It’s about time - Skynard in the hall
Today the news broke that Lynyrd Skynyrd will be put into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, along with Black Sabbath, The Sex Pistols, Blondie, and the team behind A & M records. Full Story Here
Both Skynyrd and Sabbath were voted on seven times before being accepted this year. By comparison U2 was inducted the first year they were eligible. Long and short people not to put Skynyrd into the rock and roll hall of fame the FIRST year they were eligible is a travesty. They defined a entire sound, and have been legends longer then U2 has been recording.
Understand I am a U2 fan, but U2 is not Skynyrd yet and may never be. I know they have sold more records and they are still producing albums (I do not count the current version of Skynyrd to be Skynyrd mind you), but no one goes to a country show, or a jazz show, or a opera, or a classical performance and yells - “Do Gloria” or “Do 40″ - to hack someone off or razz the performers. No drunk every sings “I will follow” when they are knocking Jack and cokes in a cheap bar. No way, they sing Freebird and do it badly, while the rest of the bar joins in. No one has every said “Oh that Zooropia, the smell of Zooropia surrounds you” (though from what I hear Bono does not bath alot so the smell of Zooropia may surround him), while talking to their friends about substance abuse.
An additonal point, U2 has never lost OVER HALF THE BAND is a plane crash and then had Larry Mullins Jr give a TV interview with blood running out of his stitches while talking about how he crawled out of a crashed plane, over a impelled lead singer, and crawled uphill in the mud to save the remaining members of the band.
Again I love U2, but put simply Skynyrd is rock and roll. They deserve better treatment then they have received thus far by the hall of fame. Truthfully the same goes for Sabbath considering they defined a genre and sound that many others have built on. Something tells me Metallica will get in one first ballot when they are eligible. It is funny that both the Kinks and the Ramones, both great bands mind you, got in before Ozzy and the boys. Oh well, sadly, I guess that is rock and roll.
P.S. - Good to see Blondie got in as I was worried the Hall would wait a few more years and settle for Katrina and the Waves as the token example of what a 80’s girl lead new wave / punk band was. Debbie Harry is still tougher then ANY MEMBER of Katrina and the Waves, and never forget she was rapping in a top 40 song before Run DMC, LL Cool J, and the Fab Five had record deals.
