Listener's Notes - Blues Hall of Fame, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

     One of the quirks of cultural history in the United States is how, in the field of entertainment -- in which I include sports -- how hesitant people are to call institutions that recognize the traditions of an activity a museum.  Instead, in American, we something like that a hall of fame.  As a lover of both museums and halls of fame, I'm comfortable in arguing that the "hall of fame" is distinctly American, well-suited to the nation's obsessions with individualism and celebrity, as well as its (perceived or professed) dislike of elites.  But if you visit almost any hall of fame -- from Cooperstown on down -- aside from the "room of heroes" such places have, you're in a museum.
     I've done my best to visit halls of fame when I can, and among the more notable are the following:

Activity          Location
Baseball          Cooperstown, NY
Soccer            Cooperstown, NY
Basketball       Springfield, MA
Swimming       Fort Lauderdale, FL
Fishing            Dania Beach, FL
Checkers        Petal, MS
Chess             Kendall, FL
Cricket           Melbourne, Australia

     All this brings me to the topic of today's post, a recap of the nominations to both the Blues Hall of Fame (from the Blues Foundation, not the organization in Clarksdale) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -- in Cleveland, because, apparently, Cleveland rocks.
     Inductees to the Blues Hall of Fame will be Robert Cray, John Hammond (the musician, not the producer), Denise LaSalle, Big Maybelle, Alberta Hunter, and J.B. Lenoir.  The ceremony will be held in Memphis on May 4.

     Inductees in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will be Alice Cooper, Neil Diamond, Dr. John, Darlene Love, Leon Russell, and Tom Waits, as well as Jac Holzman of Electra Records, and Art Rupe of Specialty Records.

PN Feedburner | PN iTunes | PN Twitter | PN Facebook | PN Video | PN Goodreads | PN Tumblr