Here Are The 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees
Bon Jovi
Perhaps one of the most famous acts on this list, Bon Jovi, which formed back in 1983, has been rocking stages for massive crowds since the very beginning. Over the years they have released a slew of hit records including Slippery When Wet and New Jersey.
Kate Bush
Kate is a singer-songwriter and record producer from England. She first topped the UK Singles Chart back in 1978, when she was 19-years-old. She has released ten albums including Never for Ever and Hounds of Love.
The Cars
Known primarily as a new wave band, The Cars formed during the 1970s and continue rocking till this day. As of 2001, The Cars have sold over 23 million albums.
Depeche Mode
As the premier electronic band from Essex, England, Depeche Mode are another band out of the new wave era. They reached the ultimate popularity during the early ‘90s with hits including “Personal Jesus” and “Enjoy the Silence.”
Dire Straits
This British rock band, which formed in 1977, combines a variety of styles including folk, jazz, and blues. Their best selling album, Brothers in Arms sold over 30 million copies and broke the record for the first album to sell a million copies on CD.
Eurythmics
This British new wave band consisted of two members in Annie Lennox and David A. Stewart. Their biggest hit is “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)”. In 1987 they won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance.
J. Geils Band
This American rock band formed in 1968 with their take on R&B-influenced blues rock. They released several Top 40 singles during their years including the cover of “Lookin’ for a Love” and their biggest hits, “Centerfold” and ”Love Stinks.”
Judas Priest
As one of the most popular heavy metal bands to date, England’s Judas Priest has sold over 50 million copies worldwide. They started in 1969 but are still performing today with their latest album being 2014’s Redeemer of Souls.
LL Cool J
James Todd Smith, also known as LL Cool J is one of the founders of modern hip hop with major hits including “Mama Said Knock You Out” and “Rock The Bells.” He is also an actor that has appeared in numerous films including Any Given Sunday and S.W.A.T.
MC5
An American rock band out of Lincoln Park, Michigan, MC5 started their launch to fame in 1969 after being showcased on the cover of Rolling Stone. Considered pioneers of what would become punk rock, their biggest album is Kick Out the Jams.
The Meters
A funk band out of New Orleans, The Meters had a slew of hits including “Cissy Strut” and “Look-Ka Py Py.” They are also known for backing other bands including Dr. John, Robert Palmer and more.
Moody Blues
This English band is known for their rhythm and blues music. They are beloved on an international scale with hits including “Tuesday Afternoon” and “Question.” They have sold over 70 million albums.
Radiohead
A modern rock band, Radiohead has been a constant presence on radio stations around the world for decades. They have won numerous honors including three Grammys and two Brit Awards.
Rage Against the Machine
Formed in 1991, this modern rock band has a reputation of expressing revolutionary political views in their songs with such hits as “Killing in the Name” and “Renegades of Funk.” Their latest release was The Battle of Los Angeles in 1999.
Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
As the fourth album released by funk band Rufus, Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, which was released in 1975 has since achieved gold status.
Nina Simone
In addition to being a singer and songwriter, Nina Simone was also a civil rights activist. Her music contained bits of jazz, classical, gospel, and pop. She recorded more than 40 albums during her long career.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
This American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and recording artist gained popularity in the 1930s and 1940s. With touches of gospel, jazz, and blues, her music influenced many future musicians including Little Richard and Johnny Cash.
Link Wray
American rock and roll guitarist Link Wray essentially popularized the use of the distorted electric guitar sound that so many musicians use today. Rolling Stone has placed him at No. 45 of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.
The Zombies
Formed in 1958, this English rock band scored many hits across the globe including their most famous songs “She’s Not There” and “Time of the Season.”
Of these 19, the winning artists will be chosen based on their musical influence, length of career, body of work, and their “innovation and superiority in style and technique.”
Of this list, only a handful will have the distinguished honor of being part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. These finalists will be voted on by 800 artists, historians and members of the music industry. However, even fans can make their voices heard by voting on the Rock and Roll HOF website.
Which one of these fabulous acts will you be rooting for?
Punk Icon Spotlight: John Feldmann
-Originally published on DyingScene.com
Punk Icon celebrates the brilliant musical minds that have shaped punk rock as we know it. In this edition we look at the life and times of rabid vegetarian, super producer and Goldfinger front man John Feldmann.
Who is John Feldmann?
John William Feldmann was born on June, 29th of 1967 in beautiful San Diego, California. It was here where he spent a few years as an innocent child before hearing the one album that would change his life. At the age of 13 he listened to Mommy’s Little Monster, the first album by Social Distortion and became so inspired by the music that he decided to start learning the guitar and it was then that a legend was born.
At age 21, John relocated to Los Angeles where he started the short lived funk metal band Electric Love Hogs in ’91. During their brief three year stint, the Love Hogs went on tour after releasing their one and only album. More importantly it is at this point that Feldmann met bassist Kelly LeMieux who would later join Goldfinger. A point of interest is that during their short tenure, the Hogs were kind of a big deal and some of their opening acts included Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Korn and Rage against the Machine1 who all went on to become major players in the music scene.
