Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2010 Inductees Announced

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 2010 inductees were announced today. LL Cool J, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, KISS, ABBA, Genesis, the Stooges, Jimmy Cliff, the Hollies, Donna Summer, Darlene Love, the Chantels and Laura Nyro all get the nod this year, and one of the Rock Hall’s greatest failings, the deficit of votes needed to get Iggy and the Stooges into the I.M. Pei pyramid once and for all, is finally corrected.

Of course, guitarist Ron Asheton died earlier this year, and in 2009 the Stooges narrowly missed induction, but it’s amazing how quickly death can push voters into action on these things. Honestly, it should not have taken this long — Iggy and the balance of the reunited band (which now includes Raw Power-era guitarist James Williamson) should not have to wait to be inducted in the same year as Anthony Kiedis and the Chili Peppers — there is no Antwan the Swan without Iggy. I’ll never understand how these things work, and for that matter, how is it that Darlene Love never received enough votes until now?

Okay, so enough carping. As I go down the list, my greatest hope is the obvious one: that the induction of Genesis results in that full-scale reunion that as rumored to be going down a few years ago: one in which Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett are on board. Who rightly cares if Collins, Rutherford and Banks get back together again? As recently as a November 2008 interview with Billboard, Tony Banks said that Hackett was on board — they just need that old facepainter to register a thumbs up and take a break from working on that alleged I/O album that has allegedly been gestating since the turn of the century.

And speaking of facepainters, KISS finally gets it, too. For a long time, Gene Simmons has said it does not matter (he made this point to me in an interview about seven years ago), but KISS has been deserving of this honor nearly as long as the Stooges. Overall, a good year — ABBA notwithstanding.