2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees

Last week, the 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees were announced. At the onset of the year, I inducted myself into the world of blogging by scrawling down my humble opinions about the 2009 crop of Rock Hall inductees (“How to Get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame”). Obviously someone in high-up places at the Hall read my blog and made some adjustments, albeit minor ones.

A year ago I whined about an apparent bias against progressive rock. This year Genesis has finally broken down that door. Hopefully, Yes, Rush, King Crimson, and others will follow. Now, do we get to see Gabriel on stage with Collins, Rutherford, and Banks? Performing something from Lamb Lies Down on Broadway perhaps?

I also complained about an overemphasis on R&B acts and, lo and behold, this year there are no one-hit wonder doo wop groups from the ‘50s on the list. Instead we have Jimmy Cliff, a reggae artist who is best known for the soundtrack for The Harder They Come, not exactly a must-have for the average fan.

Then again, if it were just about the fans, the Stooges might have prolonged their decade-and-a-half overdue entrance into the Hall. Amongst this year’s batch, no act has more “rock cred.” As architects of what became the punk movement in the ‘70s, Iggy & Co. also can lay claim to being the godfathers of most of the alternative music that followed. The Nirvanas and Pearl Jams that are shoo-in inductees within the next-half decade wouldn’t be here if weren’t for the Stooges.

I also lamented a year ago that being a true rock and roll act doesn’t seem to be a requirement. The Rock Hall made it clear long ago that they were more about popular music of the rock era than actual rock. As such, Abba isn’t exactly what people have in mind when they utter the phrase “rock and roll,” but there’s no question they belong in a pop music hall of fame.

Finally, there’s The Hollies, which sort of straddle the line between pop and rock, but do so in such a way that they deserve being regarded as one of the important bands of the British Invasion.

On the nonperformer end of things, apparently there was an all-out effort to correct some gross oversights. David Geffen, the man who founded Geffen Records and signed artists like the Eagles; Crosby, Stills & Nash; Jackson Browne; and Linda Ronstadt, wasn’t in yet? How about Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil, who helped define the “Brill Building” sound with classics such as “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’,” which alone should have been an automatic ticket to induction years ago. Similarly, the writing team of Ellie Greenwich & Jeff Barry, who crafted the Ronettes’ “Be My Baby,” and Ike & Tina Turner’s “River Deep, Mountain High,” have been astonishingly overlooked for years.

And when it comes to overlooked songwriters, how has Otis Blackwell been passed over for so long? Songs like “Great Balls of Fire” and “Don’t Be Cruel” are foundations of rock and roll and their creator wasn’t in the Hall yet? There’s also Mort Shuman, who along with Doc Pomus, wrote songs like “Save the Last Dance for Me” and “Viva Las Vegas.” Similarly, Jesse Stone crafted gems like “Shake, Rattle, and Roll” and “Money Honey.”

There’s still acts that need to be inducted (Kiss, Deep Purple, Rush, and more), especially in light of the head-scratching acts whose influence on rock and roll is questionable. Nonetheless, I tip my hat to some of the oversights which the Rock Hall has corrected this time around. I’m so glad I could be a voice of reason for you last year.

