Foreign (Language) Affairs

What language is Rock ’n’ Roll?

While Rock, as a genre, was born in America, the Hall seems to have followed the pattern of the British Empire when choosing its inductees. Which is to say, they are almost all from English-speaking places.

The British Empire spread the English language far and wide. At least 60 countries, when listing their “official languages,” include English. These nations range from the US and Canada in the Western Hemisphere to the UK and Australia in the Eastern one.

And, with the exception of ABBA (who sing in English), that’s who is in the Hall, too: acts from English-speaking countries. The inductees from Jamaica— Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff— also sing in English; Jackson Browne was born in Germany, but sings in English.

Glancing at the list of all the inductees, I see Richie Valens as having a hit in a non-English language: the Spanish “La Bamba.”

Some bands who are in have songs with a line or verse in French: The Beatles’ “Michelle,” Billy Joel’s “You Are the One,” Peter Gabriel’s “Games Without Frontiers,” ELO’s “Hold on Tight.”

But an act whose primary language is not English? I don’t see any, among the 300+ inductees. Do you?

One could argue that major acts from non-English-speaking places don’t have the same reach and impact as ones that do. But isn’t that a circular argument, a Catch-22?

And is it even true? Half a billion people speak Spanish on Earth. Another 270 million speak French, and some 200 million speak German. They must be listening to some rock music— even if we don’t hear it in the US or UK— that may have gone platinum there? Doesn’t that count?

Forget trees falling in forests; if rock isn’t in English, does it still make a sound?

And sure, one and a half billion people speak English. But there are more than seven billion people in the world.

And yeah, Asian music is based on very different principles and modes than Western music, so rock’s roots aren’t necessarily that deep for a lot of the world. But… they do love rock everywhere, even in Asia; how many albums have the words “at Budokan” in their titles? (It’s a Japanese concert hall).

Yes, we R-O-C-K in the U-S-A. But also, we “keep on rockin’ in the free world.” And rock music has the power to chip away at regimes in other less-free places, too, from Russia to Iran. Look at the history of rock vs. the Berlin Wall or vs. apartheid, for just some examples.

So it would be a powerful statement to induct an act or two (at least) whose main language was not English. It would send several messages: that rock is a global cultural force, that rock is an international “language” beyond words— and that when we rock over here… they echo our sounds right back at us from over there.

And when they do, we listen.

https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2020/03/remember-the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-japan-thats-ok-no-one-else-does.html

Update: Kraftwerk, born and bred in Germany, was Inducted in 2021; while they debuted within the Rock Era, they were considered an Early Influence on a later genre: electronic music. 

Funny Business

One of the major criticisms of rock music has always been its lack of respect for any authority. It openly mocks the powers that be, and is snide and sarcastic in general. It has fun, but also makes fun and pokes fun.

But sometimes when rock is being the class clown, it’s actually funny. Novelty songs have been part of all music from time immemorial, and that’s no less true of rock.

And yet, the Rock Hall has never seen fit, in its three decades-plus of operation, to even nominate a novelty act.

Granted, there are only a handful of novelty acts that might even qualify. But that just makes their exclusion all the odder.

Rock is supposed to thumb its nose at the establishment. People were worried, when the Hall was opened, that putting rock in a museum might make it codger-ly and stodgy. Did their worries come true?

Rock laughs at everything, even itself. By inducting even one novelty or parody act, the Hall would indicate that it understand this, that it acknowledges the place of comedy in rock… and that it’s not afraid to crack a smile now and then.

https://www.change.org/p/rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-weird-al-yankovic-for-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame

The Non-Heavy Side of Soul

While there seem to be rock acts that rock too hard for the Rock Hall to induct, soul does not have that problem. Lots of heavy R&B, soul, and funk acts are in. More could be, and should be, inducted— but the objection does not seem to be that they are too heavy.

No, for soul, the problem is the opposite. If a R&B, soul, or funk act is not heavy enough, that’s a problem for the Hall.

Thing is, lots of acts on the lighter side of R&B and/or soul are hugely popular. Their hits have remained the mainstays of party-DJ set lists for fifty years in some cases.

To say they were not influential is also ridiculous. Much of today’s music owes its existence to those acts. They have been covered and sampled endlessly.

Lighter rock, disco, and pop are in. So the idea that there needs to be some sort of heaviness to achieve worthiness or authenticity? Nah.

Think of the concerts during the induction ceremony once these bands start getting in... Getting asses in seats is only going to be hard because they will all be up boogie-ing.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-the-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-snubs-randb-legends-like-janet-jackson

Update: Tina Turner got Inducted in 2021, as did Billy Preston, with an Award for Musical Excellence. And then Lionel Richie got Inducted, in 2022.

Oh My (Guitar) Gods

Even though we call them “gods,” there is a group of musicians not enshrined in the Rock Hall.

On the one hand, those who play guitars in bands get inducted as part of those bands, as Performers. On the other, those who play behind the bands, in the studio and on tour, can get in with the Award for Musical Excellence, formerly the “Sidemen” induction.

But on the, um, third hand, if you play guitar as a lead, but don’t sing? Then, even if you are a “guitar god,” you aren’t getting in.

Instrumentalists Miles Davis (trumpet) and Booker T. (keyboards) of the MGs are in. And many of those “guitar gods” who do sing... well, they do get in.

And Jeff Beck is in, yes, but he’s the lone exception (well... Carlos Santana doesn't sing much). None of the other “guitar gods” who are best known as, or are purely, instrumentalists have gotten in.

They have legions of fans (and tons of record and ticket sales). Their music, free from language, transcends borders and nationalities. And their musicianship is not simply unquestioned-- it is unparalleled.

Influence is a big part of eligibility, and these are the pioneers of the sounds that get picked up by the players in bands. They are “the guitarists’ guitarists.”

I remember a viewer’s poll about rock musicians in the ‘80s. Phil Collins was voted best drummer. Steve Winwood was voted best keyboard player. Mark Knopfler was voted best guitarist. 

Now, these guys are great, I thought— but are they the absolute very “best”? No, not really. Then I realized that they all sing. They were not the best, but they fronted their groups and so were the most familiar to fans.

The public can be forgiven for such biases. But the experts who run the Hall are supposed to know better.

This is an easy one. The list of universally acclaimed, non-signing “guitar gods” is small. While there may be valid disagreement on some individuals, a handful are absolute shoo-ins. They just need someone to, you know, actually shoo them in. It would only take a few rounds of inductions to right this wrong.

The Rock Hall is symbolized by a pyramid not unlike a mountain. The “guitar gods” should be elevated to its Olympus.

These are the greatest guitarists-- so why aren't so many of them in?https://www.guitarworld.com/features/the-100-greatest-guitarists-of-all-time

Update: Randy Rhoads got in with an Award for Musical Excellence in 2021. So maybe some who led bands with only a guitar and no vocals are next?

In 2023, Link Wray got in. He's not a guitar god per se, but he's in as an Early Influence and I think it's fair to say that the guitar gods are among the ones he influenced.