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Rush Hall Of Fame Inductee Campaign
Eligible for induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame since 1999, 25 years after the release of their first record in the US, Rush has been left out in the cold. With cumulative worldwide sales of over 35 million, Rush were inducted into the Juno Awards Hall of Fame in 1994, received the esteemed Order of Canada in 1997 and were given their own star on the Canadian Walk of Fame in 1999, yet they have yet to even be nominated for the US Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Although the merits of the hall itself are arguable, its a travesty that Rush has been ignored this long. Will we have to wait for the year 2112 to see Rush in the hall? Please sign the peitition to induct Rush into the hall. Facebook users, please join "Put Rush in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame".
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Costello Views Hall As 'Dirty Rotten Shame': "The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (is)...really about the people who run it...It isn't about the people who are in it. That was obvious in the speeches they made. We were just the hired help...it wasn't really a party in our honor. We were just the cabaret. It's about getting people through the turnstiles in Cleveland. Any pretense that it's anything noble is laughable." - Rocky Moutain News, July 16, 2003
Treated Like A Fly By Night Outfit, The Rock And Roll Hall's Shame: "Rush was given the brush-off by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame again yesterday, exasperating fans who have been petitioning for the Canadian rock giants' inclusion for six years. Yesterday, the Cleveland-based institution announced the induction of Black Sabbath, Blondie, The Sex Pistols, Lynyrd Skynyrd and even jazzman Miles Davis, but Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart once again felt the caress of steel as the Hall of Fame's door slammed in their faces." - Canada.com, November 29, 2005
Sex Pistols Snub US Hall Of Fame: "Punk band the Sex Pistols have refused to attend their own induction into the US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...In a handwritten note posted on their website, they called the institution 'urine in wine'...Pistols lead singer Johnny Rotten once famously derided the rock 'n' roll institution as 'a place where old rockers go to die', dubbing it the 'Rock and Roll Hall of Shame'. - BBC News, February 25, 2006
KISS' Gene Simmons Discusses the R&R HOF: "I have mixed feelings about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On the one hand, I believe it's a sham. It has a group of music execs who decide who gets in. Hardly a gauge of what the people want. There are groups in there that have one gold record to their name. Not a complaint, simply an observation. And, while it may be nice to be included, it doesn't in the least stop my days from being fun filled. It's simply not an issue, because the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has little credibility in my mind. However, if we get in, I would like to appear and perhaps make a statement about how insulting it is for the entity to ignore SABBATH for so long and AC/DC and bands that deserve to be in right away." - Gene Simmons, Kissonline.com, June 9, 2006
Alex Lifeson Interview/Comments on R&RHOF: When interviewed regarding the upcoming Rush album, Alex Lifeson was asked about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Lerxst states "I couldn't care less, look who's up for induction, its a joke". To hear the entire 15 minute interview, click on "Rock Interviews" at therock951.com. - January 15, 2007
Rolling Stone Magazine Hits a Sour Note With Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees (Like Madonna): "...If you love rock 'n' roll, stop buying Rolling Stone until the tremendous insults of the Hall of Fame are corrected. Wenner’s nominating committee consists largely of his current and former employees from Rolling Stone (Nathan Brackett, David Fricke, Jim Henke, Joe Levy, Brian Keizer, Toure, and Anthony DeCurtis). But they have little say over who really is inducted. Last year, in a story reported by this column exclusively, Wenner threw out a vote in which the classic British invasion group Dave Clark Five was voted in and changed it for another round that favored rappers Grandmaster Flash. As one insider from the Hall has maintained, 'Once Ahmet Ertegun died, Jann felt like he could run wild.' The legendary co-founder of Atlantic Records was considered the only person who could control Wenner. He died in 2006. The Dave Clark Five incident has repercussions, however. I’m told that Wenner was made to meet Clark after I broke that story last March. The group now is guaranteed entry, although it’s a bittersweet win. They are probably not, to paraphrase one of their hits, 'Glad All Over.' But this year’s choices are a complete affront to fans of the Rock and Roll Hall. And to show how much Wenner controls what’s happening, the exclusive announcement was made on Rolling Stone’s Web site. If you’re still reading or buying Rolling Stone, it’s time to stop..." - FoxNews, October 1, 2007
Settle the Beef: Does Rush Deserve the Hall of Fame?: "'You are yet to be inducted,' Stephen Colbert asked the Canadian power trio on his show in June. 'Is there any chance that your next album will be titled That's Bullsh*t?' A fair, and hilarious, question, and one with legs..." - Wired.com, August 2, 2008
Wired: Time's Up! Is Rush Making the Hall of Fame or Not?: "Three months ago, Listening Post followed Stephen Colbert's lead and wondered aloud why Rush hadn't made the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame yet. We asked the readership to chime in on the snub, and it hit us back with a record 500 responses....So time's up, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Listening Post sifted through the hundreds of responses and found their major recurring themes, which are best exemplified by the three urgent queries below." - Wired.com, November 10, 2008
- According to Wikipedia, Rush possesses 24 gold records and 14 platinum records, placing fifth behind The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Kiss and Aerosmith for most consecutive gold and platinum rock albums, moving an estimated total 40 million units worldwide. And although the Hall of Fame argues that sales don't count, given that Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart are consistently recognized and decorated as some of the most skilled performers on their given instruments, hasn't Rush made the commercial and professional case that it belongs in the Hall?
