This year’s class includes an eclectic mix — a disco diva, lady rockers, prog-rock legends, hip-hop pioneers, a guitar hero and, um, Randy Newman (none like him!) among them — and they make for worthy bunch, to be sure. We’re particularly thrilled to see that first time nominees Public Enemy and Rush, as well as VH1 Divas honoree Donna Summer and our favorite female rockers, have made the cut. But we have to ask, what about those who were passed over?
The nominees for the 2013 Class of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame were announced this morning. The group is, as it has been for the last few years, an eclectic bunch made up of artists from a wide variety of musical genres: First-time nominees this year include prog-rock legends Rush (who finally made the ballot after being inexplicably snubbed for years), heavy metal originators Deep Purple, politically-charged hip-hop pioneers Public Enemy, gangsta rap stalwarts N.W.A., Motown trendsetters The Marvelettes, moody British rockers Procol Harum, and blues guitar aficionado Albert King.
The RRHOF’s induction process is mysterious and secretive, so you don’t see the same kind of public campaigning by nominees for induction that you see in, say, the sports world. However, that doesn’t mean that the committee off 600 or so people who makes the decisions of who gets honored and who gets snubbed isn’t reading this blog post. So, with that in mind, vote for the act that you feel is most deserving of the honor in our poll below, and maybe, just maybe, Jann Wenner and his band of choosy cronies will pay heed!
Well folks, you did it. Just under two weeks ago, VH1 Classic began releasing a series of viewer polls that would ultimately determine what songs would separate themselves from the pack in America’s Hard 100. Over one million (!!!) votes were cast by you, THE FANS, to determine which songs deserved to be at the top of our list of the best hard rock and heavy metal songs of all-time. We’ve sorted through the votes, analyzed the numbers, and now we need your help again in determining the FINAL RANKINGS of America’s Hard 100.
We have come up with a list of 15 songs here, 10 of which won their respective polls — a healthy round of applause for Dream Theater‘s “Pull Me Under,” Type O Negative‘s “Black No. 1,” Bon Jovi‘s “Living On A Prayer,” Cinderella‘s “Gypsy Road,” Dio‘s “Holy Diver,” Rush‘s “Limelight,” Poison‘s “Nothin’ But A Good Time,” Guns N’ Roses‘ “November Rain,” Ozzy Osbourne and Randy Rhoads’ “Crazy Train,” and Black Sabbath‘s “Paranoid”! — and 5 of which we’re deeming wildcards. Each of these wildcard songs — AC/DC‘s “Back In Black,” Accept‘s “Balls To The Wall,” Guns N’ Roses’ “Paradise City,” Megadeth‘s “Sweating Bullets,” and Poison’s “Talk Dirty To Me” — reaped more votes than all the other non-poll winning songs, and might have won their respective polls had they been placed among a different group of songs.
So, with that said, here are your final 15 songs. The same rules apply this time around; vote early and often for as many of these 15 as you think are deserving, and you can always click Return To Poll to vote again. The polls will close on Tuesday, October 2 at 4 p.m. ET, and you’ll be able to tune in to watch America’s Hard 100 on VH1 Classic in November to see the final results.
Welcome to of the final VH1 ClassicAmerica’s Hard 100 Countdown Poll! Over the past 10 days we’ve asked YOU, the FANS to help us sort our list of essential hard rock and heavy metal tunes and the response has been incredible! Since this is the final list, we’ll be keeping it active for a few days to make sure we have enough time to record all your votes. And, due to popular demand, keep your eyes open for a one final poll featuring those songs which got the most votes for our all-time Top 10!
IMPORTANT NOTE: You can vote AS MANY TIMES and for AS MANY SONGS as you want, simply click on “Return To Poll” after your initial ballot and if your favorite songs or bands are missing from today’s list please check one of our earlier polls, which are all still open for voting, to see if you can find it.
Today Van Halen’s bad boy classic “Hot For Teacher” takes on Cliff-era Metallica’s “For Whom The Bell Tolls,” “Wild Child” by nasty L.A. glam-masters W.A.S.P. and Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” among others.
We’re halfway through the VH1 ClassicAmerica’s Hard 100 Countdown Poll and there’s still another 50 legendary hard rock and heavy metal songs coming your way for you to vote on and help us rank!
Today progressive hard rockers Rush’s almost-hit “Limelight” goes up against thrash masters Slayer’s harrowing “Seasons In The Abyss” and the surging alternative grunge of Stone Temple Pilots‘s “Wicked Garden,” plus classics from Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot and more.
This weekend we wrapped the 10th Season of That Metal Show with HellYeah (and former Pantera) drummer Vinnie Paul, Tommy Shaw, and James “JY” Young of Styx. We rocked out to legendary guitarist Steve Stevens, who stood in as our guest musician.
In past episodes of That Metal Show, the boys have argued, fought and made the tough calls on the TMS TOP 5 Front men, Guitarists, Bassists, and Drummers. But this week, our hosts paid respect to yet another league of hard rock and heavy metal musicians: the TMS TOP 5 Keyboardists. How do you choose from all of the talented musicians who man the keys? You have the triple-threat Geddy Lee (Rush), who plays bass, sings, and is the keyboardist for Rush. There’s UFO’s Paul Raymond, Derek Sherinian of Dream Theater and Black Country Communion, Michael Kenney of Iron Maiden, and Darren Wharton of Thin Lizzy, to name a few.
But when Jennifer flipped the board, Jon Lord and Don Airey of Deep Purple showed up in ALL THREE of the hosts’ lists, so it quickly became clear who would earn the top 2 spots. After much debate, the guys were able to narrow their picks down to the TMS Top 5 Keyboardists. Here’s who they came up with: Read more…
VH1 Classic Celebrates The Jewish New Year With 24-Hour Rush Marathon
Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown tonight, and on VH1 Classic, that means one thing: the return of Rush Hashanah! Classic Albums: Rush 2112 & Moving Pictures kicks off the celebration at 7PM ET/PT, followed by the premiere of Rush: Time Machine, a brand-new concert film in which the band plays Moving Pictures in its entirety, at 8PM ET/PT. The Rush marathon continues with Beyond the Lighted Stage, R30, Rush In Rio, and more. [VH1 Classic]
Hold On For New Music From En Vogue
After being stunned by continuing fan support after their appearance at the 2008 BET Music Awards, En Vogue reunited in earnest, but after a successful tour, their appearances got more sporadic. But rumors of new recordings got a big corroboration when the quartet was named as one of the performers at New York’s CMJ Music Marathon next month. [Sound of the City] Read more…
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