of the 60's before gaining inspiration from The Beach Boys, Bob Dylan and lots and lots of drugs and producing a string of albums whose artistry has never been matched, including "Rubber Soul", "Revolver", "Sgt. Pepper's", "The White Album" and "Abbey Road". The band broke up after less than a decade together but may go down as the top performers in their art.


The following artist has been inducted into the Hall Of Fame in 1988:

Gladys Knight And The Pips - Another fantastic Motown artist, Gladys Knight And The Pips were among the greatest bands of the 60's with hits such as "Midnight Train To Georgia" and their cover of "I Heard It Through The Grapevine".

Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame "As It Should Be" - 1988, Part Two

The following "Class of 1988" artists are worthy of consideration, but are unlikely to make it in any time soon:

Billy Preston
Darlene Love
Dionne Warwick
Dolly Parton
Gerry and the Pacemakers
Lesley Gore
Tammi Terrell
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
The Searchers


The following "Class Of 1987" artists are worthy of induction, but may have to wait awhile for their turn:

Booker T. And The M.G.'s
Loretta Lynn
Manfred Mann
The Chiffons
The Crystals


The following "Class Of 1987" artists are worthy of induction and will likely make it in the near future, but didn't quite make the cut this time around:

The Dave Clark Five
Frankie Valli And The Four Seasons
Neil Diamond

Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame "As It Should Be" - 1988, Part One

1963 was a tremendous year for rock and roll, as evidenced by the artists who became eligible for induction in 1988 included Motown's finest, the most influential songwriter in rock n roll history, the pinnacle of the surf rock genre and some little band that most people have never heard of called The Beatles.

The following artists from the "Class of 1988" have been inducted into the actual RNR Hall Of Fame:

Bob Dylan
Booker T. And The M.G.'s
Stevie Wonder
The Beach Boys
The Beatles
The Dave Clark Five
Frankie Lymon And The Four Seasons


The following artists from the "Class of 1988" have been removed from consideration from my hall:

Chad & Jeremy
Jackie DeShannon
Liza Minnelli
Rufus Thomas
The Rocky Fellers
The Seekers

Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame "As It Should Be" - 1987, Part Three - The Inductees

Here are the fifteen artists I would have inducted in 1987, in alphabetical order:

B.B. King - One of the greatest blues performers of all-time, B.B. King was a tremendous influence on rock n roll and played a major role in the transition from straight blues to blues rock and R&B.

Bo Diddley - Another legendary blues performer who crossed over into the early days of rock n roll, Bo Diddley was a virtuoso guitarist who crafted some of the most significant and memorable guitar riffs. The riff to "Bo Diddley" itself has been used repeatedly throughout the decades by artists as diverse as ZZ Top and Bow Wow Wow.

Carl Perkins - A nearly forgotten legend of the early days of R&B, Carl Perkins paved the way for artists such as Elvis Presley (who famously covered his "Blue Suede Shoes") and other early R&B and rockabilly artists in the 50's and 60's. His profiles has improved well over time as more and more artists credit him for the influence his music had on them.

Ike And Tina Turner - Despite their rocky relationship, Ike And Tina Turner were one of the first great performing acts of rock n roll. Ike himself is credited with releasing the first rock n roll song in the 1950's and when he started recording with his wife Tina, the two created some of the most important songs of the 1960's and are best known for their cover of CCR's "Proud Mary".

Jackie Wilson - An important figure in the early days of R&B, Jackie Wilson released a string of hits in the late 50's and 60's that helped to create soul music.

John Lee Hooker - A legendary bluesman who has crafted some of rock's most memorable riffs and influenced many of the great guitarists of the classic rock era.

Marvin Gaye - Motown's brightest star, Marvin Gaye enjoyed one of the longest career of any artist in the label's stable, transitioning from the early style of songs like "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" to more soulful R&B like the all-time classic "What's Going On".

Otis Redding - His career was tragically cut short in it's early stages, but Redding managed to become one of the most popular and significant singers of the 60's.

Roy Orbison - Roy Orbison had one of the most amazing voices of any singer in the 20th century and combined this tool with some of the best lyrics and riffs of the early days of rock n roll. Any lead singer in the 60's and 70's aspired to be Orbison.

Sam Cooke - One of the biggest R&B stars of the 60's, Sam Cooke's inspirational music played an important role in musical and cultural events of the era.

Smokey Robinson And The Miracles - Smokey Robinson's amazing voice propelled this early R&B act to the top of the game with classic songs like "Tracks Of My Tears". Unlike the actual Hall Of Fame, I'm including The Miracles in this induction. The Hall has a seriously bad history when it comes to inducting singers while ignoring the bands that helped to make them great.

The Four Tops - The second-best male vocal group of the 60's, The Four Tops had a long string of hits in the mid-60's and through the 70's, the best of which include "River Deep, Mountain High" and "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)".

The Supremes - The most successful of the Motown artists, The Supremes were the greatest female vocal group in all of rock n roll history, cranking out hit after hit before the group eventually splintered under the weight of the collective egos of the band's divas, in particular lead singer Diana Ross, who went on to have an incredibly successful solo career of her own.

The Temptations - The best male vocal group of the 60's, The Temptations had a great deal of success during their Motown days and unlike most of their peers they managed to survive into the 70's as they transitioned their music into funkier styles. Any band that produced "My Girl", "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" and "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" can get into my Hall Of Fame on the strength of vocals alone.

Willie Nelson - Another singer that is technically a country music artist, Willie makes my Rock Hall because of his brilliant lyrics, soulful style and the influence that his music has had on several generations of singer-songwriters in all genres, including country.

Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame "As It Should Be" - 1987, Part Two

The following "Class of 1987" artists are worthy of consideration, but are unlikely to make it in any time soon:

Albert King
Gene Pitney
Glen Campbell
Gordon Lightfoot
Nancy Wilson
Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs
The Bobby Fuller Four
The Contours
The Kingsmen
The Surfaris


The following "Class Of 1987" artists are worthy of induction, but may have to wait awhile for their turn:

Dick Dale
Etta James
Patti LaBelle
Peter, Paul & Mary
The Shirelles


The following "Class Of 1987" artists are worthy of induction and will likely make it in the near future, but didn't quite make the cut this time around:

Gladys Knight And The Pips

Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame "As It Should Be" - Part 1

1987 was the second year of hall of fame inductions and by far the largest, as fifteen performers were inducted into the hall this year alone. While rock n roll was yet to see the advent of classic rock, there were still plenty of worthy artists that were eligible at this point.

The following artists from the "Class of 1987" were inducted into the actual Hall Of Fame:

Etta James
Gene Pitney
Gladys Knight And The Pips
Otis Redding
Roy Orbison
The Shirelles
The Temptations


The following artists from the "Class of 1987" have been removed from consideration from my hall:

Arthur Alexander
Barbra Streisand
Bobby “Boris” Pickett
Dee Dee Sharp
Jay Black
Tommy Roe

To Be Continued....

Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame "As It Should Be" - 1986, Part Three - The Inductees

In 1986, the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame inducted ten artists as performers into the Hall. Using the same list of eligible artists that they had available to them at the time, here are the ten artists I would have chosen, presented in alphabetical order:


Aretha Franklin - The Queen Of Soul, Aretha Franklin has one of the greatest singing voices in the history of music, let alone rock n roll and used it to create some of the most dynamic and powerful songs of the rock n roll era.

Buddy Holly - One of the most important figures in the transition from R&B to rock n roll, Buddy Holly could have had a career on par with Elvis Presley or Johnny Cash if not for his tragic death on "the day the music died".

Chuck Berry - One of the most innovative guitarists in all of rock n roll, Chuck Berry inspired almost everyone who followed with his blistering guitar riffs and rapid-fire lyrics. Berry was one of the first great stars of rock n roll and was years ahead of his time artistically.

Elvis Presley - The King of Rock N Roll, Elvis Presley is a rock star of almost unparalleled success. One of the most influential figures in rock history and one of the best selling artists as well, Elvis essentially changed the world with his music, bringing about a change not only in entertainment but in society itself.

James Brown - It's said that there isn't a single note from a James Brown song that hasn't been covered or sampled by another artist since it was recorded. This is a testament to how revolutionary Brown's music was as he didn't merely hop from genre to genre during his eclectic career, he essentially created genre after genre with his innovative R&B, soul and funk music.

Jerry Lee Lewis - Along with Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis was one of the most influential artists of the early days of rock n roll and one of the most influential piano rocker of all-time.

Johnny Cash - Most of his career is classified as country music, but there's no denying the influence that Cash's music has made on rock n roll and all genres of music as well. Cash remains one of the most prolific and unique artists of the 20th century and wrote many of the most significant songs of the early days of rock n roll.

Little Richard - An early entry in the rock n roll wild man category, Little Richard was a groundbreaking artist who played piano like his hands were on fire and performed in an explosive and flamboyant style that had never been seen before.

Muddy Waters - Muddy Waters was perhaps the most important blues musician to the early days of rock n roll as his shifting blues lyrics and guitar work helped to inspire many of the first R&B and rock bands in the late 50's and early 60's. Waters is also one of the greatest songwriters of his generation and has a long track record to prove it.

Ray Charles - Ray Charles created and merged several styles of music that remain popular to this day, merging elements of gospel, country and the blues to create R&B from damn near scratch and inspiring generations of artists.



Next: 1987 - Fifteen artists from the pre-British Invasion era earn their place in the hall as the largest slate of inductees ever enters the Hall.

Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame - "As It Should Be" - 1986, Part Two

The following "Class of 1986" artists are worthy of consideration, but are unlikely to ever make it in:

Ben E. King
Bill Haley
Bobby "Blue" Bland
Clyde McPhatter
Connie Francis
Conway Twitty
Del Shannon
Dion
Duane Eddy
Frankie Avalon
Gene Vincent
George Jones
Hank Ballard
Herbie Hancock
Huey “Piano” Smith and the Clowns
Jimmy Reed
Johnny Ace
Johnny Mathis
Junior Parker
LaVern Baker
Little Anthony And The Imperials
Little Willie John
Lloyd Price
Neil Sedaka
Nina Simone
Paul Anka
Ricky Nelson
Ruth Brown
Solomon Burke
Sonny Boy Williamson
The “5” Royales
The Angels
The Big Bopper
The Cadillacs
The Clovers
The Dominoes
The Famous Flames
The Flamingos
The Kingston Trio
The Moonglows
The Penguins
The Skyliners
The Staple Singers


The following "Class of 1986" artists are worthy and could get in at some point:

Big Joe Turner
Bobby Darin
Brenda Lee
Carole King
Chubby Checker
Eddie Cochran
Ella Fitzgerald
Fats Domino
Frankie Lymon And The Teenagers
Jan & Dean
Joan Baez
John Coltrane
Miles Davis
Paul Revere & the Raiders
Ritchie Valens
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Screamin' Jay Hawkins
The Everly Brothers
The Five Satins
The Isley Brothers
The Ventures


The following "Class of 1986" artists are very likely to be inducted in the near future, but didn't quite make the cut this year:

B.B. King
Bo Diddley
Carl Perkins
Ike And Tina Turner
Jackie Wilson
John Lee Hooker
Marvin Gaye
Patsy Cline
Sam Cooke
Smokey Robinson And The Miracles
The Coasters
The Drifters
The Four Tops
The Platters
The Supremes
Willie Nelson


Next: The Inductees

Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame "As It Should Be" - 1986, Part One

1986 was the first year that the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame began inducting artists officially. Due to the 25 year rule, the class of 1986 consisted of any artist who had released their first album in 1961. Since this was the first year, it also included any artist who released their first album before 1961 as well.

