Published Sunday, The Plain Dealer (Cleveland.com) and John Soeder posted the results of the paper's unofficial poll on who should be inducted into the 2004 Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Class.

Prince came in seventh overall. The late great George Harrison was considered as the top vote getter for his post-Beatles solo career, followed by Bob Seger..

The article, below, states the final results for the Class of 2004 will be announced in November. The Class of 2004 will go through an induction ceremony in March, likely in New York City with a live simulcast at the Rock Hall in Cleveland.

[w] http://www.cleveland.com/...129432.xml

Fans cast votes in rock hall poll for quiet Beatle

10/26/03

John Soeder
Plain Dealer Pop Music Critic


"I'm a dark horse / Running on a dark race course," the late George Harrison sang on the title track of his 1974 album "Dark Horse."

But the former Beatle was the clear-cut front-runner in our fourth annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame poll.

Readers of The Plain Dealer and visitors to www.cleveland.com deemed Harrison the most deserving nominee for induction on this year's official rock hall ballot.

"I don't have much to say, because I'm the quiet Beatle," Harrison joked when the Fab Four were ushered into the rock hall in 1988. He's back on the ballot for his solo achievements, including topping the charts with "My Sweet Lord" and spearheading a 1971 benefit concert for famine-stricken Bangladesh.

Harrison died in 2001 after a long battle with cancer. A two-DVD set documenting last year's "Concert for George," a tribute in London with performances by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton and others, arrives in stores Nov. 18, along with a two-CD soundtrack.

The rock hall has inducted McCartney and John Lennon for their post-Beatles accomplishments.

In an interview last year with The Plain Dealer, McCartney lobbied in favor of bestowing the same honor on his ex-bandmates Harrison and Starr for their solo efforts.

"Why do they vote people in?" McCartney said. "Is it just 'cause their music was good? Or is it that they're great people, worthy to be in there? I think certainly if that's the case, then definitely. Obviously, Ringo's got some great solo work. George certainly has. So I would like to see that. I mean, let's face it, man - it is only a hall of fame. It's not, like, heaven. So if you let 'em in, it wouldn't hurt anyone, I wouldn't think."

Piano-pounding singer-songwriter Bob Seger, heartland rocker John Mellencamp, Southern-rock veterans Lynyrd Skynyrd, the blues-rock trio ZZ Top, perennial heavy-metal contenders Black Sabbath and funk-pop-rock powerhouse Prince were the other top vote-getters in our poll, in order of popularity. Nearly 500 ballots were cast.

Besides our finalists, the other hopefuls on this year's slate are Jackson Browne, Traffic, the Sex Pistols, the Dells, Patti Smith, the Stooges, Gram Parsons and the "5" Royales.

The Plain Dealer also called for write-in candidates, which brought ringing endorsements for the Moody Blues, the O'Jays, Yes, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Harry Nilsson, Warren Zevon, Chicago, Rush, Jethro Tull and Neil Diamond, among others.

And little did we know how many people are wild about Weird Al Yankovic. Sorry, gang - he's not eligible until next year, 25 years after the release of his first single.

Our tally was just for fun. The rock hall is expected to announce its 2004 inductees next month, after counting votes from an international pool of music-industry executives, broadcasters, producers, writers and previous inductees. Five to seven nominees typically make the cut.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

jsoeder@plaind.com, 216-999-4562

That's ridiculous.

No wonder all things point to him pumping it up in 2004.

No one voted for Van Halen!

get the sex pistols in !!!

1 of the reasons i love music , i was 14 impressionable and bonkers , but boy, did i love the pistols !

Weird Al???

NCC2012 said:

i like weird al, damn you!

Weird Dansa.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Oh, I like him, too, but I don't see him up there with the likes of George Harrison and the others that were listed. It's just kinda funny that Al seems to have his own little band of groupies as well.

can someone please explain the rules to me please?
see if he doesnt get in this year is that his last chance?
scuse me for being ignorant

muirdo said:

No, this is not Prince's last year. This in fact his first year of eligibility for Rock Hall of Fame consideration.

Artists and bands, if they are very good and have major influence on the music industry and the like, are nominated 25 years after their first release.

We all thought Prince would be recognized in 2003 (25 years removed from FOR YOU), but it is I guess 25 years after that calendar year of 1978. Go figure.

If Prince is not considered for the class of 2004, there is always next year and the year after that, etc. But we are all hoping that 2004 is the one.

November will tell all.

More info on the nomination process -- [w] http://www.thedetroitcraw...khall.html . Still have to add to the page to reflect the short list of nominees. ...
[This message was edited Tue Oct 28 6:19:26 PST 2003 by a2grafix]