For whatever reason, bands with geographic names have had a hard time with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Chicago [1] was slow to be inducted, and noted bands like Kansas [2], Boston, and America have yet to be inducted at all despite a high degree of success in the 1970’s (and beyond). America is a striking example of a band that had a large degree of consistent success for about a decade, music that has been sampled and appreciated for generations, yet without the sort of obvious acceptance into the RRHOF that one would expect for such a group. It is easy to recognize a few of their songs, yet it does not take a great deal of investigation to realize that this group had so much more to offer than is often remembered. The group had seven songs that ended up in the Billboard YE charts between 1972 and 1982, and has continued to release studio and live and compilations to the present-day. This is a group that could benefit from a retrospective video that put their career in a larger context and showed their massive influence on other groups, including, it should be noted, the music of Janet Jackson, who sampled their top ten hit “Ventura Highway” on her hit song “Someone To Call My Lover.”
The Influence Of America
As I just mentioned, America has had influence on others in a way that is impossible to deny, in that other artists have recorded their music and thus showed the influence of the group as a source of music for others to cover or sample. Janet Jackson, a shrewd student of 70’s music, sampled “Ventura Highway” around the same time in her career that she sampled “You’re So Vain” for another one of her hits. This is demonstrative of Janet’s sound ability to accept the influence of others while creating excellent music out of those samples. Not all samples have been as welcome, though they do sow influence, as Captain & Tennille covered America’s version of “Muskrat Love” and turned it into an immensely popular song [4], demonstrating that America’s music has been capable since the 1970’s of influencing others. And not only has the group itself been able to influence others, but it has been a shrewd recorder of covers, showings how others have influenced its own approach to music. It would be nice, though, to see more examples of bands and artists who were able to openly admit to being inspired by America, as this is something that would probably give the band a higher profile with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Why America Belongs In The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame
America’s main claim to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is their music. Five of their first six studio albums have been certified either gold or platinum in the United States and one of their compilations has gone multi-platinum, and they have also released live, holiday, and bootleg albums. Likewise, during the eleven years from 1972 to 1983 the group had a run of successful pop singles. Two of their songs hit #1, 1972’s A Horse With No Name and 1975’s Sister Golden Hair. In addition to that they had five additional top 10 hits (1972’s “I Need You” and “Ventura Highway,” 194’s “Tin Man” and “Lonely People” and 1982’s “You Can Do Magic”). All of these songs hit the Billboard YE Hot 100 during the years they were released. In addition to that they had top 40 hits with 1973’s “Don’t Cross The River,” 1975’s “Daisy Jane”, 1976’s “Today’s The Day,” and 1983’s “The Border.” A few other of their songs just missed the top 40, including 1975’s #44 hit “Woman Tonight” and 1982’s #45 hit “Right Before Your Eyes [5].” This is demonstrative of a successful set of songs that any band would be proud to have, and that is not even including such numbers as “Amber Cascades,” “Muskrat Love,” or their soundtrack cover hit version of “California Dreamin'” that helped spark a career renaissance in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s.
Why America Isn’t In The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame
It is a bit puzzling why the group isn’t in the RRHOF. They have a sustained period of excellent and popular albums, singles that have stood the test of time, and a good reputation with other acts who have sampled and covered their music. Whether it was inspiring Purple Rain or putting lovemaking muskrats into the popular consciousness, America certainly had a good degree of excellence in their approach to music. It is long past time for this to be recognized.
Verdict: Put them in. They’ve waited long enough already.
[1] https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2011/02/11/why-arent-they-in-the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-chicago/
[2]https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017/06/01/why-arent-they-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame-kansas/
[3]https://edgeinducedcohesion.blog/2017/04/01/why-arent-they-in-the-rock-roll-hall-of-fame-boston/
[4] See, for example:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muskrat_Love
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ventura_Highway
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/America_discography
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Since 1986, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation has been bestowing what they deem “rock's highest honor” on musical artists, inducting them into a hall of fame so long as they meet their criteria: have a debut album that's 25 years or older, be or have been “influential,” and make it through their voting process ...
