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Rock And Roll Hall Of Shame?
11:05 AM GMT 04/03/2009
Yet another mistake by the lake, as Ron Asheton's Stooges are overlooked in favour of... Jeff Beck?! MOJO's Paul Trynka is enraged!
PROPHETS IN THEIR OWN land miss out on the honours in rock music, just as they did in the Bible. And surely the most enraging example of this is The Stooges, who have now been turned down for the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame no less than seven times. The blow is all the more bitter in the light of the recent death of Ron Asheton, the man who carved out their sound, for there was no man more dedicated to the cause of rock'n'roll than he.
As a Brit, this seems incomprehensible. From where I stand, the Stooges are self-evidently more important than many of those who have preceded them into the Hall Of Fame. As John Lennon once asked about fans who yearned for The Beatles to reform, what more could they do? How much more influential could a band be? And how much more could anyone suffer for their art?
Let us remember, when the Stooges blasted forth out of Detroit, they were praised by a few decadent souls, but mocked and vilified by the masses. When the Stooges crashed and burned in 1971 (and again in 1974) succumbing to a slow death by indifference, heroin and audience-thrown projectiles, some of the blame was their own. Yet much, if not all, of the self-destructiveness of the Stooges' last stand derived from a disconnect between the band's sense of their own importance, and that of the music industry that considered them irrelevant.
Thirty years on, it's obvious the Stooges were right, and the industry was wrong. From the Ramones, whose primary inspiration was a Stooges show at New York's Electric Circus, to the Sex Pistols, who covered No Fun, to Kurt Cobain, who so frequently inscribed the name of Raw Power in the list of favourite albums he confided to his journals, the Stooges have shaped today's musical landscape. The Stooges, and their acolytes, have helped the music business accumulate billions of dollars - which makes their rejection even more of an insult.
Why have the Stooges been rejected seven times? One of the criteria seems to be commercial success, yet over the last few years we have seen Iggy Pop, Ron and Scott Asheton, plus the estimable Mike Watt, whip huge audiences into a frenzy that few mainstream bands could match. No, the Stooges didn't sell masses of records. Nor did Little Richard compared to Pat Boone, yet which one sounds crucial today? Why should this band be rejected so many times in favour of bands like The Yardbirds or the Dave Clark Five - or this year's complement of Jeff Beck and Little Anthony & The Imperials? Fine acts as they are, neither can possibly claim to have changed the musical landscape as did the Stooges.
Of course, none of this would matter if Ron Asheton were still with us. This was a man steeped in the mythology of rock'n'roll, who gave himself up to it. His untimely death over the holiday period robs him of the chance to enter an institution which celebrates it.
In the short term, there is some solace. Injustices have a way of bringing people together, and James Williamson, the man who replaced Ron as lead guitarist in the Stooges but who has hardly spoken to his ex-colleagues in the last 30 years, has made up with Iggy Pop. "If the Stooges do make it into the Hall of Fame, I want to play," he told me. "And I would like to do one of Ron's songs. As a tribute."
If the opportunity continues to elude Williamson, as it did Ron Asheton, it will be a reflection not on him, but on an institution that features "Rock And Roll" in its title, but clearly does not understand it.
By Paul Trynka
Posted by Danny_Eccleston at 11:05 AM GMT 04/03/2009
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As a long time fan of the Stooges (the best rock'n'roll band ever), I agree with every word written by Mr. Trynka (whose Ron Asheton's tribute on Mojo 184 was very interesting and moving).
It's a shame this rejection!
Mario Clerici
Italy
Posted by Mario Clerici at 1:39 PM GMT 04/03/2009 Report Abuse
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Hear, hear.
Posted by Sleazy Martinez at 1:43 PM GMT 04/03/2009 Report Abuse
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Amen.
Posted by Alan Lord, Montreal at 1:46 PM GMT 04/03/2009 Report Abuse
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One of Iggy's solo efforts: "To seize the world and check it upsidedown/And every stinkin bum should wear a crown." Charles Bukowski said there's no gold/talent under the rocks, Bukowski was wrong.
And the music biz has only gotten worse. No democracy. My vote wasn't included; that's for sure. But there's the Internet.
A penchant for dope: Frankie Lymon, Iggy Pop, Rock Action, James Williamson. But who has survived, who has defined tragedy, not the tin foil found in newspapers--today's newspapers. Is there a Hall of Shame for classical and jazz, a place for the Stooges?
