2009 Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame Class Announced

Metallica, Run-DMC, Jeff Beck, Bobby Womack, and Little Anthony and the Imperials will be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. Metallica and Run-DMC are of course well known to our readers, but what of the other acts?

Jeff Beck replaced Eric Clapton in the Yardbirds before going off on his own career. He has floated between a solo career and various bands, as well as various types of music. He’s always been considered one of rock’s top guitarists, but he never found a band to consistently put out great music.

Bobby Womack was best known as a songwriter during the early stages of his career in the ’60s. He was made rich by the Rolling Stones’ success recording his song, “It’s All Over Now,” but did not achieve success as a performer until the ’70s, when he broke through on the R&B charts and had many an R&B hit. His songs still, however, had their greatest successes when performed by other artists.

Little Anthony & the Imperials were one of the most successful doo-wop groups, still putting out hits long after the genre had passed its heyday. Their biggest hit was 1966′s “Going Out of My Head,” which showed off Little Anthony’s almost painfully high-pitched vocals.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is kind of a joke anyway. It’s not like most of the artists really care about getting elected and Cleveland is only the site because it offered the most money. But it’s still supposed to be the “Rock and Roll” Hall of Fame, not the “Music” Hall of Fame, so some of these artists shouldn’t be inducted. It’s like the Football Hall of Fame inducting Michael Jordan – it makes no sense and is just trying to make a few extra dollars.

Source: Yahoo!

Artist Info via allmusic.com