The Unofficial Encyclopedia of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

by Nick Talevski

Overview

This reference work includes an examination of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's selection process, a review of the annual induction ceremony, and provides career biographies of 149 Hall of Fame inductees from the artists and producers to the record company founders and deejays. It details the turbulent history of the museum's choice of locale and the internal politics involved in the induction process. The only work of its kind on the topic, this reference provides valuable information for the scholar, researcher, and rock enthusiast, and includes a comprehensive listing of each year's inductees.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, much like the music it honors and promotes, had controversial beginnings. Politics and contention continue to affect the inductee selection process. Talevski provides an in-depth, chronological study of the museum's history including a detailed summary of the conception and rise of rock and roll. This unique collection of historical data and anecdotes surrounding the ceremonies provides information unavailable elsewhere.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313300325
Publisher:	ABC-CLIO, Incorporated
Publication date:	06/25/1998
Pages:	416
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.94(d)

About the Author

NICK TALEVSKI is a graduate student at Kent State University, studying toward an M.L.A. in 20th century popular music. /e

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

General Background

Alan Freed and a Brief History of Rock

Cleveland and the Building of a Rock Hall

The Induction Ceremonies

The Inductees

Appendixes

Selected Bibliography

Index

Editorial Reviews

In this somewhat interesting (if overpriced) look at how and where America's rebellious pop-culture child has ended up, Talevski details the machinations, politics, and philosophy involved in founding the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His telling of how it came to be housed in Cleveland along with his rundown of each year's induction ceremonies since the hall's 1986 founding is well done--and would have been enough. However, in the rest of the book--which is mostly a more in-depth look at each of the 149 inductees through 1997--Talevski offers nothing new except inductees' real and full names and dates of induction. The eclectic bibliographic information for each artist can indeed be helpful because it has been pulled from sources that are not always used to the fullest extent, but the entries themselves seldom reveal anything not already available in other pop-music reference works. Appendixes provide a chronological listing of inductees by year and category and, perhaps most interestingly, nominees who were not inducted. While this is an enjoyable read with some unique reference value, it is recommended only for the most comprehensive pop-culture collections.--David M. Turkalo, Suffolk Univ. Law Sch. Lib., Boston

Library Journal

After brief histories of rock music and Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as well as summaries of the induction ceremonies from 1986 to 1997, the volume presents brief biographies of 150 Hall of Fame inductees from editor Paul Ackerman to Musician Frank Zappa, encompassing a range of artists, producers, and deejays in between. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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