A tremendous number of artists who were eligible in 1986 have made the actual Hall Of Fame:

Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Big Joe Turner, Bill Haley, Bo Diddley, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Bobby Darin, Brenda Lee, Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins, Chuck Berry, Clyde McPhatter, Del Shannon, Dion, Duane Eddy, Eddie Cochran, Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, Frankie Lymon And The Teenagers, Gene Vincent, Hank Ballard, Ike And Tina Turner, Jackie Wilson, James Brown, Jerry Lee Lewis, Jimmy Reed, John Lee Hooker, Johnny Cash, LaVern Baker, Little Anthony And The Imperials, Little Richard, Little Willie John, Lloyd Price, Marvin Gaye, Miles Davis, Muddy Waters, Ray Charles, Ricky Nelson, Ritchie Valens, Ruth Brown, Sam Cooke, Smokey Robinson, Solomon Burke, The Coasters, The Drifters, The Everly Brothers, The Flamingos, The Four Tops, The Isley Brothers, The Moonglows, The Platters, The Staple Singers, The Supremes, The Ventures

have all been inducted. Needless to be said, many of these artists wouldn't make the Hall if I was the only voter, opening up a lot of spaces for bands that have been overlooked.


First of all, the following artists have been inducted or suggested by Future Rock but are being removed from consideration from my hall of fame:

Bill Evans
Bobby Rydell
Bobby Vee
Brian Hyland
Brook Benton
Carla Thomas
Chuck Willis
Cliff Richard & the Shadows
Danny & the Juniors
Eric Dolphy
Fabian
Gary U.S. Bonds
Jack Scott
Jerry Butler
Johnny Burnette and the Rock N Roll Trio
Johnny Hallyday
Judy Collins
Larry Chance and the Earls
Lee Dorsey
Lee Morgan
Link Wray
Mary Wells
Nancy Sinatra
Ornette Coleman
Pat Boone
Petula Clark
Roy Brown
Serge Gainsbourg
Slim Harpo
Sonny Burgess
The Chantels
The Marvelettes
The Spinners

To be continued in part two...

Intro

Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame "As It Should Be" Intro

The idea for this project came to me after seeing that the Stooges had gotten fucked over yet again by the voters for the Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame. This is the seventh time they've been nominated and they've been eligible many more times without being nominated.

At this point it seems very clear to me that my opinions don't match up with the Hall voters, so why not re-do it myself all the way from the beginning? I'd keep the Hall's rules and go through one year at a time inducting the same number of artists that the Hall did each year. I don't really know enough about the music industry to do early influences or sidemen awards, so we'll just keep the same ones that the Hall has picked out over the years.

The Future Rock Hall website (http://www.futurerockhall.com/index.php) is the source for all my eligibility date information, as well as the best source for information regarding the hall itself.

I'll try to update at least one year (starting with 1986, the first year the Hall inducted anyone) per week and I'll probably keep it going for a few years past 2009 just to see how it plays out.

Top 1000 Songs #10-#1

#10 - "Search And Destroy" - The Stooges - Raw Power - #4/5 - The best punk song of the pre-punk era, "Search" shreds right from the beginning with the craziest lyrics that had ever been heard at that point and some of the best ever. Wild-man lead singer Iggy Pop tears the song apart with his vocal performance that merges perfectly with the wicked guitar riff that drives the song.

#9 - "Wish You Were Here" - Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here - #14/14 - Floyd's best song featured some of the best lyrics of the classic rock era even though there were only two verses. Surprisingly, the song isn't on one of the band's two greatest albums, but was the centerpiece of the under-rated album of the same name.

#8 - "Lust For Life" - Iggy Pop - T.V. Eye - #5/5 - Before being ridiculously used in ads for the Carnival cruise line and appropriately in Trainspotting, "Lust For Life" was known as one of the craziest songs of the classic rock era, starting off with the greatest drum performance in rock n roll history and driving to an incredibly bold chorus. Iggy turns in yet another world-changing vocal performance.

#7 - "Immigrant Song" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III - #24/24 - Zeppelin's greatest guitar riff merges with Robert Plant's sent-from-hell vocal performance to create the greatest example of rock n roll distilled down into a short blast of panic-inducing terror. The shriek at the beginning of the song could scare the hell out of you if you didn't know it was coming.

#6 - "Fortunate Son" - Creedence Clearwater Revival - Willy And The Poor Boys - #5/5 - The greatest protest song ever written, John Fogerty sums up the biggest problems of American society and does it in a song containing one of the most unforgettable guitar riffs ever.

#5 - "Radio Radio" - Elvis Costello - This Year's Model - #11/11 - Following the greatest protest song is the greatest piece of cultural commentary in rock n roll history as Elvis uses a sweet vocal performance and a great guitar riff to tear the music industry to shreds. The song also seems to gain significance with each passing year as the themes Elvis is singing about only seem to get more and more obvious.

#4 - "Tangled Up In Blue" - Bob Dylan - Blood On The Tracks - #15/15 - Playing out an entire novel's worth of storyline in a medium-length song, Bob Dylan tells a sad story of lost love that sounds like an epic poem set to music. Dylan was never better than on this mid-career classic.

#3 - "Paint It Black" - The Rolling Stones - Flashpoint - #19/20 - While the Beatles were still singing about love and other happy topics, "Paint It Black" was dealing with psychosis and depression. The song is bleak and brilliant in it's lyrics and it's music. The drums and guitar are particularly sharp in this one and Jagger turns in some of his best lyrics...

#2 - "Sympathy For The Devil" - The Rolling Stones - Beggar's Banquet - #20/20 - ... but not his best lyrics, which were on display in this song which details the history of human events behind the figure who seems most responsible for them, Satan. The song's lyrics are accompanied by an almost evil drum solo that sets the tone up perfectly for the wild-man howling that would come towards the end of the song.

