Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

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Image:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.jpg The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and institution in Cleveland, Ohio, United States, dedicated, as the name suggests, to recording the history of some of the best-known and most influential rock and roll performers, producers, and other people who have in some major way influenced the industry.

1 Hall of Fame
2 Foundation and Museum
3 See also
4 External links

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Hall of Fame

Beginning in 1986, a handful of artists are inducted into the Hall of Fame in an annual induction ceremony in New York City. The first group of inductees, inducted on January 23, 1986, included Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley.

Currently, groups or individuals are qualified for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Nominees should have demonstrable influence and significance within the history of rock and roll. Four categories are recognized: Performers, Non-Perfomers, Early Influences, and since 2000, Sidemen.

Not everybody is happy with the selection process; in particular, advocates of progressive rock and heavy metal feel that worthy artists are being deliberately shut out. Others feel that the number of inductees every year is too large, including too many less-notable artists, thereby diluting the impact of a nomination. Other fans feel that an awards system (on the mold of horse racing's Triple Crown) should be established where the winner of all three major music awards (American Music Award, Billboard Music Award, and Grammy Award) would receive automatic induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Finally, some feel that the selection committee is effectively controlled by a few individuals, including founder Jann Wenner and writer Dave Marsh, and is not representative of the rock world as a whole.

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Performers

Performers include singers and instrumentalists.

A nominating committee composed of music historians selects names for the Performers category, which are then voted on by roughly 1000 experts, including academics, journalists, producers, and others with music industry experience. Performers receiving the highest number of votes greater than 50% of the votes received are selected for induction; each year, about five to seven nominees make the cut.

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Non-Performers

Non-Performers include songwriters, producers, disc jockeys, music industry executives, journalists, and other professionals.

A separate selection committee selects inductees directly in the Non-Performers and Early Influences category.

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Early Influences

Early Influences includes artists from earlier eras, primarily country, folk, and blues, whose music inspired and influenced rock and roll artists.

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Sidemen

The new Sidemen category includes veteran session and concert players who are selected by a committee composed primarily of producers.

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Foundation and Museum

Image:Rockhall lobby cars 2005.jpg The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation was created in 1983. The museum itself opened on September 2, 1995 in a building designed by I. M. Pei. The building sits on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland just east of Cleveland Browns Stadium and the Great Lakes Science Center. The city lobbied to be chosen because then-Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed is widely credited with promoting the new genre (and the term) of "rock and roll". After a petition drive that was signed by 600,000 fans favoring Cleveland, and a USA Today poll which Cleveland won by 100,000 votes, the hall of fame board voted to site the museum in Cleveland.

The museum documents the entire history of rock and roll, regardless of induction status. Hall of Fame inductees are honored in a special exhibit inside the museum's spire.

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