Pop Music Hall of Fame inductees announced
There’s a decided twang when it comes to this year’s inductees to America’s Pop Music Hall of Fame.
The Eagles, the Everly Brothers, Glen Campbell, Linda Ronstadt and Johnny Tillotson are among the 14 popular hitmakers who are part of the junior class of the Canonsburg-based pop hall, it was announced Thursday.
The other nine acts being inducted include former Beatle Paul McCartney, who is being honored for his solo work, along with Paul Anka, Andy Williams, Chubby Checker, Tom Jones, Rick Nelson, the Four Seasons and the Righteous Brothers.
The inductees were voted on by the public, in keeping with the Hall of Fame’s populist bent, from a pool of nominees selected by radio and music industry professionals. The artists were chosen based on their hitmaking prowess and the influence of their work.
Les Paul and Mary Ford will also be inducted. The duo, who had scores of hits in the 1950s, were tapped by the selection committee for their wide-ranging impact on popular music.
“I think the public did a pretty good job this year,” said Terry Hazlett, the executive director of America’s Pop Music Hall of Fame and a former borough manager of Canonsburg. “Most of the acts that should have gotten in got in.” He said that over 1 million votes were cast online, with votes coming from many points across the country and around the globe – a large number, in fact, came from Ireland.
The top vote-getter was Ronstadt, Hazlett said. Some of those votes could have been generated by the fact Ronstadt revealed in 2013 she has Parkinson’s disease and can can no longer sing. Campbell might have also been the recipient of sympathy votes since he has Alzheimer’s disease, and has been frank and open about his deteriorating condition. However, Hazlett added both were worthy of induction regardless of their health.
“You have a lot of artists like Linda Ronstadt who have had hits, but not phenomenal hits,” Hazlett explained. Those hits have come in rock and country, and even in string-drenched forays into the Great American Songbook. “She has certainly been versatile, and deserved to get in.”
The 14 acts being inducted this year are joining such luminaries as Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra and Canonsburg native son Perry Como. Though the pop hall inevitably contains some artists who are in the rock and country halls of fame, its primary purpose is to honor those artists who don’t quite fit in either of those institutions, like the Carpenters, or were overlooked by them, like the Monkees.
America’s Pop Music Hall of Fame is still looking for a permanent home. Plans are for it to contain a 1,900-seat, multi-use performance space, along with a museum that will house permanent and rotating exhibits. The Meadows Racetrack & Casino in North Strabane Township is still a possibility, but any move there is on hold until legal issues surrounding the ownership and management of the facility are resolved.
“When that’s determined, then we’ll move forward,” Hazlett said. “The Meadows is a good fit for us.”