CLEVELAND, Ohio – In 1991, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inducted The Byrds, honoring Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Gene Clark, Chris Hillman and Michael Clark.
Yet, limiting the The Byrds’ induction to just the original members has indirectly led to one of the biggest snubs in Rock Hall history still on the outside looking in.
Our “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Remixed” series re-examines every year of Inductions, fixing mistakes and re-evaluating resumes. [See previous remixed classes: 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996].
To be fair, Gram Parsons was only in The Byrds for one year. Though, he did contribute to, arguably, the band’s most influential album, 1968’s “Sweetheart of the Rodeo.”
But Parson’s solo career certainly makes him worthy of being inducted into the Rock Hall, something we remedied with our Remixed Class of 1997:
- Buffalo Springfield
- Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
- Parliament-Funkadelic
- The Jackson 5
- Gram Parsons
- Dusty Springfield
Fiction vs. Reality: Just like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s actual Class of 1997, this was a big year for Neil Young and his former bandmembers. We also inducted Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Though, we made it Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.
The Rock Hall excluding Neil Young from the group is one of the more baffling decisions in Induction history. Our inclusion makes Young just the second three-time inductee, along with Eric Clapton.
The real-life Class of 1997 also featured Parliament Funkadelic and The Jackson 5. This is the most similar one of our Remixed classes has been to the Rock Hall’s actual Induction year, proving how solid of a year it was.
However, there were some differences. We already inducted the Bee Gees and Joni Mitchell. With Mitchell already in, we went with another one of the most influential female singers of all time in Dusty Springfield, whose impact on pop music and blue-eyed-soul can be felt today. The Rock Hall inducted Springfield in 1999.
Biggest debate: It’s not much of a debate. Gram Parsons should be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame (he’s been nominated three times). He is, perhaps, the most influential figure – through his solo work and time with The Byrds and The Flying Burrito Brothers – in the development of country rock.
The question for us was when to put him in. With a lot of other legends out of the way, the Class of 1997 gave us our chance.
Legends Committee: With our Remixed Class of 1996, we created the Legends Committee. From that point on, any artist that fails to get inducted within 10 years of becoming eligible can then only earn induction in the “Performers” category via the Legends Committee.
With the creation of the Legends Committee, we also lowered the maximum number of Rock Hall Inductees per year from seven to six. The Legends Committee may induct one artist per year, but doesn’t have to induct anyone, which was the case with our Remixed Class of 1997.
Think of it this way – Our Remixed series has a pool of eligible artists that can be inducted into the Rock Hall as performers and we choose which ones rate the highest on our list each year. That could involve bringing in the Legends Committee or not. In this case, we didn’t.
What’s next: Some of the biggest bands and pop stars of all time join the Rock Hall in 1998.