Jan 15
Stooges snubbed by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, again
In 1969, things were kind of boring. The Flower Power generation was burning out on acid, MTV, VH1, XM, and the internet were a generation away, and the only thing allowed on the radio was pretty boring stuff for the most part. Don’t believe me? Here’s the biggest hits of 1969:
| # 1 |
Aquarious/Let The Sunshine In - The 5th Dimension
|
# 1
|
| # 2 |
In The Year 2525 - Zager & Evens
|
# 1
|
| # 3 |
Get Back - The Beatles
|
# 1
|
| # 4 |
Sugar, sugar - The Archies
|
# 1
|
| # 5 |
Honky Tonk Women - The Rolling Stones
|
# 1
|
| # 6 |
Everyday People - Sly & The Family Stone
|
# 1
|
| # 7 |
Dizzy - Tommy Roe
|
# 1
|
| # 8 |
Wedding Bell Blues - The 5th Dimension
|
# 1
|
| # 9 |
I Can’t Get Next to you - The Temptations
|
# 1
|
| # 10 |
Crimson And Clover - Tommy James & The Shondells
|
# 1
|
| # 11 |
Na Na Hey Hey Goodbye - Steam
|
# 1
|
| # 12 |
Love Theme From Romeo & Juliet - Henry Mancini
|
# 1
|
| # 13 |
Leaving On a Jet Plane - Peter, Paul & Mary
|
# 1
|
| # 14 |
Come Together - The Beatles
|
# 1
|
| # 15 |
Someday We’ll Be Together - Diana Ross and The Supremes
|
# 1
|
| # 16 |
Suspicious Minds - Elvis Presley
|
# 1
|
| # 17 |
Crystal Blue Persuasion - Tommy James & The Shondells
|
# 2
|
| # 18 |
Proud Mary - Creedence Clearwater Revival
|
# 2
|
| # 19 |
Spinning Wheel - Blood, Sweat & Tears
|
# 2
|
| # 20 |
A Boy Named Sue - Johnny Cash
|
# 2
|
Now, don’t get me wrong, some of those tunes were excellent. However, exciting is not the word to describe 1969. Except, one band particularly kind of went a different route. It pretty much guaranteed they wouldn’t be heard on FM radio for a decade. The Stooges absolutely shattered the recording norm for 1969 featuring a LOT of distortion, feedback, and recorded so loud it sometimes didn’t make a lot of sense. Nowadays that’s pretty much the norm with a lot of bands. In 1969, it wasn’t terribly accepted. So, The Stooges became concert staples, but sold very very few albums compared to most. Some songs sort of teetered on the edge of popularity, but it wasn’t till about a decade later with “Real Wild Child” in 1976 that Iggy and The Stooges got some airplay. Nowadays Lust for Life and The Passenger are used for commercials. In 1976 there were considered a little too edgy for most FM at the time. But, they still did pretty good on the charts. “Real Wild Child”’s had a life of it’s own, I guess it would be Iggy’s biggest claim to fame.
However, apparently old habits are hard to break. For the sixth time, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has turned down the godfathers of punk. I don’t know why. The Sex Pistols got in, but there would have never been The Sex Pistols if it weren’t for The Stooges. It’s that simple.
Send a message to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that they need to recognize the trendsetters a lot more than the followers.
You can even sign a petition here.
1 Comment so far
Squawk like a pink monkey bird
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I like all those songs (well maybe not a Boy Names Sue, heh). But you are right, they left out the ‘great’ songs.