Rock Hall Inductees, + A Mini History Lesson

Cleveland calls itself “the rock ‘n’ roll capital of the world,” which may or may not be true. But consider the facts:

- Alan Freed, the American disc-jockey also known as Moondog, is credited with coining the term “rock and roll” in the early 1950s. Freed wasn’t the first DJ to promote African-American R&B on the radio, but he was the first to give the genre its new, popular name.
- The Moondog Coronation Ball, held at the Cleveland Arena on March 1, 1952, was America's first major rock ‘n’ roll concert. The show was organized by Alan Freed (does anyone see a pattern here?), who printed more tickets than the venue’s actual capacity. When 20,000 people tried to enter an arena that couldn’t hold half as many occupants, authorities took action and shut down the concert after one song. Bummer.
- The following year, Cleveland also played host to the first major racially-integrated rock ‘n’ roll show. The headliners were The Dominoes and Bill Haley & His Comets.

So ANYWAY, the above trivia helped land Cleveland the rights to house the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And that, ladies and gentlemen, brings us to our point – which is the fact that the new Rock Hall inductees were announced today.

Van Halen, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, R.E.M., the Ronnettes, and Patti Smith will be inducted on March 12th. Van Halen’s induction has already made headlines on CNN, as they’re one of the few hard-rock acts to make the list (the others being Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Queen, AC/DC, and Black Sabbath). All five inductees are expected to perform during the ceremony, which should prove interesting for the singer-stricken Van Halen. Will David Lee Roth punch Sammy Hagar? Will Gary Cherone show up, only to find that no one really recognizes him? We don’t know, but we sure as hell want tickets to that show.

The Stooges, Chic, The Dave Clark Five, and Joe Tex were also nominated for the honor, although they didn’t make the final cut. To see a list of all inductees since 1986, consult our beloved Wikipedia.