Sledge was one of the ones that I thought was hugely undeserving. The idea of getting in for one song, no matter how great, just seemed wrong, to me. But that would be a knock against Gene Vincent, too, for the most part. I don't have as much of a problem with it, anymore. And Ritchie Valens' induction meant so much to his family, that I can't muster up much disapproval about that, either.

I used to think that the Hall ought to have set the bar quite a bit higher. Inducting a bare minimum of five inductees every single year (and that's just the performers!) is not the way most Halls of Fame operate. If the Baseball Hall of Fame feels that no one eligible for the Hall is deserving that year, then they induct no one. That's quite a contrast with the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. But when you watch the ceremonies and see how thrilled the likes of Percy Sledge and Gene Pitney are, it's hard to be a sourpus about it. They all have their credentials. If you're going to get into the Hall of Fame for one song, it might as well be for the likes of "If a Man Loves a Woman".



I don't get that, either.

No, Gene Vincent was humongous all over Europe and a huge influence on many artists. That's why you see things like jeff beck doing a full album of Gene Vincent material. Gene has at least 20 great songs.

I know he has a lot of great material, but isn't he still technically a one-hit wonder? In the USA, at least? He recorded a lot of great stuff, but supposedly Sledge did, too.

He had two big hits in America and a few other chart hits like "Race With The Devil." Vincent was idolized all over Europe like he was james dean. Thousands of guys dressed like him.

Sledge made 8 or 10 good records but was not very influential. Others sounded like him before he did, including Joy Haywood, who did the original version of "Warm And Tender Love" in 1964, two years before Sledge did his version.

Gene Vincent still has several fan clubs right to this day:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/GENE-VINC ... 8785458542

I doubt that Sledge ever had a fan club, even when he was a current act.

If he was a one hit wonder it would be one more hit than acts like the Velvet Underground or Stooges had.

Yeah, there is that.

According to Wikipedia, "Lotta Lovin'" hit #13 and was in the chart for 19 weeks. That's definitely a second hit.

.... as a note of trivia for the youtube link below ... from 1963 Gene Vincent and The Outlaws - on lead guitar Ritchie Blackmore ... The Outlaws were the backing band for Gene Vincent for tours of the UK and Europe in the early 60`s .... Take care

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tz02LmHKujw

... a few examples of some Gene Vincent chart activity


UK SINGLES / EP

1. BE-BOP-A-LULA - Date: 14/07/1956 #16
2. RACE WITH THE DEVIL -Date: 13/10/1956 - #28
3. BLUE JEAN BOP -Date: 20/10/1956 - #16
4. WILD CAT -Date: 09/01/1960 - #21
5. MY HEART -Date: 10/03/1960 -#16
6. PISTOL PACKIN' MAMA - Date: 16/06/1960 #15
7. SHE SHE LITTLE SHEILA -Date: 01/06/1961 - #22
8. I'M GOING HOME -Date: 31/08/1961 -#36

US SINGLES / EP

1. BE-BOP-A-LULA -Date: 16/06/1956 - #7
2. RACE WITH THE DEVIL -Date: 20/10/1956 - #96
3. BLUE JEAN BOP -Date: 20/09/1956 - #49
4. LOTTA LOVIN' -Date: 19/08/1957 - #13
5. DANCE TO THE BOP -Date: 09/12/1957 - #43

UK ALBUMS

1. CRAZY TIMES - Date: 14/07/1960 - #12

FRANCE SINGLES

1 1961-10-02 87 2 Be-Bop-A-Lula Gene Vincent
2 1962-08-18 48 3 I'm Going Home
3 1962-11-17 75 3 Dance To The Bop
4 1963-02-02 8 16 Be-Bop-A-Lula Gene Vincent
5 1963-02-02 36 15 Say Mama J. Meeks / J. Earl
6 1963-02-02 93 1 I'm Going Home
7 1963-06-15 36 11 Crazy Beat
8 1963-09-14 2 23 Baby Blue
9 1964-01-04 50 1 Baby Blue
10 1964-05-30 56 6 Temptation Baby
11 1964-12-05 19 12 Pistol Packin' Mama
12 1964-12-05 69 4 Private Detective
13 1965-01-02 28 15 Lavender Blue
14 1965-01-02 26 1 Pistol Packin' Mama
15 1965-09-04 94 1 La-den-da-den-da-da
16 1966-12-03 93 2 Bird Doggin'

CANADA SINGLES - Incomplete

Monday, September 30, 1957
Rank Song Title Artist
#2. Lotta Lovin' Gene Vincent
Monday, January 6, 1958
Rank Song Title Artist
#6. Dance To The Bop Gene Vincent

Popularity, Influence, Musical Impact, Cultural Impact.

No one else, besides Sampson and Clash, thinks Presley could be #1 here?
I think he actually ties with The Beatles by the criteria, the fabs getting popularity and influence, with Elvis getting cultural and musical impact.

