Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame

I know that I just joined and not too many of you know me yet, but one of the mains reasons that I joined is due to the fact that I love the music of Bon Jovi. Bon Jovi is about the only thing that my sister and I can agree on and she came to me the other day with some information that was in the USA Today newspaper (USA) on Nov. 10th. And I am just trying to inform other fans. I think it is a shame what is happening to them and I think that alot of you may agree.
But here is my post and I hope you all will take the time to research it and help.

I am not sure how many Bon Jovi fans out there may know that Bon Jovi was recently denied the honor of being inducted into the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame. One of the members of the board for the Rock 'N' Roll Hall of Fame was quoted saying that "You could throw out all of their music and it wouldn't affect Rock 'N' Roll's history one bit.

If you happen to disagree with this statement, please feel free to check out the website www.jovifansfightback.com.
My sister created the website so that the fans might have the chance of fighting their denial of being inducted into the Hall of Fame. IT IS A FAN MADE SITE.

Who really cares? Rock'n'roll Hall of Fame is a joke. They've inducted Madonna, Michael Jackson and Grandmaster Flash? That's not rock'n'roll.

They haven't inducted KISS, Def Leppard, Boston, Chicago, Rush, Cheap Trick or Genesis, though they are all eligible.

The whole thing is a joke, it's run by critics, not fans. Rock'n'roll is about people, why won't they let the people choose who get in? Like Sex Pistols said, the whole HOF is a "piss stain".

Ice

Aloha !

I watched the broadcast of the celebration at MSG and thought of what Bon Jovi would be performing there had they been part of that show.

They've been playing It's My Life, Bad Name and Who Says at almost every performance since the songs have been released (1986, 2000, 2005) yet it'd clearly show that Bon Jovi did not belong on that stage that was shared by Metallica, Mick Jagger, U2, Stevie Wonder and so on. It just wouldn't make any sense having them perform Who Says in a show that's got I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For, For Whom The Bell Tolls, Bridge Over Troubled Water, The Thrill Is Gone, Whole Lotta Shakin', Paranoid, Jungleland and the list goes on and on.

Would Bon Jovi perform Keep The Faith, These Days and other songs like this they'd belong there because it's those songs that make them look like the relevant band most fans want them to be. However, it's highly unlikely that they'd be doing those songs at that stage, which makes it more obvious that this statement;

Is pretty much what it boils down to. Bad Name has defined a genre, but their performance of the song is very weak nowadays and has nowhere near the impact it used to have back in 1986, while Metallica's For Whom The Bell Tolls has only lost a bit of it's impact ever since it was released back in 1985.

So I think that statement is true, but I wonder why you think that this statement is not true? What has Bon Jovi done for rock n roll's music history compared to the impact Stevie Wonder, U2 and Metallica have had? Just because you want them to be in there doesn't mean that they actually belong there.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

Thanks for the information. I have never been interested enough to find out about the whole HOF thing. Now that you said all this, it´s quite obvious. The list of names you gave in both categories says it all.

I couldn´t care less, then.

You don't have to do more or better than other members to be relevant to RNR history.

They were of huge impact in the hair metal era.
They're almost three decades in (good) business.
They're among the best live bands, if nothing else than at least longevity-wise.

And if all this won't count - and it won't I guess:

They were paragons of the Unplugged series that led to some of the best and most memorable gigs in RNR history.

Justifying their denial with what they might have played is again just jaded over-analysis.

It is not about what they would have played or would not have played on stage. It is about the fact that Bon Jovi's music has had an impact. I mean I could sit here and defend them all day long. But let's look at it this way, I don't care for U2 or Metallica's music so does that mean that if they deserved the right to be in the Hall of Fame that I would just say that their music could be "thrown out and it wouldn't matter". No, that is not the right thing to do. And yes alot of the Hall Of Fame is all about the critics and not the fans, but when and how do we change that but to stand up to them when they are wrong.

The truth is that Bon Jovi contain all the elements that make critics cringe; pretty boys singing songs that are undeniably catchy but make no social statement. These so called experts always present themselves as the advocates of artistic expression, but this reveals their hypocritical nature as they are really advocating criteria which limits what is considered good music (i.e they define what good music is/should be, and therefore close their eyes,ears, and hearts to anything that does not follow that model). Music is the one common demoniator on this planet, therefore it is only logical that part of what defines good music is songs that are loved by a worldwide diverse audience. Bon Jovi are part of a very select few that can show up at any venue world wide and 30,000 + screaming fans will show up and sing many of their songs word for word.

As for this load of bullocks about throwing their music out, the same could be said for a good chunck of past inductees...I mean who the hell are Percy Sledge, Clyde McPhatter, Duane Eddy, Lloyd Price, and Jimmy Cliff? Oh yeah, I'm sure if you threw out their music, where would we all be? I guess they consider it a crime that Sandra Bullock and Julia Roberts romantic comedies wouldnt have nostalgic songs playing threw the credits. Secondly on this ridiculuos argument, Livin on a Prayer is one of the most known and revered songs of ALL TIME. Play it in any party, club, bar and turn of the music during the chorus, and you'll see first hand the impact of Bon Jovi.

The RNR Hall of Fame committe remind of those shitty DJs at clubs that play their personal favourite songs at the expense of the crowds pleasure. Shame on you RNR HOF and may god have mercy on your soul!

That was the point I was trying to get to bonweissy. Although all the other inductees haven't been denied the chance and haven't had articles pulished in a national newspaper. Just because Bon Jovi doesn't fit what the critics want doesn't mean they don't belong in the RNR HOF. It should be about the fact that their music has had an impact and has been instilled in the memorys of millions of people. I personally believe that this is MAYBE the chance to show the HOF critics that our voices can and should make a difference.
And just one more quick fact....
Bon Jovi was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006 and in 2009, both Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora were inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame.
For some reason it just doesn't seem to make sense that they would be inducted into other Hall Of Fame's if their music had no affect on Rock and Roll and could easily be "thrown out".

I'm not going to get into who is in there vs. who isn't in there but I do know one thing. Livin' On A Prayer is on a lot of metal fans ipods and even those who hate Bon Jovi in addition to many others msuic. LOAP is a huge karaoke song because everybody knows it. LOAP is everywhere. It's played at arenas and stadiums during sporting events, it has touched people during the New York City performance in 2001. It gets covered alot by artsits across many genres of music for the same reason Jon most likely covers Hallelujah, they like it and wish they wrote it.

I just don't get how you could throw out a catalog with a song that has as much power as Livin' On A Prayer and not miss a beat. Blasphemy.

Alice Cooper isn't even in the damn thing.