Rush long overdue proper Rock and ROLL HOF honor

This year’s nominations for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has been announced and it makes one wonder (if you are a fan) how some performers/groups can slip through the cracks for so long and NOT be properly recognized.

Topping the Class of 2013 is the greatest rock group EVER from Canada – RUSH! I mean, how in the hell did Rush get excluded until now??? Talk (or sing) about injustice??? And compared to the other names on the list, Geddy Lee, Neil Peart and Alex Lifeson should get the red carpet treatment to the head of the line!

The other nominees are Donna Summer (who died in 2012), Public Enemy, Procol Harum, N.W.A., Randy Newman, the Meters, Kraftwerk, Albert King, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, the Marvelettes, Heart, Chic, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Deep Purple.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation was established in 1983 to recognize the contributions of those who have had a significant impact on the evolution, development and perpetuation of rock and roll by inducting them into the Hall of Fame, located in Cleveland (because that’s where DJ Alan Freed first coined the term “rock and roll” on the air).

“Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria include the influence and significance of the artists’ contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll,” states the website. “The Foundation’s nominating committee selects nominees each year in the Performer category. Ballots are then sent to an international voting body of more than 600 artists, historians and members of the music industry. Those performers who receive the highest number of votes - and more than 50 percent of the vote – are inducted. The Foundation generally inducts five to seven performers each year.”

So let’s say we choose six – Rush, Heart (another great Canadian hit machine), N.W.A., Randy Newman (songwriter extraordinaire), Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Deep Purple. A sympathy vote for Summer might include her as the seventh class member.

I’m still waiting for another classic leader in rock to make the list – KISS – and to have a B-level Motown group (the Marvelettes) ahead of one of the all-time top record sellers in rock history is … ridiculous.