No Louis Armstrong?

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees have been announced. My take on the R&RHoF is that it's a grand idea that's been just a bit watered-down in the execution. I think the Hall has two basic problems: 1) I think it's just a little too easy to get into the Hall (Rod Stewart, The Jackson Five, Billy Joel, Aerosmith-all good, but Hall of Fame-worthy?), and 2) their definition of "rock" is a little too loose (Aretha Franklin is a remarkable singer, but not really a rock singer, now is she?).

Anyway, here are this year's nominees:

New Nominees
Miles Davis
(Brilliant, but, again, is he "rock," Bitches Brew notwithstanding?)
Cat Stevens
Blondie
The Dave Clark Five
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
The Sir Douglas Quintet

Repeat Nominees
Black Sabbath
Chic
The J. Geils Band
Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
John Mellencamp
(I'm a pretty big Mellencamp fan, but even I'm not sure he belongs. Then again, given the caliber they've already let in . . . )
Lynyrd Skynrd
The Patti Smith Group
The Stooges
The Sex Pistols
Joe Tex

Until Whenever