Goldfinger
It was 1994 when Feldmann met bassist Simon Williams while working in a local shoe store and after teaming up with drummer Darrin Pfeiffer and guitarist Charlie Paulson, Goldfinger was born. When the guys started playing together, Feldmann had only modest goals for the band, stating years later “The band was just something we thought we could have fun at, do a few shows, I never expected it to go this far.”
Goldfinger’s first order of business was creating and releasing the EP Richter, which did well on college radio stations and led the band to sign on with Universal Records with whom they released their self titled album in 1996 which was full of ska-punk goodness. Now a wonderful thing was happening in the 1990’s and thanks to bands ranging from The Mighty Mighty Bosstones to Rancid to Reel Big Fish and then ska band No Doubt, third wave ska was at an all time high and ska music was actually on the radio! Due to this short lived fad, Goldfinger was able to fit right in with their first radio single, Here in your Bedroom which achieved heavy radio airplay.
As the years went by, Goldfinger continued releasing albums including Hang-Ups, Stomping Ground, Open Your Eyes, Disconnection Notice and their latest Hello Destiny as well as cover and live albums, all of which were released with varying success. Not that John Feldmann didn’t put his all into the band, he was even inducted into the Guinness Book of World Record by playing 385 gigs in a single year. The band also had success in the video game market, appearing in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and Burnout Revenge and their songs have appeared in motion pictures including Eurotrip, Not Another Teen Movie and The Waterboy.
While the band is still together, Goldfinger has not released a proper album since 2008 due to Feldman’s love of production work amongst other reasons. Most recently they released the song ‘Am I Deaf’ and plans for a new album are still rumored.
Animal Rights
Anyone who has listened to any of the more recent Goldfinger albums has no doubt noticed John Feldmann’s incredibly strong connection to PETA and animal rights in general. Feldmann allegedly became a vegan at the age of 29 after seeing the family film Babe and the rest is history. He certainly isn’t quiet about his opinions either and he can often be found handing animal rights materials out at shows while often speaking out for PETA and even making an appearance in Behind the Mask, a 2006 animal rights documentary.
Over the years John has become one of the loudest voices in the animal rights moment. After Goldfinger released their album Open Your Eyes, the folks at PETA held a ceremony for him at the groups headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia where they honored him as one of PETA’s heroes. If that isn’t enough, he also has set lobsters free from supermarkets, organized a protest at a popular circus and recorded a message years ago asking people to shave and donate their unsightly back hair, thus donating their unwanted fur coats to PETA. All very noble stuff, after all there’s nothing better than a punk rocker with a cause.
Production Work
Much to the dismay of hardcore Goldfinger fans such as myself, other than a small tour here and there, Goldfinger has basically taken a six year break as Feldmann focuses on producing music for other bands. He does this in a professional capacity as a past and present A&R representative for companies including Warner Bros. Records and Maverick Records among others. During the making of Goldfinger’s first two albums, Feldman was very interested in the creation process and helped with the production and engineering work on those two records.
After he took a lead role in the production of a demo for the Chicago band Showoff in 1998 which ended with the band being signed to Maverick Records, John’s fate was sealed. Since then he has either mixed, produced or written on albums for rock bands ranging from The Used, Story of the Year, Mest, Black Veil Brides, Escape The Fate, Papa Roach and Four Year Strong among many, many others. In addition to the harder stuff, Feldmann has also produced albums for mainstream pop acts including Ashlee Simpson, Hilary Duff and Neon Trees.
His success in this arena is no secret; John Feldmann works his ass off to produce the best albums possible. Feldmann is self-taught but has learned volumes along the road and his work ethic is beyond comparison. He is willing to try everything and work anywhere from recording in a studio to a sandy beach, whatever is necessary to get the best sound for a particular track. Brendon Urie of Panic at the Disco praised his dedication, mentioning the man working up to 19 hour days and for you audio nerds out there, John uses Pro Tools for most of his mixing. So next time you see John on the street, shake his hand and say thank you, chances are he’s helped create one of your favorite albums.
His Legacy Continues
At age 46, although his first love is his family, John Feldmann continues to work non-stop, producing and making rocking music for fans of all genres. Next on the production side of things, Feldmann will be producing future albums for Set It Off, The Used, We Are the in Crowd and 5 Seconds of Summer among others and that’s only in 2014!
As for Goldfinger, well, let’s just say you better hold on to your hats. Over the years since their last release, Feldmann has hinted at potential aspects of a future album, stating that he wants to stay true to the bands classic ska-punk vibe while also maybe adding in other sounds, once stating that he wants to “push the boundaries as a producer as much as a writer and performer” on their next record. Optimistically in the same interview he also stated that 2 new songs have been recorded and another 8 have been written for the new record so sit tight!
In the end, it is clear how much John Feldmann has done for the alternative music community as well as for animal rights and no matter where you stand on the topic, his efforts must be applauded. In the end his dedication to the arts, his gusto for standing for what is right and the fact that he is a kick-ass musician are all reasons why John Feldmann is a true punk icon.
J. Zipprich Blogging 