Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: "Carpenters"

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Chris May

Chris May

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No, they have not been nominated yet (to my knowledge), but has the topic of the potential for "Carpenters" being inducted into the Hall of Fame been discussed here yet??

I know that it is up to a "Hall of Fame" committee to decide who gets nominated for that year, and then ultimately voted on by a large team of industry buffs to decide who actually makes it. BUT, is there any way to get a ballot together or something to see if we can't get our favorite brother/sister duo in there? If ANYONE deserves to be there, it is Rich and Karen. Any other thoughts???? -Chris
 
It's a good thought, but not realistic.
The Rock & Roll hall of fame seldom honors pop acts. While a great case could be made that the Carpenters were the leaders of the "soft rock" revolution of the 70's, or that they invented the power ballad with "Goodbye to love", they were not Rock & Roll.

Many deserving artists before the Carpenters that had roots in pop music have been overlooked.

While I would love to see it happen, I just don't see it as a possibility. Sorry for the unpopular opinion. But the reality check says it wont happen.
 
Well, I do see your point. However, ya still never know. I realize it's a slim possiblity, but the Carpenters still manage to sell more records annually than many other artists and continue to amaze me with the statistics that continually develop with regard to their sales, Richard's songwriting recognition and profit, international sales, etc....We'll see...:)
 
I think, Barry Manilow has been inducted last year. And he isn't Rock'n Roll for sure!!

Or is there another Hall of Fame?

Bruno
 
No, Barry Manilow is not a member of the Rock & Roll hall of fame. He was inducted into the songwriter's hall of fame.
 
JAZZ4JEFF said:
While a great case could be made that the Carpenters were the leaders of the "soft rock" revolution of the 70's, or that they invented the power ballad with "Goodbye to love", they were not Rock & Roll.
Click to expand...

Inventing the power ballad? Hmmm...

GBTL is a great song and Tony Peluso played the hell out of it, but people seem to forget that the Beatles released "Let it Be" in 1970. I am talking about the version with George's, distorted lead guitar solo.
 
Well, I am not getting in the middle of that discussion, but here is a picture of Studio "B" at A&M where Tony Peluso's solo was recorded as well as many other Carpenters tracks:
54-StudioB_Studio.jpg
This is a fascinating room, as I have been in it several times, although never booked any recording dates in this room. My understanding over the years was that this was sorta more or less "Herb's room" in the sense that it was constructed out of concrete flooring and walls and has a very "live" sound much like the sound the Tijuana Brass got over at Gold Star Studios before Herb and Jerry got into the A&M lot.

I'm sure the Herb Alpert buffs in the other forums could elaborate on this a little, but if I am not mistaken, engineer Larry Levine developed this with Herb to copy Gold Star's approach. I remember hearing often during other sessions I have done at A&M that Carpenters did A LOT of recording in here (not to mention the numerous other artists including Don Henley's "End of the Innocence", Melissa Etheridge, etc...) -Chris

Image provided by www.amstudios.net
 
Harry said:
Nearly 20 years later:

No, they're still not in the Hall, but that bastion of Rock'N'Roll Willie Nelson sure is.

Sorry, just had to vent.
Click to expand...

There are a lot of non-Rock performers/artists/producers in the RRHOF. Like...a lot. The "Rock and Roll" part of the name is meant to cover the "Rock" era; it's not meant to suggest that every artist inducted should be a Rock artist.

Ed
 
Yeah. I get that. Why are Karen and Richard still being treated like they had the Plague?

It's not really a big deal to me. I don't plan to ever physically go there. Their whole "attitude" really turns me off, not to mention that they stuck the thing in Cleveland.

More venting.
 
Harry said:
Yeah. I get that. Why are Karen and Richard still being treated like they had the Plague?

It's not really a big deal to me. I don't plan to ever physically go there. Their whole "attitude" really turns me off, not to mention that they stuck the thing in Cleveland.

More venting.
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I’ve been there. It’s ok. Some of the Elvis memorabilia is cool. No representation of K&R, however…..they have a little area with touchscreen monitors where you can select and listen to any artists who had hits on the Billboard Hot 100. On speakers so all can hear. At my visit I listened to both CTY and WOJB so everyone around that little area would hear it.
 
