should leonard cohen be in hall of fame before ringo?

[flextint]

while i respect leonard cohen i do not think he deserves to be in the rock n roll hall of fame before ringo.Leonard cohen to me is a famous poet but to be put in the rock n roll hall of fame before a beatle it doesn't seem right.Cohen is in ringo is out.

[Teacup]

ummmm hmmm leonard who?



NO

[mervap]

No disrespect for Mr. Cohen, but perhaps the Songwriter's hall is a more appropriate place for him. I never really thought of him as Rock-n-Roll.

[lampie1970]

...as always, good point merv....

[Genuine_Indian_Guru]

No disrespect for Mr. Cohen, but perhaps the Songwriter's hall is a more appropriate place for him. I never really thought of him as Rock-n-Roll.

Yeah right on the money merv...I covered some of his poetry in college. The man is a lovely writer; but Rock n' Roll? I would say no.

[cleptosid]

This whole R&R HOF to me is nothing but a tourist attraction. It should be re named as the Music Hall of Fame. There are so many people in there that are nowhere close to rock music.
If I love Rock n Roll and list a non rock n roller as an influence how could that person be declared a rock n roller. For instance Robert Johnson, He was a blues performer in the 30's and I'm sorry I know it was the building blocks but those recordings were terrible. Most blues of that era were best preformed on someones front porch down south and not in the mass audience atmosphere. I have heard all the Robert Johnson recordings from a boxed set that was released some years ago along with other blues artists of the same era. Now there might be foundation of a decent song but, Not by the people who recorded those sounds in the 30's or 40's. I just think that guy's like B.B. King and Muddy Waters are Blues men not Rock men. There is so much confusion when it comes to artists such as the Platters compared to say, Dion And the Belmont's. Both considered R&R but the platters are no way R&R. Rock n Roll was what Bill Haley and Chuck Berry made. RnB is what the platters and Penguins made. Now little Richard took Blues and livened it up. Blues on steroids is the best way to describe Little Richards fantastic sound. I always loved his stuff. Way before it's time Ala the Beatles in 63 Way before their time. I do not consider Motown R&R yet Berry Gordy and the supremes and other stand up girl or male vocal groups are in the RnR HOF. I just think it's too confusing and whatever your musical heritage is if successful you will end up in the R&R HOF. Does that make sense?

[mervap]

It does make sense.....and doesn't. Not you, of course, Cleptosid! Rock-n-Roll is the ultimate cross-pollinator when it comes to popular music styles...you have artists as disparate as Big Joe Turner and Pink Floyd....how's that for a wide umbrella? Enshinement in any HOF means different things to different people. For some, it might be strictly the style of music....for others, it may be the artists prowess as a live act....still others might adhere to a songwriting style. The HOF should be more about the totality of an act's impact combined with a fairly loose stylistic window...the question of "who's rock & roll?" is pretty subjective. Having said all that, I still don't think of Leonard Cohen as being a great fit...as G_I_G said, the man is a poet, but not really R & R.

[2 of 3]

Hehe! I remember when he won a Juno Award(Canada's Grammy) and he won for best mail vocalist. He got up to the podium and said,"only in Canada could Neil Young and I be nominated for best vocalist"

Still, he has written some pretty good tunes over the years...and to put it bluntly...better songs than Ringo. Where they are both voted in, doesn't bother me much...both are deserving.

[maccamania102]

while i respect leonard cohen i do not think he deserves to be in the rock n roll hall of fame before ringo.Leonard cohen to me is a famous poet but to be put in the rock n roll hall of fame before a beatle it doesn't seem right.Cohen is in ringo is out.

Ringo is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame....as a Beatle. So no one is being put in before a Beatle.

Does Ringo's solo career justify the Hall of Fame? Love him dearly, but my opinion is no.

Leonard Cohen's body of music is complex and spanned many different genres....his subject matter was political, war, social commentaries, religious and even delved into depression. You may not like his music, but it has definitely left a mark. And that is suppose to be what the Hall of Fame is about.

I think he should be in there just for "Hallelujah" alone.

[flextint]

I always thought rock n roll hall of fame was about rock and roll.Leonard cohen and i were born in the same town montreal .I know his music well and his poetry.Never did i consider him a rocker a songwriter yes people may know suzzane which was his famous poem first then a popular song.What makes an artist worthy?dark songs of desparation created for a certain intellect?Ringo is the everyman rocker he had many hits after the beatles "PHOTOGRAPH" "IT DONT COME EASY" ETC. I think that the fact he still records new music today says something.He is not going to write leonard cohen type songs but all music he does is easy to listen to. he wont bring you to a tear but he makes music for the masses and it will be fun straight rock n roll. Whats wrong with that for a rock and roll hall of fame?D'on't get me started picking the better singing voice.