Hall of Fame Archives - Page 6 of 10

Billy Preston would have been 70

I continue to nag that Billy Preston should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,

When I was in college at SUNY New Paltz, WAY back in the spring of 1972 (I think), I saw Billy Preston in concert, probably the second live concert of a “name” artist that I ever saw, after Seals & Crofts. He must have played in the Elting Gym. I took pictures, but from where I was seated, in the rafters, all I got was shadows and the backs of people’s heads.

You SHOULD know Billy Preston, keyboard player extraordinaire.

Wrote about him five years ago. Not much has changed since then, since he died about three months shy of his 60th birthday, on 06/06/06 from “complications of malignant hypertension that resulted in kidney failure and other complications,” probably from drug use.

Well, there is one thing I learned in the last lustrum. From the Wikipedia:

Although the details did not become fully known to the general public until after his death, Preston struggled throughout his life to cope with his sexual orientation, and the lasting effects of the traumatic sexual abuse he suffered as a boy. Although his homosexuality became known to friends and associates in the music world… Preston did not publicly come out as gay until just before he died. This was reportedly partly due to the fact that Preston felt that his sexual orientation conflicted with his deeply held religious beliefs and his lifelong association with the church, so he remained “in the closet” until shortly before his death. Keith Richards’ autobiography, Life, mentions Billy Preston’s struggles with his sexuality.

As someone who grew up in the black church, I can imagine the internal struggle.

I continue to nag that he should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, under the Award for Musical Excellence category, which used to be the sidemen category.

Last time, I concentrated on songs Billy Preston played on other people’s records. This time, my favorite Billy Preston tracks, with links to all, and notation of chart action.

7. Nothing from Nothing from The Kids & Me – #1 US, #8 US R&B
6. I Wrote a Simple Song from I Wrote A Simple Song (IWASS) – #77 US
5. It Doesn’t Matter from That’s They Way God Planned It (TTWGPI)
4. Outa-Space (IWASS) – #2 US, #1 US R&B, #44 UK
3. That’s the Way God Planned It (Parts 1 & 2) (TTWGPI) – #62 US, #11 UK
2, Will It Go Round in Circles from Music Is My Life – #1 US, #10 US R&B
1. Do What You Want (TWGPI) – I LOVE how slowly it starts, and how fast it’s going at the end

And I SO like this:
11-year-old Billy Preston; Nat “King” Cole

Louder Than Words: Rock * Power * Politics

If you miss Louder Than Words in Cleveland, it opens January 6, 2017, at the Newseum in Washington, DC.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, OH, Thursday and Friday, July 14 and 15, 2016

In the Belkin Gallery on Levels 5 and 6 of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, was Louder Than Words, a “special exhibit created in partnership with the Newseum in Washington, DC, exploring rock music’s power to change attitudes about peace, equality, patriotism, and hope.”

It was magnificent.

On the wall Up the stairway are some lyrics from Patti Smith’s People Have the Power: “And the people have the power To redeem the work of fools From the meek the graces shower It’s decreed the people rule.”

There were kiosks about all the Presidents, from Truman to Obama, describing the music they used in their campaigns. But mostly it was music, graphics, and artifacts about how the country dealt with a variety of conflicts.

Mississippi Goddam by Nina Simone was one of the songs representing the civil rights movement.

In the Vietnam War period, you heard Waist Deep in the Big Muddy by Pete Seeger and Ohio by CSN&Y, but also The Ballad of the Green Berets, a 1966 hit by Staff Sgt. Barry Sadler.

There was a display about the Parents Music Resource Center versus Rock, with Tipper Gore, Al’s wife leading the charge against the “pornography” of Prince’s Darlin’ Nikki and other songs, and succeeding in getting parental advisory labels on CDs.

Pro- and anti-Iraq war songs were represented, as were anthems from Helen Reddy’s I Am Woman to Lady Gaga’s Born This Way and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ Same Love.

The song that played constantly: a Michael Jackson song, They Don’t Care About Us. More recent struggles, such as songs associated with Black Lives Matter were described.

If you miss Louder Than Words in Cleveland, it opens January 6, 2017, at the Newseum in Washington, DC.

Did I mention that the Hall would be closing early on that Saturday, and closed all day on Sunday so that delegates from the Republican National Convention could tour the facilities? I would be VERY interested to get their reaction.

In fact, the first day we were there, we could tell security was tightening. But the second day, it was much worse, with a tent making it much more difficult to enter the facilities.

A couple more highlights of the Hall: a 13-minute movie called Artist Unite about the rock benefit concert, from Bangladesh to Live Aid, tied to Louder THan Words.

