The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recently announced its 2024 class. The list featured mostly musical artists who are worthy of Hall status, though maybe not Foreigner. Some years that the Rock Hall has announced a class there might have been a lot of mehs, but not 2024.
In the decades-long history of the Rock Hall, however, there have been a lot of misses. Maybe voters for inductees should not feel the need to always have a bunch of artists get in. One or three artists might be good enough in any single year.
The issue becomes that eventually, the list of artists in the Hall will get so long that being inducted does not carry all that much honor. If lots of people are in then the Hall begins to lose integrity. Some musical artists already inducted should not belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Four of them follow.
Eurythmics (class of 2022)
To be fair, I do not dislike Eurythmics, but that does not mean they should have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Annie Lennox has an amazing voice and the group sounded somewhat different than most other musical artists in the 1980s, but they did not produce enough great music to reach the immortal heights of any hall of fame inductee. The Rock Hall should be saying that this is the best humanity can offer in terms of rock, and Eurythmics are not that.
Plus, one iconic song, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" should also not make one worthy of induction. One should be able to name several songs by a pop band, which is basically what Eurythmics are, instead of maybe two or three. That would only be good enough for a third of a decent record, not induction into the Rock Hall.
Lovin' Spoonful (class of 2000)
What happened here, Rock Hall? The Lovin' Spoonful was a band from the 1960s - and only the 1960s - who released five studio albums and a ton of singles. The band and their record company focused on the singles, likely because the band did not have enough strong material to fill out good LPs. And while one could make the argument that the 1960s were still a decade where singles ruled, the first Lovin' Spoonful record came out in 1965 which was the same year as Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited and the Beatles' Rubber Soul. Making great albums was possible.
Perhaps the best-known song by the Lovin' Spoonful is "Do You Believe in Magic" which has aged so poorly that the track seems like a better fit as music for a commercial during early weekday mornings just before the soaps begin. The soap opera will likely be more entertaining than most Lovin' Spoonful tracks and neither will be good food for your soul.
The Cars (class of 2018)
Ric Ocasek and the band are not without talent, but what they become was rubbish. The first few years of the group featured albums and songs that sounded fresh and American-alternative. "Shae It Up" is catchy as heck and a well-written tune. But by 1984's Heartbeat City album, the group had seemingly sold out and produced the drivel that is "Drive." The awful "Magic" is from the same record.
What happened? Maybe the band did not know either. After the 1984 record, the band only released two more studio albums. Plus, while the first few years of the band were fun, the Cars were basically the equal of another Massachusetts band, the J. Geils Band, and there is no way that band deserves to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, just as the Cars do not.
The Moody Blues (2018)
The first indication that even the Rock Hall thought maybe the Moody Blues did not really earn induction is that the band, whose first album came out in 1965, did not become a member until 53 years later. The group had a handful of songs that were fine, but maybe even they or their record company was aware they did not have an abundant depth of catchy singles.
"Nights in White Satin," for instance, was released multiple times. "Oh, you don't like 'Ride My See-Saw/?" a record exec might have asked (and yes, that is the title to a real Moody Blues song), "How about 'Nights in White Satin' again?"
If one likes the Moody Blues, fine. A person has a right to like what they like, of course, but is the band truly worthy of immortal status? No.
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