Why are the Guess Who not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? ›
One problem for the Guess Who and Steppenwolf is that they were huge on AM radio when hipsters like Wenner were into FM and the album rock it spawned. “Rush finally got in but it took a long, long time and they deserve to be in,” Bowman said. Wenner's departure almost certainly means change at the Hall.
Who is surprisingly not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? ›
Artists that were once on the list but then removed after their first nomination: The Go-Go's, Iron Maiden, A Tribe Called Quest, George Michael, and Joy Division/New Order, as well as 2024 nominees Cher, Kool & the Gang, and Mariah Carey.
Who asked to be removed from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? ›
Jann Wenner, the co-founder of Rolling Stone magazine, has been removed from the board of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, which he also helped found, one day after an interview with him was published in The New York Times in which he made comments that were widely criticized as sexist and racist.
What is the problem with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? ›
The Rock Hall's voters are frequently accused of being biased in favor of white male artists, with females making up less than 9% of the inducted roster as of 2023. Heavy metal and hard rock artists have long contended that the organization has been too slow to honor the legends of the genres.
Who got snubbed for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? ›
Top 25 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame snubs of all time
- Joy Division/New Order.
- Chic.
- Sonic Youth.
- John Coltrane.
- Iron Maiden.
- Mariah Carey.
- Eric B. & Rakim.
- New York Dolls.
Inductees. English guitarist, singer, and songwriter Eric Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Artists are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at an annual induction ceremony.
Who should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but isn t? ›
Others of note – Blue Oyster Cult, Billy Idol, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, America, Motley Crue, Pantera, Kansas, Foreigner, Foghat, Eddie Money, Boston, Thin Lizzy.
Why isn t Bad Company in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? ›
Later in the chat, Kirke offered one possible explanation for why BAD COMPANY has been overlooked by the Rock Hall. "I think because of BAD COMPANY's changing lineups over the 50 years that we'd been together, it kind of devalued our currency a little bit," he said.
What band is banned from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? ›
Motley Crue. According to founder, bassist and primary songwriter Nikki Sixx, Motley Crue is banned from the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame due to their “bad behavior”.
No one has turned down an induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. There have been a few artists in the past who questioned the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but nobody has “turned down” an induction. The closest we've gotten to that situation is in 2006, when The Sex Pistols were inducted into the Hall.
Why isn't Joe Cocker in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? ›
One major artist never inducted is Joe Cocker. The year Cocker died, artist Billy Joel — interviewed in a documentary about the life of Joe Cocker — hand-delivered a petition to get him included in the hall before Cocker's death of cancer. The Hall refused and he has not been inducted since.
Why didn t Paul McCartney go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? ›
Paul McCartney
When The Beatles were inducted into the Rock Hall in 1988, McCartney sat out the induction due some then-ongoing issues around songwriting royalties. In a statement, Macca said, "After 20 years, the Beatles still have some business differences, which I had hoped would have been settled by now.
Who are the 7 masters of rock and roll? ›
Wenner was speaking about his book The Masters, a collection of interviews with artists that he described as the “philosophers of rock.” (Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend, Jerry Garcia, Bono, and Bruce Springsteen are listed in the book's full title.)
Who is the only musician inducted to the rock & Roll Hall of Fame for his harmonica playing? ›
Little Walter stretched the harmonica to its limits. He could make the instrument sob, howl and roar, all the while masterfully filling in the spaces around Muddy Waters' full-bodied vocals.
Has anyone refused the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? ›
No one has turned down an induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. There have been a few artists in the past who questioned the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but nobody has “turned down” an induction. The closest we've gotten to that situation is in 2006, when The Sex Pistols were inducted into the Hall.
What qualifies you to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? ›
Musicians become eligible for induction into the hall of fame 25 years after the release of their first recording. The foundation's nominating committee, made up of rock historians, selects nominees each year in the performer category, who are then voted upon by an international body of some 500 rock experts.
How much does it cost to get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? ›
Terms & Conditions for General Admission
| Your price | Qty |
|---|
| Adult (ages 13+) | $31.99 | 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 |
| Child (ages 6-12) | $23.99 | 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 |
Dolly Parton says she meant no disrespect by initially turning down her nomination for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. As she explained in a recent Billboard interview, it's not that she didn't appreciate the honor — she just believed she wasn't worthy.
