Better late than never but what can you say about the 2013 list of inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame except "it's about time."
Canadians, rejoice.
Rush, a fan darling but the punching bag of rock critics since the mid-1970s, will finally take their place in the hall as one of the most important rock acts in history. With more than 25 million records sold in the U.S. and more gold and platinum records by a rock band than anyone else except for The Beatles and the Rolling Stones, Rush was long overdue.
Not bad for three kids from suburban Toronto.
Rap pioneers Public Enemy finally get their due, inexplicably after the Beastie Boys, who were inducted last year. If the Beastie Boys were all about fighting for the right to party, Public Enemy was all about the fight, as in Fight The Power. It Takes A Nation of Million to Hold Us Back is one of the best albums of the 1980s, a furious punch to the mouth from a group of angry black men who stood unapologetically in sharp relief to the most popular black men of the era - Michael Jackson and Bill Cosby. Public Enemy brought the noise.
Joining Public Enemy and Rush is Heart. Ann Wilson would be near the top of anyone's list of best female rock singers ever and she's still got it as the folks who saw them perform at CN Centre. Countless young girls believed they could play guitar in a band because of Ann's sister, Nancy. Heart's music and their influence is unquestionable.
Quincy Jones finally gets in as a producer. He didn't do much - just produce Michael Jackson's greatest hits.
He did more than fiddle the knobs in the studio. Jones shaped the sound, making Michael the King of Pop in the process.
Donna "Queen of Disco" Summer and blues legend Albert King will be inducted posthumously.
And every year, the hall inducts someone that leaves music lovers scratching their heads.
Last year, it was Laura Nyro. This year, Randy Newman.
Really?
Newman has won Grammys, Emmys and Oscars, so there's no doubting his quality, but, like Nyro, Newman's career of music is little more than a crescent on the rock music freeway. He's someone who should be respected for his longevity and productivity but can't in good conscience be recognized as an artist with huge musical and cultural influence.
Meanwhile, Kiss remains on the sidelines.
That's right - Randy Newman and Laura Nyro are inductees in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but Kiss is not.
Talk about a lack of respect for one of the most successful American bands in history that produced some of the greatest songs in the hard rock catalogue. You don't have to like Kiss to recognize their importance in the history of rock music.
Like Rush, whose first American tour was opening for Kiss, Gene Simmons and the boys have never been loved by the critics but continue to be adored by the fans 40 years after breaking on the scene.
So it's about time on so many fronts for the rock hall with the class of 2013, who will be officially inducted next spring, but there's plenty of work still to be done.
