Rock n Roll Hall of Fame nominees for 2014

[Music Head]

sorry peeps
I had planned on having a brief bio up of each nominee
before winners were announced
I failed
the winners have been announced
so screw it
now I'm gonna post a bio of the winners
I thought only 5 got in, looks like 9

[Music Head]

2014 HOF Inductee Cat Stevens



The musical odyssey of Cat Stevens is well documented, from teenage London art school songsmith (“The First Cut Is The Deepest,” the Tremeloes’ “Here Comes My Baby”) to introspective cornerstone of the 1970s singer-songwriter movement. Who can measure the courage it took him in the late ’70s, after seven years of multi-platinum success in the U.S. (and over a decade in the UK) to convert to Islam, amidst the wave of turmoil and confusion that was engulfing the world? He left his touring and recording life behind and named himself Yusuf Islam. Inevitably, many longtime fans abandoned him, and he found certain international borders closed and worse yet, controversies on his doorstep despite his humanist background. It was 17 difficult years between his final LP as Cat Stevens (1978’s Back To Earth), and the first CD as Yusuf and more than a decade until his first pop album in nearly 30 years (An Other Cup in 2006). “When I accepted Islam,” he told Rolling Stone, “a lot of people couldn’t understand. To my fans it seemed that my entering Islam was the direct cause of me leaving the music business, so many people were upset. However, I had found the spiritual home I’d been seeking for most of my life. And if you listen to my music and lyrics, like ‘Peace Train’ and ‘On The Road To Find Out,’ it clearly shows my yearning for direction and the spiritual path I was travelling.” The musical gifts that he has shared with the world are an important chapter in rock history – a beacon of hope that will never be extinguished.

[Music Head]

2014 HOF Inductee Hall & Oates



Daryl Hall and John Oates created an original mix of soul and rock that made them the most successful pop duo in history. As songwriters, singers and producers, they embraced the pop mainstream, bringing passion and creativity back to the 3-minute single. Over the course of their career, they have recorded six Number One hits and put 34 songs in the Billboard Top 100. Deeply rooted in lush Philly soul, Hall and Oates mixed smooth vocal harmonies and the romantic vulnerability of soul with edgy hard rock and new wave riffs to create some of the finest pop music of the 1980s. They teamed up in the early 1970s in Philadelphia, and landed a deal with Atlantic. On their first three albums they searched for the right style for their talents as they experimented with soul, folk and hard rock. They finally hit with “Sara Smile” in 1976, an irresistible sexy soul ballad that showcased their vocals, songwriting and guitar playing. After their subsequent string of hits (“Rich Girl,” “She’s Gone,” “Wait For Me”), they were energized by new wave and dance music. The result was an incredible run of original songs that topped the pop and R&B charts throughout the 1980s: “Kiss On My List,” “Private Eyes,” “You Make My Dreams” and “I Can’t Go For That” combined the best of both rock and R&B, setting the stage for the important crossover work of Madonna and Prince. They continue to record and attract new young audiences, and their influence can be felt in the work of contemporary artists like Bruno Mars and Justin Timberlake.

[Music Head]

2014 HOF Inductee Nirvana



It only takes one song to start a rock revolution. That trigger, in late 1991, was “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” an exhilarating blast of punk-rock confrontation by Nirvana, a scruffy trio from Seattle. “Teen Spirit,” its moshpit-party video and Nirvana’s kinetic live shows propelled their second album, Nevermind, to Number One and turned singer-guitarist-songwriter Kurt Cobain into the voice and conscience of an alternative-rock nation sick of hair metal and the conservative grip of the Reagan-Bush ‘80s. Founded by Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in the logging town of Aberdeen, Washington, Nirvana were underground stars when they made 1989’s Bleach with drummer Chad Channing. Moving from the indie Sub Pop label to Geffen, the band – with drummer Dave Grohl – packed Cobain’s corrosive riffs, emotionally acute writing and twin passions for the Beatles and post-punk bands like the Melvins and the Pixies into Nevermind. A multi-platinum seller, it included the hits “Come As You Are” and “Lithium” and opened the mainstream gates for Green Day, Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins. In 1993, Nirvana released the caustic masterpiece, In Utero, and gave a historic performance on MTV’s Unplugged. But in April 1994, Cobain – suffering from drug addiction and severe doubts about his stardom – took his own life. Like Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison, Cobain was 27, in his creative prime, when he died. Also like them, he and Nirvana remain an enduring influence and challenge – proof that the right band with the right noise can change the world.

