This next group features pioneers of pop, indie rock, metal, disco, goth and jazz. We will also introduce our first two previously-nominated artists in this project.
#90: LaBelle
Eligible Since 1997
Never Nominated
Essential Songs: “Gonna Take a Miracle” (1971), “Moon Shadow” (1972), “Goin’ on a Holiday” (1973), “Lady Marmalade” (1974), “What Can I Do For You? (1974), “Messin’ with My Mind” (1975)
No, this is not for Patti LaBelle’s solo career but for her time as part of the trio LaBelle. She started her career as a member of The Ordettes in 1959 which would be renamed the Bluebelles two years later. Their frequent appearances at Harlem’s Apollo Theater gave them the moniker “Sweethearts of the Apollo.” They scored 3 top-40 hits, sang background vocals on several hit records for other artists (e.g., Wilson Pickett) and even signed with Atlantic Records in 1965. When Cindy Birdsong left the group to replace Florene Ballard of The Supremes in 1967, they continued as a trio and kept that name for the rest of the decade. By 1970, however, Atlantic dropped them and they desperately needed a makeover to keep their act going. They recruited British promoter Vicki Wickham and signed a new deal at Warner Bros. shortly thereafter. Just as glam was blossoming with David Bowie and Marc Balon at the vanguard, LaBelle radically altered their image and sound to match glam’s emphasis on flamboyance and spectacle. Just take a listen to their nearly-10-minute cover of Cat Stevens’ “Moon Shadow”: they pushed the sonic limits as much as any girl group did in 1972. They perfectly blended rock, pop, soul and glam to create one of the most distinct musical styles of the 1970s and, more importantly, redefined how girl groups could sound. After finding minimal success at Warner Bros., they signed to RCA for one album before settling at Epic. For their 1974 album Nightbirds, they collaborated with noted New Orleans songwriter-producer Allen Toussaint which ultimately resulted in one of the biggest hits of the entire decade: “Lady Marmalade.” Written by Four Seasons producer Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan, the song skyrocketed to #1 and finally propelled LaBelle to mainstream notoriety. The song was later inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2003 and ranked at #479 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song was also famously covered by Christina Aguilera, Pink, Lil Kim and Mya for the Moulin Rouge soundtrack and also went #1 in 2001, one of the few times that’s happened in Billboard history. They became the first black girl group to perform at the historic Metropolitan Opera House and the first to grace the cover of Rolling Stone. But creative differences and tensions amongst the members stalled them from having another huge hit and they broke up in 1976. Patti LaBelle would embark on a solo career and release her first solo album the following year. But her best and most memorable work is her time with LaBelle. She performed the Gamble and Huff-penned classic “If You Don’t Know Me” at their induction back in 2008. In an interview with Andy Cohen late last year, she said “we should be…I know we’re gonna be inducted soon.” Notice she says “we” which makes me believe she thinks it should be her former trio that receives induction over her solo career. Patti sounds confident something will transpire soon, but if she does please let super-fan and pie enthusiast James Wright induct them. If he doesn’t induct them, that’s the crime of the century because nobody has more enthusiasm for Patti LaBelle than James Wright—and those are usually the best speeches.
