Ranking 2024 Rock Hall nominees by levels of worthiness
By Lee Vowell
Level: Definitely maybe but unlikely for the Rock Hall
- Jane's Addiction
- Kool & the Gang
- Sinead O'Connor
- Peter Frampton
This is a freaky group. Not one is like the other and yet every single artist has merit. There is potentially one fatal flaw of each that should keep them out of the Rock Hall this year. The truth is that the Rock Hall is going to induct artists who do not truly belong. No offense to Dolly Parton, for instance, but even she was confused about why she was chosen for induction in 2023.
Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction might be more worthy singularly than the band is as a whole. Farrell began Lollapalooza in 1991 which helped a lot of lesser-known bands get their music into a much more public forum. While Jane's Addiction does have a couple of good albums and dancy tunes, are they really worthy of immortal status?
Sinead O'Connor probably makes it in. Did she have a consistent run of top-selling albums and remain on the world stage after making a mockery of a great Prince song? (I mean, she turned "Nothing Compares 2 U" into a popular track.) Frampton is known for Frampton Comes Alive but not for much else. Kool & the Gang might get in for being an influencer (and putting out about 100 great songs).