Madonna and Leonard Cohen to be induced into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Madonna and Leonard Cohen to be induced into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Pop star Madonna, folk singer Leonard Cohen, rocker John Mellencamp, British pop band The Dave Clark Five and instrumental group The Ventures were being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday.
The five artists have been chosen by 600 music industry professionals, and beat out disco queen Donna Summer, New York-based funk group Chic, rap pioneer Afrika Bambaataa and hip-hop group The Beastie Boys for the 23rd annual induction.
Artists become eligible for the Hall of Fame 25 years after the release of their first single or album and are represented in an exhibition at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum in Cleveland, Ohio.
“It’s not someone who’s sold 100 million records,” Joel Peresman, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation president, said of the artists inducted. “It’s someone who’s made a significant contribution to rock and roll.”
Patti LaBelle opened the ceremony at New York’s Waldorf Astoria hotel with “If You Don’t Know Me By Now” — made famous by Simply Red — for the induction of songwriters and producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, architects of the Philly Soul sound of the 1970′s, in the non-performer category.
Musician Ben Harper then inducted the late Little Walter in the “sideman” category for his “pioneering use of the microphone (that) helped establish the modern blues harmonica.”
For ’60s British band The Dave Clark Five — Dave Clark, Lenny Davidson, Rick Huxley, Denis Payton and Mike Smith — the induction is bittersweet. Lead singer Smith died last month from pneumonia and Payton died from cancer in 2006.
“It’s very bittersweet,” Clark told reporters backstage before the show. “It would have been lovely if it had been all five of us here. I know they will be smiling down on us and they will be very proud.”
“Being an Englishman, to be inducted into the American Hall of Fame is a wonderful thing,” he said. The band are to be inducted by actor Tom Hanks.
MADONNA’s VERY FIRST TIME
The Dave Clark Five topped the British charts in 1965 with “Glad All Over” and were described by the foundation as “an enormous pop phenomenon” before disbanding in 1970. The group has sold more than 50 million albums to date.
While The Dave Clark Five and Mellencamp had been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame before, this was the first year Madonna was eligible. She will be inducted by pop star Justin Timberlake and Iggy & The Stooges will perform on her behalf.
Madonna, 49, made her debut in 1982 and her first album “Madonna” included hits such as “Holiday,” “Borderline” and “Lucky Star” which helped her become one of the best-selling pop artists, with more then 200 million albums sold worldwide.
Mellencamp released his first album in 1976 and has often sung about the flawed American dream, which led the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation to dub him a “symbol of the hopes, struggles and passions of America’s heartland.”
“I’m very honored and pleased to be recognized this way, especially among people whom I greatly admire,” Mellencamp said on his Web site, www.mellencamp.com. He will be inducted by entertainer Billy Joel and will perform at the ceremony.
Cohen, a gravel-voiced Canadian whose songs tell of love and sex, faith and betrayal, is among the most literary of songwriters. He published four books of poetry and two novels before trying music, partly to escape life as a starving artist.
The foundation described him as “folk rock icon of the singer songwriter movement.” He will be inducted by Lou Reed and Irish folk singer Damien Rice will perform for him.
Hits by the Ventures — Bob Bogle, Nokie Edwards, Gerry McGee, Mel Taylor, Don Wilson — include “Walk Don’t Run” and “Hawaii Five-O” and the foundation credits the band with defining instrumental guitar rock in the 1960s.
The group will be inducted by John Fogerty and will perform at the New York City ceremony.
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