#89: Tool
Eligible Since 2018
Never Nominated
Essential Songs: “Prison Sex” (1993), “Sober” (1993), “Forty Six & 2” (1996), “Lateralus” (2001), “Schism” (2001), “Fear Inoculum” (2019)
Sometimes artists have a resurgence in popularity that ascends them to appear in this project and that’s certainly the case with Tool. I remember watching an episode of Sammy Hagar’s Rock & Roll Road Trip featuring Maynard James Keenan at the latter’s Arizona winery in the summer of 2019. I remember thinking it was very odd considering Keenan is notoriously reclusive and hardly grants interviews. But Tool were constantly in the news that summer: they were releasing their first studio album in 13 years that August and finally put their entire catalog on streaming services and platforms. With fewer rock bands occupying major chart success in recent years, Tool’s triumphant return signals that rock music isn’t entirely dead yet. But when Tool debuted in 1993, grunge was still at its peak and Tool didn’t fit the alternative rock format at the time. They combined elements of progressive rock and metal, which spawned the subgenre progressive metal (or alternative metal), that favored experimental production techniques, heavy guitar effects and unusual time signatures. Keenan’s unique vocal style, a four-octave range to boot, added a layer of intrigue to the band’s dark image. Their intelligent and often disturbing lyricism both peaks my intellectual curiosity and scares the living daylights out of me. They are, in short, the thinking man’s metal band who brought exceptional musicianship to their genre. Metal is a genre emphasizing spectacle in visual terms and Tool has that covered in spades. Their stop-motion animation music videos, most of them directed by lead guitarist Adam Jones, often featured disturbing imagery that clashed with MTV’s standards. “Prison Sex,” for example, was banned from the network but Tool constantly battled censorship throughout their career. Retailers, most notably Wal-Mart, banned their CDs due to Tool’s graphic album covers—yet the band’s dedicated audience bought their records elsewhere and most of them went multiplatinum. Tool maintained a steady and passionate cult following on par with the likes of Rush and Iron Maiden. In terms of possibly getting inducted into the Rock Hall someday, Tool will have an uphill battle as progressive rock and metal (especially the latter) are not usually popular with the voting body. Once a lot of those genres’ heavyweights get in (e.g., Judas Priest, Motörhead), Tool has a much better opportunity to appear on a ballot. Tool’s exceptional musicianship made advancements in the alternative-metal scene, influencing bands such as Linkin Park and System of a Down. Something that might not be as well-known is that Tom Morello was a childhood friend of Adam Jones and a one-time roommate of Maynard James Keenan. Morello was even the first person to hear the earliest demos of Fear Inoculum. And oh yeah, Rage Against the Machine and Tool collaborated on a song together in 1993…. that was never released. These are the kinds of connections, even if it reeks of bias, usually needed to get on the nominating committee’s radar. Not always, but it’s a great indicator. And for a band that’s been together with only one lineup change in the last three decades, the success of Fear Inoculum makes them relevant again and cemented their status as one of modern rock’s most popular bands. Very few bands can remain relevant for that long of a period of time while also continuing to break Billboard records.
#88: Cyndi Lauper
Eligible Since 2009
Never Nominated
Essential Songs: “All Through the Night” (1983), “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” (1983), “She-Bop” (1983), “Time After Time” (1983), “True Colors” (1986), “I Drove All Night” (1989)
An early MTV icon whose music videos defined the channel in its earliest years, Cyndi Lauper was also one of the biggest pop stars of the 1980s. Lauper’s musical career began when she sang in various cover bands in 1970s New York City. She damaged her vocal cords in 1977 and doctors told her she’d never sing again. She went to vocal coach and eventually regained her voice by the end of the decade. Her band Blue Angel would release only one album in 1980 and they broke up after it flopped on the charts. Lauper was financially in dire straits—owing $80,000 to manager Steve Massarsky and working as a waitress to get by. She still performed at nightclubs and met David Wolff who became both her manager and boyfriend. He secured her a record deal at Portrait Records and she worked on her debut album She’s So Unusual (1983). Incorporating elements of pop and new wave, She’s So Unusual made Lauper a global superstar and she became the first female artist to score 4 top-5 pop hits from a debut album. Thanks to her highly visualized image (e.g., multicolored hair, thrift store clothes), Lauper became an instant sensation on MTV and one of the network’s biggest stars. “Girls Just Want to Have Fun,” originally a Robert Hazard song he wrote and performed, is on par with Aretha Franklin’s “Respect,” written and performed by Otis Redding, as one of popular music’s greatest feminist anthems. Lauper’s enduring ballads “Time After Time” and “True Colors” featured themes of alienation and acceptance and she would, in turn, help her become an LGBTQ rights icon. And to give a boost to her rebellious rock star persona, “She Bop,” a song about female masturbation, infamously appeared on the PMRC’s “Filthy Fifteen” list of songs that the Tipper Gore-led Committee found morally objectionable in their push for censorship in modern music. Lauper memorably sang a solo in the all-star recording “We Are the World,” one of the most iconic charity songs of all time—even if Quincy Jones was displeased by her presence. At the zenith of her popularity, she worked with the then-WWF as a manager for Wendi Richter at the inaugural WrestleMania and made multiple appearances for the promotion (how is she seriously not in the WWE Hall of Fame yet?). Although her mainstream popularity fizzled by the end of the decade, Lauper kept her musical career afloat and even ventured into acting roles. In 2013, she wrote the music and lyrics for the musical stage adaptation of Kinky Boots and she became the first woman to win the Tony for Best Original Score. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2015 and the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry selected She’s So Unusual for preservation in 2019. She’s won nearly every award in the industry including Grammys, Emmys and Tonys (she still needs an Oscar to get that EGOT distinction). But one honor she’s missing is induction into the Rock Hall and once the nominating committee further explores the 1980s, it’s impossible to ignore the accomplishments and legacy of Lauper.