#1 - "Imagine" - John Lennon - Imagine - #5/5 - The most moving and insightful lyrics in rock n roll history merge with a sweeping Beatlesesque accompaniment as Lennon painted a portrait of a perfect world and how we could achieve it. The song is pure pefection from start to finish and ends on a hopeful note that maybe mankind could straighten itself out if they only dared to try.

Top 1000 Bands #10-#1

10 - Pink Floyd - The masters of psychedelic rock, Pink Floyd created three of the greatest albums in all of classic rock, Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall. Their music was deep and weird and hard to pin down, but it was always compelling, no matter who their lead singer was at the time.

9 - Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - The most consistent band in rock history and the greatest American band of the classic rock era, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers have never released a bad album. Ever. They've bounced from genre to genre and yet stayed consistently brilliant throughout, whether they're writing exciting rock songs or somber ballads.

8 - The Clash - The greatest punk band of all time, The Clash lived up to their title as the "only band that matters" by keeping a close eye on global politics while crafting brilliant punk songs that drip with sarcasm at times and soar with sincerity at others.

7 - The White Stripes - The best band in the world at the moment, The White Stripes have only been around for a decade now but they've quickly become the best blues rock band since Led Zeppelin. Their style is simple and straight-forward but bounces from genre to genre without ever missing a beat.

6 - Nirvana - The band that kicked down the door and brought alternative music to the masses, Nirvana didn't last long but created some of the greatest punk and rock albums of all-time before they broke up following lead singer Kurt Cobain's suicide. More importantly, they represent the pinnacle of alternative rock as a genre.

5 - The Rolling Stones - They lost the battle against The Beatles for kings of the 60's, but The Rolling Stones still accumulated one of the most impressive track records of any rock band, with enough hits to fill an entire box set with singles alone. Their bluesy rock sound changed the direction that rock n roll was taking and opened doors for many great bands that would follow.

4 - Bob Dylan - The greatest songwriter in the history of rock n roll, Bob Dylan is the most influential figure as well. He's tried a million different styles and succeeded at damn near all of them. In my opinion, he also has the largest volume of great songs, larger even than the Beatles. Gee... it's too bad he can't sing, huh?

3 - The Beatles - Widely considered the greatest band in rock n roll, I actually prefer a few others, but respect must be paid to one of the most impressive track records of all. The Beatles may be the one band that people still talk about in 500 years and invented so much of what's great about rock n roll to this date that you can't really describe it in less than five pages.

2 - Pearl Jam - I'm biased because I grew up listening to this band and I can't deny the personal connection that I feel to this band's music. That being said, Pearl Jam is a band that belongs in discussions of the greatest bands of all-time (hear that VH1?, Rolling Stone?) with a string of brilliant albums that mixed pop appeal with artistic endeavour.

1 Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin weren't only the greatest band of all-time they featured some of the greatest artists of all-time at each of their four instruments as well. Their first four albums should be bronzed and perserved forever as the gold standard of classic rock. Their later ventures into heavier metal sounds provided one of their best songs with "Kashmir" and the band did the best thing that any band could have done at the time... break up before the 80's destroyed them. Granted it wasn't intentional, but at least they had the good sense to know that Bonzo was irreplaceable. Hopefully they'll realize that the same is true of Page and Plant, before they go out on a reunion tour.

Top 1000 Songs #20-#11

#20 - "Yesterday" - The Beatles - Yesterday And Today - #22/22 - The most covered song of the rock era, "Yesterday" is McCartney and Lennon's all-time classic, a deep and insightful ballad about love and loss and life. The world's greatest band was never better than they were on this early career song.

#19 - "Sunday Bloody Sunday" - U2 - War - #16/16 - U2's first definite sign of their future stadium-rocking greatness, "Sunday" is a sad and searing punk rock song disguising itself as a classic rock anthem. The song is best appreciated during the video recorded live at Red Rocks with Bono's mullet and the incredible effect that the fog ads to the bleak subject matter of the song.

#18 - "Baba O'Riley" - The Who - Who's Next - #8/9 - Frequently mislabeled as "Teenage Wasteland" because of the chorus, "Baba" features the best instrumental opening of the classic rock era and passionate vocals that create an almost cathartic tone to the song from start to finish.

#17 - "Satisfaction" - The Rolling Stones - Out Of Our Heads - #18/20 - The guitar riff is legendary and the lyrics were way ahead of their time. To think, the riff came to Richards in a dream. If he had just gone back to sleep we might never have had a classic rock era and everything would have sounded like the Beatles and the Beach Boys, high quality, but no attitude.

#16 - "Changes" - David Bowie - Hunky Dory - #10/10 - Among the best-written songs of the 70's, "Changes" was easily Bowie's best song with it's poetic lyrics and sing-along chorus. The "time may change me" part of the chorus and the chord progression between verses are highlights.

#15 - "Stairway To Heaven" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV - #23/24 - The band's all-time classic epic, though not their best song, "Stairway To Heaven" is Dylanesque in it's epic storytelling and feautres the best guitar solo of all-time as Jimmy Page tears the sky open just before Robert Plant cauterizes it back together with a blistering penultimate verse leading into the classic ending.

#14 - "Won't Get Fooled Again" - The Who - Who's Next - #9/9 - The most significant moment in rock n roll occurs towards the end of the song as a guitar solo builds up slowly to a cathartic explosion of a scream from Roger Daltrey (usually accompanied by a perfectly timed power slide). The song itself is also brilliant as it attacks politics and particularly the corruption of power even in the hands of those who led revolutions against said power. Like many of the best songs of the classic rock era, the song is essentially a story in parts played out as an epic rock song.