50 years ago: “Great Balls of Fire” charted

Great Balls of Fire Jerry Lee Lewis

Writer(s): Otis Blackwell, Jack Hammer (see lyrics here) First Charted: November 23, 1957 Peak: 2 US, 2 CB, 2 HR, 12 CW, 3 RB, 12 UK, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, -- UK, 5.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 0.51 video, 98.8 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Some of rock ‘n’ roll’s earliest architects walked a fine line between their religious Southern upbringings and the shockingly sexual and aggressive style that defined early rock music. With a musical prowess birthed as much from the black honky-tonks as the Assembly of God Church, AC Lewis concocted an uncomfortable blend of music inspired by God and the devil. He got booted from Bible college AC for “playing hymns boogie-woogie style.” TB His “onstage terrorization of the piano” FR earned him the nickname “The Killer.” Nowhere was Lewis’ musical dichotomy more on display than with “Great Balls of Fire,” a song that “transcends everything doctrinaire and theoretical.” DM This is “nerve shaking, frame rattling, brain charring – rock ‘n’ roll at its most primal.” DT Jerry Lee’s signature song was “full of Southern Baptist hellfire turned into a near-blasphemous ode to pure lust.” RS500 Lewis realized the shock in 1957 of such sexual innuendo coming from a Southern music man SF and initially refused to sing the song. RS500 He argued with Sun Records’ founder Sam Phillips that “recording the song would send him straight to hell.” SS Phillips eventually won out, thanks to the ever-flowing liquor during the session. RS500 The song came to Lewis via songwriter Otis Blackwell. He was a poor kid from Brooklyn, New York, the first black man to really tap into the Nashville sound, dominating the country and rock charts in the mid to late-‘50s. AC He wrote “Don’t Be Cruel” and “All Shook Up” for Elvis Presley. After seeing Lewis perform on TV, he sent a demo of “Great Balls of Fire” to Sun Records. Both Phillips and Lewis knew it was a hit AH worthy of following Lewis’ breathrough hit “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On.” Regarding Blackwell’s writing partner, Jack Hammer, several accounts say his sole contribution is coming up with the title and selling it to Blackwell. LW The song was a “refinement of the ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’’ formula but it has a few differences that give the song far more impact.” AH “Great Balls of Fire” “has a much more dynamic opening, one that sets the tone for the whole record with its stop-start exclamations” AH that are reminiscent of Carl Perkins’ “Blue Suede Shoes.” It wouldn’t be much longer before Lewis’ career would come crashing down in flames. In May 1958, he was in the UK for a tour and the press asked who the girl was with him. It emerged that it was his thirteen-year-old cousin Myra – and his bride. The tour was cancelled and Lewis returned home in disgrace. He would revive his career years later on the country charts, but would never again reclaim the pop and rock glory he had in the 1950s. Resources: AMG All Music Guide review by Cub Koda AC Ace Collins (1996). The Stories Behind Country Music’s All-Time Greatest 100 Songs. New York, NY; The Berkley Publishing Group. Pages 114-6. FR Paul Friedlander (1996). Rock and Roll: A Social History. Boulder, Colorado; Westview Press, Inc. Page 50. AH Andrew Hickey (2021). A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs: Volume 2. Pages 173-82. LW Alan Lewens (2001). Popular Song – Soundtrack of the Century. Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 118. DM Dave Marsh (1989). The Heart of Rock & Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made. New American Library: New York, NY. Page 128. RS500 RollingStone.com (2011). “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” SF Songfacts SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Pages 389-90. DT Dave Thompson (2011). 1000 Songs That Rock Your World. Krause Publications: Iola, WI. Page 96. TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 25. Related Links: Last updated 8/23/2023.

Today in Music (1957): Elvis at #1 for 8th week with “All Shook Up”

All Shook Up Elvis Presley

Writer(s): Otis Blackwell, Elvis Presley (see lyrics here) Released: March 22, 1957 First Charted: March 30, 1957 Peak: 18 BB, 18 BA, 17 DJ, 19 JB, 13 HP, 17 CB, 16 HR, 11 CW, 14 RB, 17 UK, 11 CN, 5 AU, 4 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 4.0 US, -- UK, 7.0 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 2.0 radio, 64.60 video, 147.75 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The song is credited to Otis Blackwell and Elvis although the singer had nothing to do with writing it. Elvis’ manager, Colonel Tom Parker, often demanded a share of the songwriting credit be given to his client. SF However, accounts of Elvis’ involvement are disputed. In his book Last Train to Memphis, Peter Guralnick says Elvis came up with the idea for the refrain, WK and Elvis himself claimed he got the idea for the song from a dream when he woke up all shook up. He then phoned a friend and told him about it and by morning had a new song. WK Meanwhile Al Stanton, one of the owners of Shalimar Music – Blackwell’s publishing company – says the song came out of an incident in which he shook up a bottle of Pepsi and then suggested Blackwell write a song based on the phrase “all shook up.” WK Blackwell was struggling to write a follow-up to “Don’t Be Cruel,” his first chart-topping hit for Elvis. He took up the challenge as a dare and finished the song in a couple of days. SF Regardless of its origins, Elvis was not the first to record it. Under the stage name David Hill, the actor David Hess recorded it for Aladdin Records. Hess claimed he came up with the title, Blackwell wrote it, and then Elvis was given a co-writing credit in order to get him to record it. WK Elvis recorded it at Radio Recorders in Hollywood on January 12, 1957. The Jordaniares and the Blue Moon Boys are featured on the record. WK Four gospel songs recorded from the two-day session were released on the Peace in the Valley EP the same month as the “All Shook Up” single. FB “All Shook Up” logged eight weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 which, in 1957, was a mix of three charts – Best Sellers in Stores, Most Played by Jockeys, and Most Played in Jukeboxes. The song topped all three of those charts. All told, its time atop the four charts spanned from April 13, 1957 to June 17, 1957. The latter chart was discontinued in June 1957, making “All Shook Up” the last song to top that chart. WK “All Shook Up” was named Billboard’s song of the year, following his “Heartbreak Hotel” song topping the list for 1956. This makes him the only artist to top the year-end chart in two simultaneous years. FB All told, Elvis spent 50 weeks at #1 in 1956 and 1957 with eight different songs. SF In The Complete Beatles Chronicle, author Mark Lewisohn says the Beatles (when they were known as the Quarrymen) regularly performed the song from 1957 through at least 1960 with Paul McCartney on lead vocal. In his book John, Paul & Me, Len Garry, a former member of the Quarrymen, says it was one of the songs the group played on July 6, 1957 – the day when John Lennon and Paul McCartney met. WK There’s no known recording of their version. WK Resources: FB Fred Bronson (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 21. SF Songfacts WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 10/30/2019; last updated 5/15/2025.