#87: Dave Matthews Band
Eligible Since 2019
Nominated in 2020
Essential Songs: “Ants Marching” (1994), “Satellite” (1994), “What Would You Say?” (1994), “Crash Into Me” (1996), “Too Much” (1996), “The Space Between” (2001)
There’s a moment in Greta Gerwig’s coming-of-age film Lady Bird (2017) when the title character is sitting in a car with her potential boyfriend and the Dave Matthews Band song “Crash into Me” comes on the radio. She confesses “I love it,” much to his chagrin, and that effectively ends their courtship. The film is set in 2002, six years after the song’s initial release, was at a time when it was unhip to like the Dave Matthews Band. Gerwig, in a bizarre way, makes a bold case for the Band’s emotional impact on their listeners and personal connections often shape the music we love. When they were nominated for the Rock Hall in their second year of eligibility last year, many Rock Hall watchers criticized their nomination and felt it was undeserved and premature compared to other 90s-era artists. I feel that many Rock Hall watchers are kinda like the potential suitor in Lady Bird—dismissing their music as lightweight, sappy and utterly uncool. But I find those opinions to be largely unwarranted. Look, I’m not a superfan by any means, but the numbers speak for themselves. They had seven consecutive #1 albums on the Billboard album chart and the most successful touring band in the 2000s. They have to be doing something right if people are driving in droves to buy their records and see them in concert. They are the first—and so far only—artist to top the Rock Hall’s online fan vote and not receive induction that same year. Legions of fans voted but that wasn’t enough for induction, primarily because they were never acclaimed by critics who most often return their ballots. From a historical viewpoint, Dave Matthews Band—along with Phish—carried the jam band tradition in the wake of Jerry Garcia’s death and their music became the soundtrack to their fans’ lives. Like inductees Bruce Springsteen and Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band are legendary live performers who often play for hours on end to their devoted fans. They also combined elements of blues-rock, alternative, jazz, funk and folk and used non-traditional rock instruments (e.g., violin) to create one of the most distinct sounds in modern rock. Matthews gets lost in the conversation but he’s one of the most underrated songwriters of the 90s and widely respected by his peers such as David Crosby. He has appeared at several Farm Aid fundraisers with some of rock’s biggest names, many of whom are Rock Hall inductees. Here’s also a multiracial band who would certainly diversify the voting body and that alone would be a great case for their induction. And let’s face it, the Rock Hall is a business and the ceremonies have become more populist to ensure more fundraising each year. Judging by their rabid fans flocking to the online fan vote last year, expect them to appear on another ballot soon and eventually get inducted. They’re simply too big and successful to ignore and they deserve the honor—whether we all like it or not.