#13 - "Hey You" - Pink Floyd - The Wall - #13/14 - Not quite their best song or their best lyrics (but consider the band), but damn close as the best song on The Wall is a desperate appeal for connection in an isolated world and stands alone very well but fits in perfectly in the rock opera told on the album.

#12 - "Rockin' In The Free World" - Neil Young - Freedom - #6/6 - Young's most passionate and fast-paced song is also his best as he took an unexpected rock turn to crank out this pulsing Bush (the first one) era protest song. The guitar riff and chorus are highlights.

#11 - "Born To Run" - Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run - #11/11 - When Springsteen sat down to write this song he wanted to write the greatest song in the history of rock n roll. Rolling Stone said he was only off by 3 and I say he's only off by 10. The song is epic in scale from the deep vocal tone the Boss utilizes to the cathartic choruses. The story sounds like it could have been written by Steinbeck or Salinger and the guitar work is stellar. Not quite the greatest song ever written, but #11? Pretty damn close.

Top 1000 Bands #20-#11

20 - Queens Of The Stone Age - Among the best bands at the moment, Queens has only released a handful of albums to date, but each seems to get better than the last. The band's stoner rock sound is one of the few truly unique sounds to develop in the past ten years, with it's hazy vocals and intense guitar work.

19 - Johnny Cash - Easily the best country performer of all-time, Johnny Cash was one of the greatest performers of all-time and a brilliant songwriter who effortless oozed cool at all times through his career and ended on the highest note possible, with his cover of Nine Inch Nail's "Hurt" as part of the American series of covers and new material.

18 - The Pixies - The most influential indie rock band of the 80's, The Pixies were critically acclaimed but mostly unknown during the band's active run only to become insanely popular after their break-up thanks to positive mentions from alt-rock legends like Nirvana and critics who obsess over the band (pitchfork...). Their music was weird but always had strong pop sensibilities that made the music palatable and possibly even radio-friendly if they were given the chance.

17 - Bruce Springsteen - One of rock's most consistent performers, Springsteen kicked off his career in the mid-70's with the goal of writing the great American rock song, a goal he met shortly after with "Born To Run". He became a media sensation with his "Born In the USA" album and is among the most respected performers to this date.

16 - Rage Against The Machine - The best rap metal band of all-time by a mile, Rage Against The Machine merged the blistering lyrics of Zach De La Rocha with the insane guitar work of Tom Morello, who may be the most innovative guitar player since Eddie Van Halen. The band only released three official albums, but there's never going to be a more politically significant band. Put it this way... shortly after the band broke up? Bush took office.

15 - Soundgarden - The third biggest grunge band after the big two (we'll see them later), Soundgarden was basically the offspring of Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, their music merging bleak and dark themes and sounds with killer solos and wailing vocals. Down On The Upside may be the most underrated album of the 90's.

14 - Tool - The best prog metal band of the 90's and 21st century, Tool takes a long time to put together their albums but when they're ready they're as good as it gets in the modern heavy metal scene. Their lyrics are thick, their guitars are swirling and the combination is usually downright hypnotic.

13 - The Who - Outside of the Beatles and the Stones, no band was bigger or better in the mid 60's than the Who. The Who created the rock opera and the attitude expressed in their early songs was one of the triggers that eventually led to punk rock. The band is also on record with creating many of the greatest songs of the classic rock era as they morphed from a mod British Invasion band in the 60's to a stadium-filling juggernaut in the 70's.

12 - David Bowie - Rock's first true chameleon, David Bowie started out as a straight-forward classic rocker but eventually branched off into glam rock, which led to his famous Ziggy Stardust era, and survived through the 80's and 90's by changing genres as the times changed, cranking out great album after great album.

11 - Elvis Costello - Unlike the rest of the world, when I refer to "Elvis" this is who I'm talking about. Costello is one of rock's finest songwriters and he has an incredible voice to boot. I liked his music in the late 70's and early 80's the best, his punk era, so to speak, but he's changed genres frequently and achieved a lot of success over the decades.

Top 1000 Songs #30-#21

#30 - "Teenage Riot" - Sonic Youth - Daydream Nation - #2/2 - Sonic Youth's alt-rock epic is one of the most important songs of the college rock era, opening up new markets and audiences that would eventually make up the fan base of the alt-rock 90's. The song starts out slow but then unleashes one of the best guitar riffs of all-time before building to a peak towards the end of the song.

#29 - "Under Pressure" - Queen And David Bowie - Hot Space - #6/6 - Although Bowie does the singing, Queen was credited with this song, the best by either artist. The beat is a classic (even more so after being stolen by Vanilla Ice) and the breakdown at the end of the song is about as good as classic rock ever got with that technique.

#28 - "Closer" - Nine Inch Nails - The Downward Spiral - #7/7 - The finest moment in industrial rock, "Closer" combined a great chorus and brilliant lyrics with one of the most compelling backbeats ever made to create one of the best of the 90's.

#27 - "Layla" - Derek And The Dominoes - Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs - #1/1 - The song would be one of the best in classic rock even if it didn't have the instrumental half to it. That being said, the instrumental part of this song is the second greatest in rock history (second only to "Free Bird") and makes the song one of the best ever.

#26 - "Free Fallin'" - Tom Petty - Full Moon Fever - #17/17 - Petty's best, and that's really saying something, has great verses and a good beat, but the highlight is the soaring chorus that paints a picture vivid enough to make you feel the lyrics as though they were really happening as you hear them.

#25 - "Anarchy In The U.K." - The Sex Pistols - Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols - #4/4 - The Sex Pistols were never better or more intense than they were on this early career classic that would later be compiled on the band's "album". The guitar work and vocals are excellent as always.

#24 - "The Magnificent Seven" - The Clash - Sandinista - #18/18 - Before rap ever crossed over to the radio in the United States, The Clash co-opted the style of music to create their best song. "Seven" has a pulsing beat, strange lyrics and one of punk's best guitar and drum riffs.