There was a walkway with displays of recently deceased musicians, including Prince, Percy Sledge, Gerry Goffin, Bobby Womack, Tommy Ramone, Maurice White, George Martin, Jack Bruce, B.B. King, David Bowie, Glenn Frey, Allen Toussaint, Paul Kantner, and William Guest of the Pips.

Possibly the best thing: Because we are Supporters of the Albany Institute of History & Art, and we also got an annual membership to the North American Reciprocal Museum Program, we received “free admission and other benefits at more than 500 museums throughout the United States and Canada.” This included the three of us going to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, twice.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

There was a special section on Graham Nash: Touching the Flame, featuring the photos and drawings he and his friends created during his time with the Hollies and CSNY

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, OH, July 14-15, 2016

Since it’s only about an hour away from the Ashtabula reunion, the family was unanimous in agreeing that we would HAVE to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

I had been there before, in 1998. They had special displays for the Carls Perkins and Wilson, who had recently died. But much has changed in the intervening 18 years.

They recommend that you start your tour on the lower level, and this is appropriate. It has a film about the 2016 induction ceremony. I spent a LOT of time, and could have spent more, in the Stewart Gallery, reading about and listening to “The Roots of Rock: Blues, Gospel, R&B, Country, Bluegrass, and Folk.”

The Elvis Presley exhibit featured a 14-minute film about him, which was worth watching. Then “The Legends of Rock and Roll” were portrayed in various ways. Each of the Beatles’ albums was described in short films. There was a film on the Rolling Stones, which I did not have time to watch. Lots of outfits of artists from Hendrix, Bowie, the Who, the Supremes, Michael Jackson, and others.

A couple of displays were geographically oriented Cities and Sounds, and The Music of Cleveland and the Midwest. There was an area about the radio personalities, such as Alan Freed, who delivered the music. Also, I watched the 30-minute film Dick Clark’s American Bandstand.

There was a special section on Graham Nash: Touching the Flame, featuring the photos and drawings he and his friends created during his time with the Hollies and Crosby, Stills & Nash (& Young). A sound booth allowed one to sing along with Bus Stop and Teach Your Children, and see how off-key we were, at which point, the recorded Graham would indicate that you shouldn’t quit your day job. (I wanted to try this solo, since I was more familiar with the songs, but never had the chance.)

Finally, on the Lower Level, was Right Here, Right Now, a display of videos of more recent songs, most of which I had never heard. I spent 20 minutes there but could have spent two hours.

The escalator skips Level 1 going up (but it lands IN the gift shop going down – no fools, them.) There were segments about the architects of rock and roll; watching Les Paul play was hypnotic.

A multimedia exhibit Video Killed the Radio Star was 11 minutes of very strange stuff, but I liked it. Peter Gabriel and others were represented.

The Daughter could have spent all day at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listening to headphones listening to the “songs that shaped rock and roll and one-hit wonders,” and more the Hall of Fame Jukebox on the 4th Level, with a collection of songs by all the inductees.

I watched a short film, The Life and Music of Smokey Robinson. There were displays of the evolving technologies, “from Wax to .Wav.”

On Level 3, the Induction Ceremony highlight films from over the years that interested me greatly, but there was still so much to see, I watched only a couple of years’ worth, limited by time.

There’s also a cafe on this level, where we got some snacks and sat outdoors, with a nice view of Lake Erie. We were only bothered by the people who insisted on feeding the seagulls, despite signs prohibiting this.

I should note what on the wall on Level 4: Pink Floyd: The Wall, this giant paper mache-looking thing.

Hmm, I didn’t get to Levels 5 and 6. Seems like another post about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soon…

The Pro Football Hall of Fame

The NFL was something I experienced with others, initially with my father.

Wednesday, July 13, 2016, Canton, Ohio

Last year, when we knew we would be going to the Olin Family Reunion in Ashtabula, Ohio, I proclaimed that one of the other activities I REALLY wanted to do is to visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This is football as in the American game, not what Americans call soccer.

I’m a sucker for a good HoF. I’ve been to the Basketball one in Springfield, MA with The Wife (and infant Daughter); the surprisingly enjoyable Horse Racing HoF in Saratoga Springs, NY, with The Wife; and the Baseball HoF in Cooperstown, NY, which I’ve been to several times, going back to my childhood.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame provided a very entertaining time for me, as I was captivated about the history, from the 1920s, with highlights from each decade. On one wall was the won-loss record of every team, current or defunct, for every season.

The social impact of the sport was on display, from the reintegration of the NFL in the 1940s to Joe Namath’s pantyhose commercial.