#86: Grace Jones
Eligible Since 2001
Never Nominated
Essential Songs: “I Need a Man” (1975), “Warm Leatherette” (1980), “I’ve Seen That Face Before” (1981), “Pull Up to the Bumper” (1981), “My Jamaican Guy” (1982), “Slave to the Rhythm” (1985)
A trailblazing and singular figure in popular music, Grace Jones redefined ideas of performance art and fashion for the modern-day pop star. Born in Jamaica, Jones’ family moved to upstate New York in the early 1960s and became a model while she was still a teenager. After relocating to Europe, her modeling career skyrocketed when she graced the covers of Vogue and Elle. She transitioned to a music career at the height of disco popularity in the mid-1970s where she became a regular performer at the infamous Studio 54 nightclub. Legendary Island Records founder Chris Blackwell, a Rock Hall inductee, signed her to a contract and she also began working with the Jamaican production duo Sly and Robbie. While she initially started as a disco artist, Jones would continually experiment with other genres at the dawn of the 1980s. New wave and reggae, in particular, became more commonplace in her music and part of her indistinguishable sound. Ever the provocateur, Jones’ lyrics embraced her sexuality in bold ways and featured plenty of risqué double entendres. Read the lyrics of “Pull Up to the Bumper,” her first international hit, as a prime example. Jones doesn’t leave much to the imagination, both lyrically and visually. Jones’ androgyny also became the stuff of legends as she subverted gender norms. She’s often characterized as the “female Bowie” and that’s semi-true but Jones’ keen stylistic choices made her stand out as a visionary. But Jones’ impact on modern music is undeniable. Everyone from Madonna to Lady Gaga to Bjork to Janelle Monae all took inspiration from Jones’ unmistakable visual style. Jones set the template for female androgyny and transgressive notions of female sexuality in pop music. She would eventually venture into a successful acting career appearing in films such as Conan the Destroyer (1984), A View to a Kill (1985) and Boomerang (1992). By the end of the 1980s, she largely abandoned her music career and only released one album in the last 3 decades. To some that might’ve hurt her chances to get inducted into the Rock Hall, but Jones never played by anyone’s standards. She embraced two of rock and roll’s main tenets: personal liberation and self-expression. Sure, Jones did not sell a ton of records and she was largely regulated as an underground dance artist, but she’s also one of rock and roll’s most defiant, creative and unique talents. And if you look at Blackwell’s Rock Hall bio, look at the second sentence: “He signed Bob Marley, Grace Jones, U2 and more. What was the common thread amongst these acts? Impeccable musical talent.” Just the very mention of Jones’ name on their website speaks volumes of her legacy and impact on modern music. Plus, I’d love to see what a Grace Jones performance at an induction ceremony would encompass and that alone would be worth the price of admission.
#85: Foreigner
Eligible Since 2003
Never Nominated
Essential Songs: “Cold as Ice” (1977), “Feels Like the First Time” (1977), “Hot Blooded” (1978), “Juke Box Hero” (1981), “Urgent” (1981), “I Want to Know What Love Is” (1985)
When Rock Hall co-founder and then-nominating committee member Ahmet Ertegun mentioned Foreigner as a potential nominee sometime in the mid-2000s, he was laughed out of the room. But isn’t this the same nominating committee that once dismissed The Moody Blues’ candidacy in the 1990s? The Moody Blues were eventually inducted in 2018 so anything’s possible. Sure, classic rock is well-represented in the Rock Hall but there’s still a few artists of that era worth considering and Foreigner is definitely one of them. Like most classic rock artists, they’re hated by the critics but sold a ton of records and have at least a dozen songs still played in constant rotation on classic rock FM radio stations. Foreigner, as in the case of populist acts such as Journey and Bon Jovi, have too many hits to be ignored and would likely skyrocket to the top of the online fan ballot in any given year. Foreigner’s story begins in 1976 New York City when Mick Jones created a band consisting of members from the bands King Crimson and Spooky Tooth. They recruited American singer Lou Gramm and the rest is history. They apparently got their band name after realizing that wherever they played, half the band would be considered “foreigners.” Clever, right? I dunno, but the name stuck and they signed a deal to Atlantic Records that same year where they quickly worked on their self-titled debut album. Released the following spring, the album catapulted them to quickly become one of rock’s commercially-successful bands. They would continue with one hit album after another and resulted in their biggest best-seller 4 (1981), the Mutt Lange-produced blockbuster made stars for the MTV era. With power ballads such as “Waiting for a Girl like You’ and “I Want to Know What Love Is,” they set the template for hard rock bands to transition to adult contemporary so effortlessly and somehow remained popular. Constant disagreements with primary songwriters Gramm and Jones resulted in the former to leave Foreigner and pursue a solo career. Gramm would come back to the band but they didn’t achieve any of the success from their glory days. Kelly Hensen would ultimately serve as their vocalist on their tours since 2006. Gramm and Jones were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013. There were reports that Gramm would reunite with Foreigner on another world tour last year, but plans stalled due to Gramm’s ongoing health issues. Hopefully one day he will join them for one more show. Yeah, they’re not one of the coolest or even the most innovative bands in rock history, but they are definitely worthy of the honor. And despite their placement in this project, I bet they’ll get nominated and swiftly inducted in the next five years.