#23 - "All Along The Watchtower" - The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland - #9/9 - The song may have been written by Bob Dylan, but even he admits that Hendrix made it his own with his wicked guitar work and bluesy take on Bob's folk classic. The Experience was never better.

#22 - "Smells Like Teen Spirit" - Nirvana - Nevermind - #15/15 - The anthem that kicked off the alt rock revolution that dominated the 90's. Everything about it is earth-shattering from the opening riff that everyone knows by heart to the slow-fast dynamic to the cathartic chorus, the sound of teenage angst laid out raw for everyone to hear.

#21 - "Like A Rolling Stone" - Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited - #14/15 - Only my second favorite Dylan song, but most people's favorite, "Rolling Stone" (for which the magazine is named) is supposedly about Edie Sedgwick (one of Andy Warhol's "muses"), but the song contains enough universal truth to be relatable to just about anyone at any time. The song is epic in scale and like the best Dylan songs, it's essentially a novel presented as a pop song.

Top 1000 Bands #30-#21

30 - The Foo Fighters - The Foo Fighters rose from the ashes of Nirvana to become one of the greatest bands of modern rock. They took the unusual step of changing their sound dramatically from Nirvana's and the move paid off, making the band one of the most important of their generation.

29 - Beck - Pinning down Beck's sound into a genre is damn near impossible. First of all, he's pretty much created his own and second of all, as soon as you figure one out he changes it. He has become one of the most consistently great artists of his era, no matter what he tries to do.

28 - Nine Inch Nails - It used to be a long time between new NIN albums, giving the band time to craft their greatness as the top industrial band of all-time. Now the band seems to have a new album out every ten months or so and they're still consistently brilliant at a level most bands can never achieve.

27 - Green Day - The best punk band of the 90's, Green Day seemed to be tapped out of ideas in the early 21st century after their Warning album, only to rise up better than ever with the punk rock concept album "American Idiot", which was easily their best to date, which is saying something considering how good they were in the 90's.

26 - The Jimi Hendrix Experience - The most innovative guitarist between Chuck Berry and Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix took rock n roll in weird new pyschedelic directions and crafted some of the most innovative hooks of the 60's to go with some of the most creative lyrics.

25 - The Smashing Pumpkins - The best non-grunge grunge band of the grunge era, The Smashing Pumpkins achieved a great deal of success despite the horrible vocals of lead singer Billy Corgan. Fortunately for the band, he's also one of the most gifted songwriters in rock history and his band (no matter who's there and who's absent) has always been outstanding.

24 - Radiohead - Radiohead will be going up the next time I update this list, but this is a perfectly good spot for where the band was at before the release of their classic In Rainbows disc. The band is always experimental and always brilliant, pushing the mainstream as far to the extreme as possible.

23 - R.E.M. - The biggest success of the alternative rock scene in the 80's, R.E.M. has spent the better part of three decades cranking out consistently brilliant music as they became kings of the college rock scene and then later the mainstream and all of rock n roll. Their most recent album is one of their best, proving that they're still in their prime.

22 - U2 - Another great indie rock band to cross over to the mainstream, U2 knew that they were destined for greatness early on and proved it in the 80's with songs like "Pride" and "Sunday Bloody Sunday". The Joshua Tree came later on and made them the biggest damn band in the world.

21 - The Talking Heads - The best band of the New Wave era, The Talking Heads only lasted for a brief period of time but managed to create some of the most innovative and memorable music of their era.

Top 1000 Songs #40-#31

#40 - "One" - Metallica - Ride The Lightning - #5/5 - Metallica's greatest song, "One" features great lyrics and blistering guitar-work throughout, but the highlight is towards the end when the machine gun guitar and drums kick in and the solos go insane, building to one of the best metal songs of all-time.

#39 - "Last Dance With Mary Jane" - Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers - Greatest Hits - #16/17 - It never appeared on any of the band's official albums, but "Last Dance" is one of Petty's biggest hits and best songs, with an unforgettable guitar hook and a great story told throughout the lyrics. It's not quite their best song, but it's damn close.

#38 - "Bohemian Rhapsody" - Queen - A Night At The Opera - #5/6 - The rock opera classic that defined the over-the-top direction classic rock was taking in the 70's, "Rhapsody" is practically an entire play within itself, with nearly ever genre of rock covered at some point during one brilliant trek of a song.

#37 - "Sweet Emotion" - Aerosmith - Toys In The Attic - #7/7 - Aerosmith's best song by a hair over "Walk This Way", "Sweet Emotion" wins out due to superior lyrics, as the band turns in their best lyrical performance of their career.

#36 - "Back In Black" - AC/DC - Back In Black - #9/9 - One of the first great rock songs to merge rap and rock music, "Back In Black" was a landmark song because it marked the band's rise from the ashes after the death of lead singer Bon Scott. The song is the key moment on their best album and helped to launch them to great success that survives to this day.

#35 - "Welcome To The Jungle" - Guns N Roses - Appetite For Destruction - #8/8 - One of the best hard rock songs of the 80's, "Jungle" is an intense song with many different brilliant parts that all work together to create a rock epic taht the band never topped.

#34 - "Blitzkrieg Bop" - The Ramones - The Ramones - #5/5 - The least complicated song to ever achieve true greatness, "Bop" is short, straight to the point and would be one of the first songs that you'd learn on any instrument or as a singer. That being said, it's a great song and the first shot to ring out and signify the launch of punk rock as a movement and a wake-up call to a rock n roll bogged down by the likes of Boston and Kansas.

#33 - "War Pigs" - Black Sabbath - Paranoid - #3/3 - Ozzy's great protest song, "War Pigs" doesn't pull any punches as it calls to task the people who start wars and the people who benefit from them at the expense of those that fight them. "Satan laughing spreads his wings" isn't exactly a subtle description, recalling another classic line from Dylan's "Masters Of War", "Even Jesus can't forgive you for the things that you do". One of the greatest protest songs of all time.