Brittney Spears. The Killers. Cold Play. They've been voted in the Rock Hall of Shame already, right? It don't take long to get old.
Posted by dlt at 2:52 PM GMT 04/03/2009 Report Abuse
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It is an outrage! Paul says it all. I really thought this year they'd get it, regretably prodded by the death angle rather than the group's seismic influence. Jon Landau is head man, obviously still doesn't get it: dum dum boys.
Posted by Kris at 5:37 PM GMT 04/03/2009 Report Abuse
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I'll be sure to complain a lot about the industry's stupidity when I stop by there on my college visits this spring
Posted by Brendan Rome at 11:29 PM GMT 04/03/2009 Report Abuse
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Wow, such a well-written piece!
Totally agreed, they misunderstand everything that rock n roll is about.
Posted by Rett at 1:54 AM GMT 05/03/2009 Report Abuse
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I fully understand Paul, whose book I have proudly read.
But it appear that everybody forgot the "punk movement". Early punk bands were made up of Stooges fans. They understood that previous years' rock wasn't rock'n'roll at all, less the music biz. Have we forgotten that as we got elder?
Didn't the Pistols refuse the induction? Obviously, John Lydon is right. We can live with no Hall of Fames.
Posted by El chapas, Vigo at 2:17 PM GMT 05/03/2009 Report Abuse
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Well, Jeff Beck actually DID change the landscape with his stint in The Yardbirds 1965-66. His sonic electric attack & innovative style on guitar clearly paved the way for Jimmy Page, Led Zep & the rest that followed....surely Mojo knows that!?! Ron Asheton undoubtedly cut his teeth figuring out Shapes of Things & Heart Full Of Soul as a young teenager.
The R&R Hall of SHAME?! Gimme a friggin' break! Not only have they missed out on inducting The Stooges in Ron Asheton's lifetime, they did the same with the legendary Link Wray (Inventor of the power chord, no less!), as well. Pete Townshend, Neil Young and countless others picked up the guitar directly from hearing Link Wray's records.
Never mind the Hall of Fame rejecting the Stooges yet again "in favor of Dave Clark Five, Yardbirds, Little Anthony, Jeff Beck etc...Hey, at least those are actually Rock N Roll acts!
The Hall of Fame has already inducted such NON Rock N Roll entities such as Madonna, Earth Wind & Fire and many more...
That institution is a joke. I hope The Stooges, in turn, reject the R&R Hall of Fame if that place ever removes it's head from it's ass and tries to induct them somewhere down the line; They don't deserve The Stooges. They're TOO good; TOO Rock N Roll, apparently.
Posted by Dammit Dave at 11:32 AM GMT 06/03/2009 Report Abuse
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I guess the larger question is whether there should be a rock and roll hall of fame to begin with. The Stooges certainly qualify, but once you put the music in a museum, well...
That said, I've been, and it's an amazing place.
Posted by John Bennett, San Francisco CA at 6:31 PM GMT 06/03/2009 Report Abuse
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The Rock'n Roll Hall of Fame is just about money making and not about Rock'n Roll. Iggy Pop and the late Ron Asheton don't need the recognition of the establishment to know how important The Stooges are in the history of the rock music and how important they are for their fans. Just see how wild became the fans of all age when they were playing.And honestly, Rock'n Roll has got nothing to see with that "Hall of Shame". It's a spirit, a behaviour, a way of life, a revolution, a counter-culture with no real culture. It belongs to us and not to them.(Sorry for my english, but I'm a grumpy old french rocker...)
Posted by Djaibee Ashe at 8:41 PM GMT 06/03/2009 Report Abuse
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So...they refuse the Stooges 7 times.
All I can say is f*ck them!!
Who needs the Hall Of Fame anyway.
Posted by Peter Amsterdam at 1:55 PM GMT 07/03/2009 Report Abuse
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The Stooges should be in, but so too should Doug Sahm and the SDQ.
Posted by TheRudeOne at 11:17 PM GMT 08/03/2009 Report Abuse
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RE: Mario Clerici
you are thick as a brick - go back to dieter b.
Posted by Anonymous at 6:35 AM GMT 21/03/2009 Report Abuse
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Being from Michigan I was priveledged to spend many a night with Ron. Never could you find a sweeter or less conceited person. He had amazing stories and it is such a shame he never got to write the book he never wrote for fear of offending certain people. RIP
Posted by yvette conley at 11:00 AM GMT 21/04/2009 Report Abuse
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