[SteveO]

Disappointed that YES and DEEP PURPLE didn't get inducted! I guess everybody gets in eventually!..lol

[Music Head]

2014 HOF Inductee Kiss



Few bands short of the Beatles inspired more kids to pick up the guitar than KISS. With their signature makeup, explosive stage show and anthems like “Rock And Roll All Nite” and “Detroit Rock City,” they are the very personification of rock stars. Original members Peter Criss, Ace Frehley, Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons came together in New York in 1972. While their first two records did not generate many sales, they quickly gained a national following for their bombastic, pyro-filled stage show. Their 1975 live album Alive! captured that energy and reached Number Nine on the charts, quickly making them one of the most popular bands of the 1970s – scoring countless hit singles, sold-out tours and appearing everywhere from comic books to lunch boxes to their very own TV movie. Frehley and Criss left in the early 1980s and the group took their make-up off for 1983’s Lick It Up. They continued to be a popular live draw, but in 1996 the original quartet reformed (and they put their makeup back on) and KISS mania was reborn. In 2009, KISS released Sonic Boom, their first album of new material in 11 years. They released Monster in 2012.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

without a doubt one of the most visual over the top bands in musical history....

they personify everything that is corny and cheesy with rock and roll, yet, still manage to be taken seriously...

its pretty hard to go past their sing'a'long anthems for pure rock and roll...

their fans are among the most dedicated of any artist fans in the world...

and without a doubt the greatest live act i have ever seen....

awesome band,brilliant live act,great imagery, its a shame their albums dont generate the same intenseness as does their live sets!

[SteveO]

I can vouch for their live shows!!!! Saw them twice!!! I find in a lot of cases the studio album of an artist is inferior to the live one!!!!

[Music Head]

2014 HOF Inductee Linda Rondstadt



Linda Ronstadt dominated popular music in the 1970s with a voice of tremendous range and power. She was one of the most important voices in the creation of country rock, in part because she understood how to sing traditional country songs like “Silver Threads And Golden Needles.” She regularly crossed over to the country charts in the ’70s, a rarity for rock singers. Working with producer Peter Asher, Ronstadt crafted a repertoire of songs that roamed throughout rock history that she interpreted with beautiful, precise phrasing. Ronstadt was especially good at singing early rock and roll; she had a long string of hits that revived interest in rock’s pioneers: Roy Orbison’s “Blue Bayou,” the Everly Brothers' “When Will I Be Loved” and Buddy Holly’s “That’ll Be The Day” among them. She was equally comfortable with Motown music and the beginning of new wave. Her finest work was the run of four consecutive platinum albums in the mid 70s: Heart Like A Wheel (1974), Prisoner In Disguise (1975), Hasten Down The Wind (1976) and Simple Dreams (1977). In the 1980s, she expanded her musical vocabulary by recording songs from the classic American songbook (What’s New, Lush Life) and Mexican music that she heard growing up in Tucson, Arizona (Canciones De Mi Padre). That work proved as successful as her rock albums; she is the only artist to win a Grammy Award in the categories of pop, country, Mexican American and Tropical Latin. That diversity reflects her approach to singing: she was always looking for the best song, regardless of category.

[CRAZY-HORSE]

she was also a very good backing singer...backing people like James Taylor and Neil Young, i prefer her backing harmonies over her own singles(probably due to the fact that the vast majority of hits she had here were covers)