#32 - "Who Are You" - The Who - Who Are You - #7/9 - Long before it was the theme song for CSI, "Who Are You" was a song written about Keith Moon's drinking habits. A song that was written while he was still alive... and still in the band, leading to an epic blow-out when he sobered up enough to figure it out. The last truly great song from one of the most important and best bands in all of classic rock.

#31 - "Johnny B. Goode" - Chuck Berry - Greatest Hits - #1/1 - The guitar solo that kicked off rock n roll launches this song, kicking off Berry's best song and creating several genres in the process as Chuck sped up a blues riff and changed the world forever. Just be sure he doesn't take all the credit, as it is well-known that he stole the song from Marty McFly.

Top 1000 Artists #40-#31

40 - T. Rex - The greatest band to achieve great success in England only to be complete ignored in America, T. Rex was the best glam rock artist of the 70's, though they're only known on this side of the pond for "Bang A Gong" and "20th Century Boy".

39 - Aerosmith - They were well on their way to becoming the greatest American band when everything went off the rails in the early 90's. During their prime, however, they released classic album after classic album, creating one of the best legacies in all of classic rock.

38 - Elton John - One of the biggest pop stars of the 70's, Elton John was also one of the biggest stars of classic rock as his music would frequently cross over and show great musical skill and brilliant lyrics.

37 - Bright Eyes - The best songwriter of his generation, Conor Oberst and his band Bright Eyes represent one of the few times in rock history where the term "the next Bob Dylan" actually applies. There isn't much chance for a pop crossover, but the band has a huge following and is one of the most highly respected bands in all of indie rock.

36 - Creedence Clearwater Revival - There are few classic rock bands better than CCR. They only had a few albums, but they maintained such a high level of consistency that they have almost as many greatest hits albums as albums themselves.

35 - The Red Hot Chili Peppers - RHCP has bounced from one genre to another over their 25+ year career, with albums that could easily qualify as funk, rap, rock, metal. The band is still immensly popular and they are the most successful band in the history of the modern rock charts.

34 - Metallica - A band that's vastly under-rated on this list and will skyrocket when I re-do my list, Metallica is the greatest straight-up metal band of all-time and while they had a lousy decade recently, their early albums and most recent album rank among the greatest in rock history.

33 - Guns N Roses - Although Axl is still performing under the name of Guns N Roses, the band really broke up a decade ago, leaving behind one of the most promising starts in rock history, even if the ending didn't live up to the expectations.

32 - The Replacements - An early alternative rock band that is often overlooked because they didn't achieve the crossover success of R.E.M. or U2, The Replacements churned out one brilliant album after another before "selling out" and breaking up shortly after the release of their major label debut, Tim.

31 - Sonic Youth - Another overlooked alt rock band from the 80's, Sonic Youth has become a household name on the strength of some of the best avant garde alt-rock since The Velvet Underground. "Teenage Riot" is one of the best songs of the 80's.

Top 1000 Songs #50-#41

#50 - "I Am Mine" - Pearl Jam - Riot Act - #25/25 - Pearl Jam's best song is highlighted by one of rock's greatest choruses and a passionate vocal from lead singer Eddie Vedder.

#49 - "London's Burning" - The Clash - The Clash - #17/18 - The ultimate punk song about boredom (although if he thinks London's boring, give South Dakota a try), "Burning" is intense and pulsing at an almost violent pace from start to finish.

#48 - "You Can't Always Get What You Want" - The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed - #17/20 - Jagger's bleak verses mix with a hopeful chorus to create one of the Stones' best songs. The choir blends perfectly with the song to create a legendary mix.

#47 - "Another One Bites The Dust" - Queen - The Game - #4/6 - The only good thing to ever come out of disco, "Another One" is a mixture of disco, rap and rock and one of the most interesting songs of the 80's.

#46 - "Money" - Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon - #11/14 - Floyd's epic classic about materialism is known for it's cash register opening but is best for it's lyrics and tempo throughout.

#45 - "Suffragette City" - David Bowie - The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars - #9/10 - Bowie's best straightforward rock song is glam rock classic with punk leanings and the first known appearance of the phrase "Wham bam, thank you ma'am".

#44 - "Radio Free Europe" - R.E.M. - Murmur - #12/12 - R.E.M.'s first great song is also their best with it's soaring chorus and clever lyrics. The band has had many songs since, but none as significant as their debut.

#43 - "Bulls On Parade" - Rage Against The Machine - Evil Empire - #12/12 - One of the best songs of the 90's, "Bulls" is an intense riot of a song with a legendary guitar riff and Rage's best lyrics and vocal performance from Zach De La Rocha.

#42 - "Behind Blue Eyes" - The Who - Who's Next - #6/9 - One of the best ballads of the rock era, "Behind Blue Eyes" was meant to be the swan song of the villain in a rock opera. That rock opera never really happened, but "Blue Eyes" still ended up being the climax of the band's best album "Next".

#41 - "Comfortably Numb" - Pink Floyd - The Wall - #12/14 - The catalyst song on The Wall, "Numb" served as the exact point when the story in the album took a turn for the worse. As a stand-alone song, "Numb" is one of the best songs of the late era of classic rock with sweeping choruses and brilliant lyrics.

Top 1000 Bands #50-#41

50 - System Of A Down - The best political punk band since the break-up of Rage Against The Machine, SOAD was highlighted by the bizarre vocals from lead singer Serj Tankian and the sharp political lyrics.

49 - The Beach Boys - One of the first great bands of rock n roll, The Beach Boys were the best band in surf rock before they branched out into more experimental and brilliant styles in the later stages of the band.

