Guide to the 2010 Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame Inductees

On Monday, March 15, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted new members for the 24th straight year. It’s a fairly heady honor for rock musicians; after all, we’re talking about a museum whose previous inductees include the likes of Elvis, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, AC/DC, U2, and literally hundreds of other iconic bands. With that in mind, I thought it might be cool to take a look at this year’s inductees.

Genesis

You might know them as… that really noodly progressive rock band Peter Gabriel was in before Phil Collins took over. Except for a couple songs like “Misunderstanding” after Gabriel left, Genesis generally had more luck with albums like The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway than it did with hit singles.

Why they’re in... they were one of the preeminent “prog rock” bands and prog was one of the major rock movements in the 70’s. Also, they had a heavy influence on modern day jam bands like Phish and Dave Matthews, and even more eclectic bands like Radiohead and Talking Heads.

Recommended listening… The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway. It’s long and weird but still worth a listen if you’re into that sort of thing.

Main college audience… stoners, hippies, music geeks.

ABBA

You might know them as... the band responsible for the catchiest songs known to mankind and unquestionably the most famous band to come out of Sweden. Also, the group A*Teens was basically a glorified cover band of their work, and their songs inspired the musical Mamma Mia.

Why they’re in… because even before Mamma Mia, they had ridiculous back catalogue sales for a group that split up almost thirty years ago and their songs heavily influenced power pop and the majority of the generic pop of the past few decades.

Recommended listening… try out Abba Gold or The Definitive Collection. ABBA’s strong suit wasn’t really albums, but they had way too many great singles to just pick one.

Main college audience… fairly mainstream, really.

The Hollies

You might know them as… one of those British Invasion groups that pop up on that oldies station your parents like. Chances are, they were playing one of four songs: “Bus Stop,” “Carrie-Anne,” “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” or “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress.”

Why they’re in… they were arguably one of the best British Invasion groups not called the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who, or the Kinks. and because Also, one of the band’s members, Graham Nash, went on to bigger and better things in Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young.

Recommended listening… “Bus Stop” or “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress.” The Hollies hung around a lot longer than most British Invasion bands but they never quite got the hang of putting together a really solid album.

Main college audience… Unless you’re REALLY into 60’s rock, not really existent. It’s not that they’re truly obscure; they just didn’t quite transcend generations like the Beatles or the Stones.

Jimmy Cliff

You might know him as… the greatest classic reggae artist besides Bob Marley. Cliff never quite broke through in the U.S. but he did do a lot of the songs for the soundtrack of a film he starred in called The Harder They Come, which might be the best reggae album of all time.

Why he’s in… reggae has had an enormous influence on the rest of popular music ever since it first became popular outside Jamaica in the 70’s, and Cliff’s songs were a major reason why.

Recommended listening… The Harder They Come, especially the title track, and “Many Rivers To Cross.”

Main college audience… anyone who’s into classic reggae.

The Stooges

You might know them as… one of the first real punk bands. Also, their frontman, Iggy Pop, sang the song featured in Carnival cruise ads, “Lust for Life.”

Why they’re in… because they arguably invented punk in the late 60’s and early 70’s, so most alternative and hard rock music can be traced back to their influence in some way or another.

Recommended listening… their first album, The Stooges, and the album Raw Power, especially “Search and Destroy” and “Gimme Danger.”

Main college audience… punk fans or really anyone who likes kickass alternative rock and doesn’t mind if it came out before they were born.