And checking out the information about the players was fun. It’s true that I don’t much follow the National Football League much these past several years, and couldn’t tell you who won the Super Bowl two or three years ago. But I could tell you who was in the first five of them.

The NFL was something I experienced with others, initially with my father, watching the New York Giants each week of the season, then various friends. (I remember specifically that a now-ex of mine fell on the black ice the day the Buffalo Bills came back from the largest playoff deficit ever.)

Alas, it wasn’t nearly as much fun for The Wife and The Daughter. They were on some Xbox, trying to play. But they know so little about the fundamentals of the game that they kept getting “delay of game” penalties.

In fact, the Daughter’s favorite thing was noticing this utility poll very near the building, and recognizing it as a goalpost.

We did get lunch there – it wasn’t outrageously expensive – and heard on the NFL newsfeed that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s four-game suspension would be reinstated. Good or bad news, depending on one’s rooting interests.

I recommend the Pro Football Hall of Fame for even the casual NFL fan or former fan, but not so much for those who don’t care about the game at all.

Baseball Hall of Fame 2016: if I had a ballot

Once again, time for me to think about the baseball players, who will be voted on by the baseball writers to get into the Baseball Hall of Fame. The results will be announced on January 6. “To be enshrined, players must be named on at least 75% of the Committee members’ ballots.”

Here are the players on the ballot. Last year, four players were inducted: pitchers Randy Johnson, Pedro Martínez, and John Smoltz, all in their first year of eligibility, and catcher/second baseman Craig Biggio. Still, there are a lot of quality picks available. The sportswriters who vote can select up to 10 players, though, clearly, most do not.

These are my picks if I had a ballot:

1. Lee Smith, who had more saves than anyone when he retired in an era when relievers often pitched more than one inning. 14th year on the ballot. He got 30.2% of the vote last year, only marginally better than the year before, and much worse than before then. I’ve supported his selection for years.

2. Mark McGwire, one of those PED (performance-enhancing drugs) guys. But Major League Baseball really hadn’t addressed the issue until 2004, well after his record-breaking 1998 season. Moreover, because of a change in the rules a couple of years ago, he is not in the 10th of 15 years of eligibility, but the 10th of 10 years, which seems like an unfortunate bait-and-switch. With 10% of the vote, it’s incredibly unlikely he’ll make it this year.

3. Alan Trammel, solid Tigers shortstop in his last (15th) year of eligibility. With only 25.1% of the vote last year, if he’s ever to make it into Cooperstown, it’ll be by some Veterans Committee down the road.

4. Barry Bonds remains the best position player on the ballot, and in fact, one of the best players ever, even factoring out the theoretical benefits of PEDs. From the start of his career in 1986 until the end of 1998 season, after which he bulked up and had the astronomical numbers, Bonds accumulated a .289 BA, 411 HR, 445 SB, 4 MVPs, 8 Gold Gloves, and only a 15% strikeout rate. Last year, he got 36.8% of the vote, and in his fourth year, he may do incrementally better.

5. Pretty much ditto for pitcher Roger Clemens, a dominant player, with 37.5% of the vote last year.

6. Ken Griffey, Jr. (pictured). Clearly the best of the first-time nominees, with 630 home runs, a fine fielder, and a decent fellow to boot.

7. Mike Piazza. A good hitting catcher, who was never specifically accused of taking PED, but everyone who bulked up in that period was suspected by some. There’s no reason to believe it so. Last year, in his second year of eligibility, he got 69.9% of the vote, and I’m guardedly hopeful he’ll get in this year.

8. Curt Schilling, a stellar pitcher in a couple of World Series. For some reason, don’t much like him much, but I’d support him. He got 39.2% of the vote last year, up 10 percentage points in year three.

9. Trevor Hoffman. With 601 saves, the relief pitcher is almost a certain first-year lock.

10. Tim Raines, in his ninth year of eligibility. He had 55% of the votes last year. Hope he gets in.

Left off

The number of qualified choices meant I passed on: Mike Mussina, Jeff Bagwell, Sammy Sosa, Gary Sheffield, Edgar Martinez, and Larry Walker. The logjam in the ballot is in large part a result of the 2013 balloting when NO one got into the Hall through the traditional balloting.

“In addition, BBWAA members who were otherwise eligible to cast ballots were required to complete a registration form and sign a code of conduct before receiving their ballots, and the Hall will make public the names of all members who cast ballots (but not their individual votes) when it announces the election results.” This is to try to get people who can vote to actually cast a ballot.
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Someone’s list of 9 Biggest MLB Hall of Fame Snubs.