#84: Herbie Hancock
Eligible Since 1986
Never Nominated
Essential Songs: “Watermelon Man” (1962), “Cantaloupe Island” (1964), “Maiden Voyage” (1965), “Chameleon” (1973), “Butterfly” (1974), “Rockit” (1983)
When Miles Davis was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2006, Herbie Hancock served as the inductor and that was a no-brainer choice: Hancock was a keyboardist for Davis’ Quartet in the 1960s. Davis served as Hancock’s inspiration to continuously push the sonic boundaries of jazz. In many ways, both men are the rock and roll rebels of the modern jazz world who defied genre expectations, pissed off jazz purists and created some of the most influential music of the late 20th century. But the Rock Hall hasn’t inducted a jazz artist since Davis and that happened almost 15 years ago. Although there’s more support for John Coltrane getting inducted, Hancock seems more probable as the latter incorporated more rock elements in his sound. But Hancock’s name rarely comes up in Rock Hall conversations for some reason and that needs to change. The Chicago-born Hancock was a child prodigy played in his city’s Symphony Orchestra at age 11. He entered college as an electric engineering student while regularly playing music. His love for puzzles and modern technology inspired Hancock to pursuit a full-time career in music. He moved to New York City, became a pianist for Davis’ Quartet from 1963-68 to hone his craft. During this time in the mid-1960s, electronic-based music and those technologies were in its infancy and Hancock was on the vanguard of a booming musical revolution. Hancock would release a series of groundbreaking albums that incorporated non-traditional jazz instruments such as synthesizers and other computer-based technologies. Hancock’s compositions blended bebop, electronic, funk and rock to create one of the most distinctive and controversial styles in jazz history. His influence can be readily found on genres outside the jazz world including funk, hip-hop, modern R&B and EDM. Some of his compositions such as “The Watermelon Man,’ “Cantaloupe Island” and “Maiden Voyage” became standards and sampled so many times over the years. The music video for Hancock’s “Rockit” (1983) became a smash hit on MTV and won 5 VMA’s at the inaugural ceremony in 1984. MTV would later rank the visually-groundbreaking “Rockit” as the 10th greatest music video of all time in 2001. Hancock has remained active and often has his fingerprints on the pulse of “what’s next” in popular music. His Joni Mitchell tribute album River: The Joni Letters (2007) won the 2008 Grammy for Album of the Year and only the second jazz album to do so. He was also a 2013 recipient of the distinguished Kennedy Center Honors. This man teaches at UCLA and even has a jazz institute named in his honor, so what more can he do to get some recognition from the Rock Hall? He just turned 80 last April, so the clock is ticking.