James Taylor, Cat Stevens, Carole King, Bill Withers, Carly Simon, Gene Pitney, Bee Gees, Lionel Richie, Dusty Springfield, Brenda Lee, Spinners, Donna Summer, Lovin' Spoonful, Wille Nelson, Dolly Parton and ABBA are a few other inductees that are clearly recognized as rockers! And I personally don't have an issue with most of these artists being enshrined but to penalize the Carpenters because they are too easy listening and visually unhip?

Personal connections, anti establishment songs, scandals, drug use and counter culture views wins over talent and substance with the R&RHOF and some of their choices. The positive is that some of the above listed artists may actually pave the way for Karen and Richard, Olivia, Three Dog Night, the Association and the Grassroots to finally get recognized and then I'll have to change my opinion of the Hall! :)
 
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Much like the current state of Billboard Magazine, the RARHOF has little impact on how I view artists or consider new music. IMHO, both cannot diminish the artistry or cultural significance of Karen and Richard at home and overseas. Millions of current fans -and new ones each year- seem to know the truth.
 
Well, if you've been terribly wrong for an extended period of time it's really hard (and embarrassing, and maybe humiliating) to admit to that gross screw-up, apologize and then do the right thing - for the dishonest or immature or intellectually challenged it's so much easier to simply ignore the situation in the hopes that it will just go away - could this all now be just a "face-saving" cope out? Yea, I know it's more complicated than that, but don't you just love amateur psychological analysis?

Of course, by today's upside down inside out standards if Richard was a ************ and Karen was a ************** they'd be ushered in on a magic red carpet...who needs talent and skill and accumulated stellar accomplishment when you have those other critical factors working for you?

The RARHOF be damned!

As Groucho said: "I wouldn't join an organization that would have me as a member". R & K should have said: "We won't be members of an organization that isn't freakin' smart enough to beg us to join".
 
JohnFB said:
Well, if you've been terribly wrong for an extended period of time it's really hard (and embarrassing, and maybe humiliating) to admit to that gross screw-up, apologize and then do the right thing - for the dishonest or immature or intellectually challenged it's so much easier to simply ignore the situation in the hopes that it will just go away - could this all now be just a "face-saving" cope out? Yea, I know it's more complicated than that, but don't you just love amateur psychological analysis?

Of course, by today's upside down inside out standards if Richard was a *********** and Karen was a *************** they'd be ushered in on a magic red carpet...who needs talent and skill and accumulated stellar accomplishment when you have those other critical factors working for you?

The RARHOF be damned!

As Groucho said: "I wouldn't join an organization that would have me as a member". R & K should have said: "We won't be members of an organization that isn't freakin' smart enough to beg us to join".
Click to expand...
In a world of political correctness, to think that a recording act that was praised by Richard Nixon could hope to get elected into the RNRHOF is dreaming. I know it wasn't their fault, but I think this had a lot more to do with their non-acceptance by the 70s music audience than you can imagine. Totally unfair, but with Karen gone, they feel no need to rectify it. I would love to see it happen if only to introduce a whole new audience to their music. But realistically...
 
They have a somewhat small 'current artists' section and during my visit this past summer, Sam Smith was included in it. I couldn't walk by fast enough.
Carpenters don't need the Hall for their legacy and I maintain that they are classier and more musically talented than the Hall's usual suspects.
YouTube will do more for their legacy than a Rock Hall acknowledgement ever will.

The Hall will be adding on a section to the building in the coming years - I believe in a section of the open area between the building and the Great Lakes Science Center. Maybe they can focus more on the music instead of the 'cool' clothes and other random memorabilia that is currently displayed in a somewhat disorganized, crowded manner.
 
Michael Hagerty said:
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was established the year Karen died and the first inductees were three years later.
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If it was established the year she died she should have been among that group of 1st inductees - and Richard has had plenty of time since to disown the institution, and his effort to get there...it's no longer an honor to be included, given the low level of talent inducted in recent years.
 
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