48 - Stone Temple Pilots - Not really a grunge band, but frequently lumped with them, STP was a straight-forward rock band and one of the best of their era. The band didn't last long before breaking up, but they managed to carve out their own niche and release a string of great albums along the way.

47 - Neil Young - The Godfather of Grunge, Neil Young was one of the greatest songwriters of the 60's and went solo to become one of the most significant performers in rock history.

46 - Alice In Chains - Although their music pre-dated the grunge era, AIC's music fit in perfectly with the style of the genre. Their music is heavy as hell and frequently gloomy, dealing with topics such as war and heroin addiction.

45 - John Lennon - The best of the Beatles solo, Lennon wrote some of the greatest songs in all of rock n roll and used his music to advance important social issues until his untimely death in 1980.

44 - The Ramones - Although there's an unnecessary controversy, The Ramones were the first punk band to break through and inspire thousands of bands to pick up guitars. Their music is fast and simple, but as close to a distilled form of rock n roll as we'll ever see.

43 - AC/DC - Blues rock never got more straight forward than it did in the hands of AC/DC. They haven't changed their sound one bit during their career, but they keep finding interesting things to do with the basic formula of raunchy lyrics and wicked guitar licks.

42 - Devo - The weirdest of the New Wave bands to achieve greatness, Devo represented an avant garde take on rock n roll that was as musically valid as any music of their era. The lyrics were twisted, the vocals were bizarre and the music was infinitely unique.

41 - Oasis - The best band of the Brit Pop era, Oasis has spent the last decade creating one epic modern rock song after another with sweeping guitars and intense vocals.

Top 1000 Songs #60-#51

#60 - "Thunder Kiss '65" - White Zombie - La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Vol. 1 - #2/2 - One of the best metal songs of the 90's, "Thunder Kiss" is driven by thundering drums and a great vocal from singer Rob Zombie, creating one of the best driving songs ever written.

#59 - "Sleep Now In The Fire" - Rage Against The Machine - The Battle Of Los Angeles - #11/12 - Rage's best guitar work is featured in this song which also has one of the band's most intense choruses. The band went out on quite a high note with this song and this album.

#58 - "Stinkfist" - Tool - Aenema - #9/9 - Tool's best song and one of their biggest hits has a crunchy guitar-driven beat and desperate-sounding verses that build in intensity from start to finish.

#57 - "Elderly Woman Behind The Counter In A Small Town" - Pearl Jam - Vs. - #24/25 - Grunge lyrics don't get much better than they got in this early classic by Pearl Jam about how easy it is to get stuck in a small town life.

#56 - "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" - R.E.M. - Document - #11/12 - The ultimate karaoke challenge is also one of the best songs by R.E.M., which it's rapid-fire lyrics and cathartic chorus. I may never figure out what this song is about, but every time I hear the drums that open the song I know I crank up the volume on the radio.

#55 - "White Room" - Cream - Wheels Of Fire - #5/5 - Psychedelic rock's high-water mark, "White Room" is one of the best songs of the 60's with it's swirling guitars and fantastic atmosphere.

#54 - "What's So Funny 'Bout Peace, Love And Understanding" - Elvis Costello - Armed Forces - #10/11 - Elvis covered a song by Nick Lowe and changed it from a cynical rant to a pulsing call to arms with some of the greatest guitar solos of the new wave era. The build-up to the chorus and the chorus itself are among Elvis' best.

#53 - "Bullet With Butterfly Wings" - The Smashing Pumpkins - Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness - #7/7 - The grunge era never had a better take on existentialism than this song, a raging punk song that wavers from genre to genre every second and features some of the angriest vocals from any band that became popular.

#52 - "Rock And Roll" - Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV - #22/24 - "Rock And Roll" features one of the greatest drum tracks of all-time and also features pulsing lyrics and an oustanding chorus and guitar work.

#51 - "Welcome To The Machine" - Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here - #10/14 - Another depressing but brilliant song from Pink Floyd's best era (the 70's), this song paints a bleak picture of life in modern society as another cog in the industrial machine.

Top 1000 Bands #60-#51

60 - Siouxsie And The Banshees - One of the best new wave bands, Siouxsie has been mostly forgotten, but the band's vocals and lyrics make them among the most notable bands of the late 70's.

59 - Aimee Mann - Among the best singer-songwriters of her generation, Aimee Mann has put out a string of solid albums in the past decades and remains one of the most reliable artists to this day.

58 - Franz Ferdinand - One of the hottest bands in modern rock, Franz Ferdinand crafts clever dance pop tunes with great lyrics and the best hooks of any band going today.

57 - The Pretenders - A legendary band of the early 80's New Wave scene, The Pretenders used elements of punk rock and pop to create one of the most distinct sounds of rock n roll.

56 - The Cure - Mislabeled as a mopey rock band, The Cure have more than two decades of experience making some of the best pop-rock love songs, putting together a solid career as one of New Wave's finest artists.

55 - The Kinks - Lost in the tidal wave of success the Beatles had was that another British Invasion band, The Kinks, were among the greatest bands of all-time. At times I would even say that the Davies' brothers were ahead of the Beatles, though overall they couldn't keep up.

54 - Queen - Easily the most over-the-top band of the classic rock era, Queen were also masters of the sweeping epic and the rock opera single. Freddie Mercury ranks among the best lead singers in rock n roll.

53 - Iggy Pop - The wild man who invented punk and then became a legendary songwriter during his days in Berlin during the 70's with Bowie, Iggy Pop is one of the most important figures in rock history, though true greatness frequently avoided him.

52 - The Sex Pistols - The most well-known though not the best punk band of the 70's, The Sex Pistols lit the British scene on fire in the mid-70's and then disappeared after only one album.

51 - The Doors - One of the most popular classic rock bands, The Doors used sweeping beats and the sensational vocal style of Jim Morrison to craft some of the weirdest and most thought-provoking music of the 60's.