#83: Siouxsie and The Banshees
Eligible Since 2004
Never Nominated
Essential Songs: “Hong Kong Garden” (1978), “Christine” (1980), “Spellbound” (1981), “Cities in Dust” (1985), “Peek-a-Boo” (1988), “Kiss Them for Me” (1991)
British punk rock—save for The Clash, Elvis Costello and Sex Pistols—is sorely ignored by the Rock Hall and that’s a shame. There’s so many worthy bands of that era on the outside looking in, but one that absolutely deserves consideration are Siouxsie and the Banshees. Lead vocalist-songwriter Siouxsie Sioux befriended the Pistols and other punk rockers during punk’s initial boom in the mid-70s. She even appeared as one of the subjects during the Sex Pistols’ infamous television interview on The Bill Grundy Show in 1976. During this time, she was slowly kickstarting her own band and somehow survived when most of punk’s originators fizzled. Her band The Banshees adopted more art-rock elements that would ultimately serve as one of the earliest examples of modern alternative rock. Their two-decade run made them one of alternative rock’s longest-tenured bands. The band went through several lineup changes and Sioux and Steve Severin are the only two constants in the band’s history. It’s worth noting The Cure’s Robert Smith and Sex Pistols’ Sid Vicious both served tenures in the Banshees’ lineup at some point too. Although their arrangements and lyrics are often described as dark and gloomy (just look at Sioux!), the Banshees embraced a more pop-friendly sound as time went on and they scored a lone U.S. Top-40 hit “Kiss Them for Me” (#23, Pop) in the early 90s. They have one of alternative rock’s great catalog that stand amongst the strongest of any band that’s not inducted into the Rock Hall. They influenced an array of subgenres including goth rock, new wave, synth-pop and shoegazing. Traces of Siouxsie and the Banshees’ influence can heard in the music of Joy Division, Depeche Mode, PJ Harvey, Smashing Pumpkins and Arcade Fire. Radiohead’s Thom Yorke once said he decided to become a musician after seeing a Banshees concert in the mid-1980s. So if influence was the sole determinant for a Rock Hall induction, then the Banshees would be a slam dunk. As more alternative artists receive induction (The Cure and Depeche Mode the last two years), the nominating committee will have to decide whether to focus on classic alternative artists from more of a commercial or artistic standpoint. If it’s the latter, then Siouxsie and the Banshees are sure bets for a nomination. And it also helps that Sioux is one of rock’s most iconic women that would breath new life to the sometimes stagnant ballots. Perhaps they are too singular of a band for the Rock Hall’s tastes, but the Banshees are one of alternative rock’s most influential and beloved bands who continue to inspire generations of musicians across the landscape of popular music.
#82: Pavement
Eligible Since 2015
Never Nominated
Essential Songs: “Summer Babe (Winter Version)” (1991), “Here” (1992), “Cut Your Hair” (1994), “Range Life” (1994), “Shady Lane” (1997), “Stereo” (1997)
Commercial success is not the sole determinant for entry into the Rock Hall. If that was the case, The Velvet Underground, The Stooges and Leonard Cohen would’ve never been considered. As pioneers of the Lo-Fi movement in the early 1990s, Pavement made their mark as one of the decade’s most acclaimed rock bands. Pavement also barely achieved mainstream success: their highest charting album on the Billboard charts is #70 and never had a charting single on the Hot 100. The famed critic Robert Christgau once boldly labeled them as “the finest rock band of the 90s.” Not bad for a band who notoriously refused to sign with a major record company, opting instead to work with smaller independent labels to secure creative control over their music. The band’s origins begin when childhood friends Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg decided to start a band in Stockton, California in 1989. Influenced by alternative rock bands such as R.E.M., Sonic Youth and The Fall, Pavement used experimental lo-fi production techniques to capture Malkmus’ cryptic and quirky lyrics. They would release a few EPs before recording their first album Slanted and Enchanted (1992), which featured the song “Summer Babe (Winter Version).” The song is ranked at #286 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs list. Historically, Pavement also emerged around the time slacker culture became a bubbling subculture as seen in Richard Linklater’s film Slacker (1991). For many alternative rock fans, Malkmus was the poet laureate for Generation X due to his introspective, humorous and poetic songwriting. After working with Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich on their 5th and final album Terror Twilight (1999), Pavement broke up in 2000 but would reunite for a series of concerts in 2009 and 2010. A decade later, rumors of another reunion finally came to fruition as Pavement announced they’ll play two 30th anniversary shows at Primavera Sound Festival in Los Angeles in September 2021 (fingers crossed this actually happens). Pavement are kinda like a 90s version of The Replacements: both Indie bands adored by the critics and attracted a cult following but never quite made an impact on mainstream audiences. Their decade-defining career, 5 albums released from 1992-1999, is held in high critical esteem and their 1994 magnum opus Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain is ranked #199 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums list. They’re primarily known for two songs: the aforementioned “Summer Babe” and “Cut Your Hair,” the latter receiving significant airplay on MTV in 1994 and peaked in the top-ten on the Billboard Modern Rock singles chart, and that’s about it. But most people probably don’t know much about the band, so why should they be considered for the Rock Hall? Influence. They’re one of the most influential Indie bands who inspired the likes of Modest Mouse, Spoon and Built to Spill. You’d be hard-pressed to find an Indie band of the last quarter-century that wasn’t influenced by Pavement.
