R.E.M. and Van Halen are no-brainers, both original in their sound and HUGELY influential. Last year I ragged about Percy Sledge getting in the year before as a one-hit wonder, Grandmaster Flash is in the same category, the difference being that their one hit launched a whole genre, that is not only still around, but dominant. (Not that I like that, I'm just stating the facts here). Joe Tex??? I dunno, I like Joe Tex, "I Gotcha" is a great song, and I did "the bump" to "Ain't Gonna Bump No More With No Big Fat Woman" in high school, but I don't know that he is Hall of Fame material. Chic? As I said last year, the Commodores and Ohio Players should go in before they do.
Patti Smith I never "got". Her version of "Because the Night" is one of my favorite all time songs, but it was written by Springsteen. Dave Clark Five? Yeah, I can see that, they were a big part of the British Invasion, had lots of hits. The Ronettes are redundant, because Phil Spector is already in the Hall, and the Ronettes are nothing but the genius of Phil Spector.
Which leaves the Stooges. I don't know who these clowns are that vote, but how they can continue to leave out this band that was SO far ahead of their time is beyond me. They invented punk long before 1976, much like my favorite Krautrock band CAN invented drums'n'bass in the late 60s. I'm sure no one that votes for the Hall is reading this, but if you see one of them, tell them to quit screwin' around and get the Stooges in there.
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