I dont think Elvis takes musical impact over Beatles....

It's just dangerously close either way...

What the Beatles did for 'the rock album' was priceless, but consider what Elvis was really doing. He was taking previously 'taboo' styles of music and introducing them to a whole new demographic of people. That's huge.
He was also remarkable for his diversity, possibly even more so than the Beatles as well...

I remember Bruce calling out Sampson for this and I had to kind of laugh how Bruce in his own way got his point across.

No from a songwriting, musical, recording and lyrical standpoint Elvis is nowhere near the Beatles in terms of diversity. Elvis was a diverse vocalist but not a diverse musician he wasn't even a songwriter. Elvis already had a blue-print given to him by having other songwriters writing his music. The Beatles had to start the canvas from the ground up. Elvis could never come up with the inventive chord progressions, key changes, melodies and harmonies the Beatles were doing that had classical/rock musicians impressed with. Elvis came from the old school were singers were singers. Some of the overtly sensitive people here will think I am knocking Elvis but I am not these are the facts. Elvis came from a tradition that a vocalist didn't have to write his music. Listen to The Rolling Stones first album it's basically all covers but they realized after some urging from their managers that they had to write their own music.

The Beatles have written some of the greatest albums/songs in pop/rock history. Why on earth do you think so many polls like Rolling Stone Immortals, VHI and Time Magazine have either said the Beatles were the greatest rock artist or it's most influential. It's only here that I even here is this talk.

If you think the Beatles only had an influence on the rock album you are sadly mistaken. Elvis popularized rock and roll which was already popular before he made it big. The Beatles influeced how pop/rock musicians wrote songs, how they were recorded, where it's played, and definitely influenced the experimental aspect of rock and roll. Because of that it is very easy to detect the Beatles influence in way or another. Like many of the musicians said on the VH1 poll said the Beatles has had an influence somewhat on every genre of rock music that has followed.

By 1965 a whole scene had sprung around the success of the Beatles. Their success gave rise to a full-scale British Invasion as groups like the Rolling Stones, Hollies, The Searchers, The Yardrbirds, The Moody Blues, The Animals, The Kinks, Zombies, The Who, The Dave Clark Five and many others came into the charts around the American and the world. American groups like the Byrds, The Lovin Spoonful and the Beu Brummels were quick to respond. This in turned influenced Bob Dylan to go electric. A transatlantic dialog sprung up because of this and the influences went back and forth. This still is happening today.

This transatlantic dialog shows up strongly between the Beatles and Beach Boys. It starts in earnest with Rubber Soul which inspired Brian Wilson Pet Sound which then influenced Sgt. Pepper which in between was Revolver

The Beatles were the primary influences of the Bryds, etc Folk Rock/Jangle Pop, Cheap Trick and numerous other bands Power Pop, Pink Floyd Psychedelic Rock, Yes, Robert Fripp, Genesis etc.. Progressive Rock, Ozzy Osbourne and Lemmy Kilmister Heavy Metal, Nirvana Alternative Rock, Oasis Brit-pop, Gram Parsons Country Rock. The influence extends to musicians like Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding, George Clinton, George Benson, Public Enemy, The Chemical Brothers etc..

The Beatles music is both simple and sophisticated. There music always provided an easy point of entry that hooks us yet subtle and complex enough that set them apart from the mundane. The blend of simplicity and sophistication was key to their commercial and artistic success. They had their own sound and had an uncanny ability to absorb outside influences and integrate them seamlessly into their sound.

The Beatles were not the first to use overdubbing or multitracking it had been around for awhile. But starting with Rubber Soul and peaking in Sgt. Pepper. The Beatles use of it and style achieved tremendous results that they inspired legions of imitators. Songs like “Eleanor Rigby” and “A Day in the Life” expanded the range of rock music and people started to associate those songs to high art. Because of all this the Beatles had a huge influence on the sound of rock music. Rock records from 1962 to 1970 sounded a lot different, they were better produced and offered a lot broader palette of sounds. Yes they were a huge influence though not the only one to merge studio experimention with a strong pop structure which is the primary style in both rock and pop music.

The Beatles and Dylan was part of the explosion that created a new sound world that took over the marketplace. You had Motown, soul and the merging of various rock subgenres. There were other groups were working in the same path as the Beatles and Bob Dylan like Brian Wilson, the Who and Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention. But no one did more to make rock a form of a compelling expression as an art form more than the Beatles and Bob Dylan.

^which is why Dylan should be ahead of James Brown.

I'm also James Brown fan.

I am a James Brown fan. I just think he's a tad high on this list.

I have The Beatles/Bob Dylan as my first two choices. I stated my reasons and I think he should because he virtually changed how rock musicians viewed how rock music could be more than writing about cars and cheesburgers.

There is a social media music chart that I think would interest some people here. It shows how popular musicians are in their view.


http://www.groovecount.com/Music