It has been almost two weeks since the honorees of the 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have been announced. The honorees for this years ceremony are; Jeff Beck, Little Anthony & the Imperials, Metallica, Run-D.M.C., Bobby Womack, Wanda Jackson, Bill Black, DJ Fontana, and Spooner Oldham. Congratulations to this years honorees, yet the one thing I have been trying to wrap my head around these past few weeks, especially with the recent passing of guitarist Ron Asheton, is there no love for Iggy and the Stooges?
The Stooges have been eligible for induction since 1994! 1994! The year that Kurt Cobain passed, NAFTA went into effect, Clinton was in the middle of his first term, Brazil beat Italy in the World Cup (tear), all of this 15 years ago. Every year since, the Stooges have been up for eligibility and are constantly overlooked. The only rule for consideration is 25 years has to be passed since their debut recording, not formation of the band. Fair enough, the Stooges indeed have the years on them, but what is the hold up?
For those that do not know The Stooges from Ann Arbor, Michigan laid the foundation to the early roots of punk, American metal and thrash. The band was formed in 1967 after witnessing fellow Michigan natives MC5 perform live on stage. Stooges front man the infamous Iggy Pop would create an aura to the bands music with his crazy live antics. Antics that would later end up making him an icon. From running around nude on stage, rolling around in broken glass, to shaving his eyebrows before gigs to cutting himself on stage with drumsticks to smothering his bare chest with raw meat and peanut butter (I think I found the reason for the modern Salmonella outbreak) to his most famous stunt of all...the stage dive. While the band struggled commercially, they lived in infamy. The Stooges split in 1974 and Pop enjoyed a successful solo career built out of his friendship with David Bowie. Stooges bassist Mike Watt would for the famous DIY band The Minutemen. The band would reform in 2003 and release the record The Weirdness in 2007. The Stooges reunion would only be short lived after the recent passing of Ron Asheton earlier this month.
This is just a small bio of a band would change the shape and face of music to come back in their hay day. It is not like the Hall has forgotten about the Stooges, then again how can you? Last year they were on hand to perform for fellow Michigan native and inductee Madonna. Yet we see this year first time nominees Metallica (Congrats) and second time inductee Jeff Beck (first time with The Yardbirds) into the hall. We even see a legendary Hip-Hop group in Run DMC, yet the Rock and Roll Hall of fame has given punk a hard time for quite sometime. Only three major punk bands have been inducted into the Hall; The Ramones (2002), The Clash (2003), Sex Pistols (2006) with singer Johnny Rotten famously calling the Hall "a piss stain." Are the punks getting left out due to the need for TV ratings or see if their music still matters (of course it still matters!). So I ask again, where are The Stooges and when will they get their night to shine?