#81: Mary Wells
Eligible Since 1986
Nominated in 1986, 1987
Essential Songs: “Bye Bye Baby” (1960), “I Don’t Want to Take a Chance” (1960), “Two Lovers” (1962), “You Beat Me to the Punch” (1962), “My Guy” (1964), “Dear Lover” (1965)
It’s hard to imagine now, but Mary Wells was once the biggest star at Motown. She was known as “The First Lady of Motown,” a moniker that even Diana Ross cannot claim. Wells, however, is forever associated with her immortal hit “My Guy,” written by labelmate Smokey Robinson, but she is much more than that one song. In the early 1960s, she scored several hits that played a fundamental role in the development of Motown’s sound and popularity. A native of Detroit, Wells suffered from spinal meningitis and tuberculosis as a child. Despite her illnesses, Wells helped her mother clean houses to make ends meet. Wells used music as a means of escape and comfort and began singing at her local church. She became obsessed with Jackie Wilson, also a Detroit native, that she even wrote a song for the singer: “Bye Bye Baby.” She approached Tamia Records founder Berry Gordy, who previously worked with Wilson, who asked her to sing that song and he was impressed. She would record the song, serving as her debut single, and it became a hit on the R&B charts. Robinson wrote and produced many of Wells’ songs and she would become the first female artist to have three consecutive top-ten pop hits: “The One Who Really Loves You” (#8, Pop) and “You Beat Me to the Punch” (#9, Pop) and “Two Lovers” (#7, Pop). “You Beat Me to the Punch” was nominated for Best Rock & Roll Recording at the Grammys, becoming the first Motown artist nominated at that awards show. Wells’ most iconic song came two years later with the release of “My Guy,” the Robinson-penned song that shot to #1 at the height of Beatlemania. The song, for better or worse, triumphs over anything Wells ever recorded and became one of Motown’s biggest hits. Frustrated both creatively and financially, she opted to leave her Motown contract at the height of her popularity and signed with 20th Century Fox Records. The move, in hindsight, proved to be disastrous as Wells never achieved the same success she had at Motown. She would later appear on the Motown 25th anniversary special in 1983, the last time she would be associated with the label before passing away from lung cancer in 1992. Wells is unquestionably the biggest Motown star not yet in the Rock Hall. She was nominated in the first two years of its existence but hasn’t appeared on a ballot in over three decades Backstage politics could be preventing her return to the ballot, but her place in history is firmly established. She was not only Motown’s first female solo superstar, but the also the first to chart internationally. The Beatles loved her and she even opened for them several times. If inducted, Robinson would probably induct her and give a touching speech. She’s too important to ignore any longer and needs to be enshrined alongside other Motown greats.
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Credit for Photos: LaBelle, Tool, Cyndi Lauper, Dave Matthews Band, Grace Jones, Foreigner, Herbie Hancock, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Pavement, Mary Wells