- Rush is still together, while other bands, including those already in the Hall of Fame, have fragmented and ceased production. As a result, the power trio has amassed a diehard core following of early adopters, including several accomplished musicians, as well as a significant audience of latecomers. Doesn't this longevity and influence demand the band's inclusion?
- Does Jann Wenner dislike Rush, and is his alleged dislike of the band responsible for its controversial exclusion from the Hall of Fame?"
Metallica Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Press Conference Video: "I'd have to say Rush. I think they're a great band who took rock to a different level altogether in terms of songwriting and technical proficiency. And I believe that they deserve to be in the Hall of Fame." - Metallic's Kirk Hammet, brightcove.com, January 14, 2009
Rush Inducted Into Playboy Magazine's Hall Of Fame: Though Rush's dozens of gold and platinum albums and performances before as many as 60,000 fans apparently don't warrant its inclusion in Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hame of Fame, we're proud to welcome the band, on behalf of our millions of readers, to ours." - Playboy Magazine, March 2009 (click for more)."Given how many write-in votes Rush got from readers for best live act of the year, it's clear the innovative Toronto band's star has never burned brighter than right now. The definitive version of the trio was solidified in 1974, and from then on bassist Geddy Lee, guitartist Alex Lifeson and drummer Neil Peart have followed a relentless experimental path while maintaining one consistent quality: mind-bending virtuosity. Together they've created arena-ready hard rock such as 'Fly By Night', established the blueprint for prog rock with the song suites and fantasy-literature imagery of LPs such as 2112 and Hemispheres, and successfully guided their legion of fans into synth territory with albums like Power Windows. Along the way, they've also written some of the most enduring and best-loved tunes of classic-rock radio, including 'Tom Sawyer', 'Closer to the Heart' and 'Freewill'. Unlike so many acts whose work populates classic-rock radio, however, Rush still matters.
The band's most recent album, Snakes and Arrows, was the second-highest-charting LP of its career, and the resultant tour has run for two years now, drawing arena-size audiences in 2008 to the tune of $18 million. Further proof of Rush's staying power--both as musicians and as a concert draw--can be heard and seen on the 27-track Snakes and Arrows Live double album and DVD, both released this year." "According to Joel Peresman, president and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc., the initial selections are made by a committee of 30 to 35 music business people...'There’s musicians, there’s writers, there’s critics, there’s people from the live end, (there’s) managers. (There’s) a wide selection of people who have all been selected because we feel that they have a good, solid connection to a wide variety of music. Everybody knows a lot about different things, which is what the idea is.' When that committee gets together every September, all the members submit the names of three potential inductees. They then have to defend their choices, Peresman explains. 'It’s not really that this one sold this many albums or this many tickets,' explains Peresman. 'It’s really ‘What’s the significance of that artist? And why should they be inducted?’' Ater a lot of discussion, committee members take a vote and pick the top 20 favored artists. That list is then trimmed to nine — the names that get announced each year as nominees. From there the list gets sent out to a much larger group, which Peresman says is made up of 'around 500 to 600 people,' including 'past inductees and other people within the music business.' Their top five choices are the artists who are ultimately inducted....The Rock Hall’s very first choices for inductees sent the message that they wanted to set the record straight about rock ’n’ roll; specifically, that it was a genre shaped and founded by African-American artists. But now the Hall is creating its own misconceptions about what rock evolved into, suggests Scott Rowley, the editor of the U.K.-based magazine Classic Rock. 'Rush and Yes and ELO are as good and as loved and as worthy as most of the acts in the Hall,' noted Rowley via e-mail. 'I think it’s very damaging to the Hall of Fame’s credibility to continually ignore bands that they perceive to be on ‘the fringes,’ whether they’re prog, punk or metal acts. It makes you wonder if the selection committee is actually run by music fans. We’re at a weird place in rock history where things aren’t as compartmentalized as they used to be — where people used to define themselves as mods or rockers or punks or metalheads. Nowadays people have access to everything and pick what they like. The idea of ‘a canon of rock music’ — established and defined by a musical elite — seems more and more ridiculous and untenable.'"
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