Rock Hall Adds Six Inductees To 2012 Ceremony

Photo Courtesy of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

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The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum has announced they have added six acts to be inducted in the class of 2012.

“These Inductees are pioneers in the development of the music we call rock and roll,” said Joel Peresman, president and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. “As part of our mission to recognize the most impactful, innovative and influential artists in rock, the committee brought forth these six groups that belong in the Hall of Fame.”

Via the Rock Hall’s facebook:
JUST ANNOUNCED: The Blue Caps, the Comets, the Crickets, the Famous Flames, the Midnighters and the Miracles will also be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 14, 2012 in Cleveland!

This year’s inductees who were voted in include Guns N’ Roses, The Faces/Small Faces, Don Kirshner, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Donovan, the Beastie Boys, Laura Nyro, Freddie King, Cosimo Matassa, and Tom Dowd.

The induction of these six groups is the result of a special Rock and Roll Hall of Fame committee review conducted to identify situations in which groups should be recognized along with the original lead singer inductee.

The six groups, the frontmen which have already been enshrined, will be inducted in Cleveland on April 14, 2012: the Blue Caps (Gene Vincent was inducted in 1998), the Comets (Bill Haley was inducted in 1987), the Crickets (Buddy Holly was inducted in 1986), Famous Flames (James Brown was inducted in 1986), the Midnighters (Hank Ballard was inducted in 1990) and the Miracles (Smokey Robinson was inducted in 1987).

Bill Haley & His Comets will be honored as one of the earliest rock groups. During the period late 1954-late 1956, the group placed nine singles into the Top 20, one of those a number one and three more in the Top Ten.

The Buddy Holly fronted Crickets were another early rock n’ roll group that set the mold that would be followed by many budding groups like the Beatles. A group that composed their own material, featured the now classic guitar, bass, and drums arrangement. Their first hit record was “That’ll Be the Day”, released in 1957.

R&B vocal group The Famous Flames featured a young James Brown during the early part of his career. Their hits included ”Please, Please, Please”, “Try Me”, “Think”,” I Don’t Mind “,”Shout and Shimmy”, “Bewildered”, “Oh Baby, Don’t You Weep”, and “I’ll Go Crazy.”

Another R&B and very influential Doo-Wop group to be honored this year are the Midnighters, a group from Detroit. Known for launching the career of lead singer Hank Ballard, and the world-wide dance craze The Twist, the group scored almost two dozen hits on the National Pop & R&B Charts like “Finger Popping Time,” “Let’s Go,Let’s Go,Let’s Go,” “Work With Me Annie”, “It’s Love Baby (24 Hours A Day)”, “Annie Had A Baby”, “The Hoochi Coochi Coo”, “Teardrops On Your Letter”, “Get It”, “The Float” and “Nothing But Good”.

The final group from Motown to be inducted this year are The Miracles, sometimes known as Smokey Robinson & The Miracles. The first succesful group act for Berry Gordy’s Motwon Record Company had success with their single “Shop Around”, Motown’s first million-selling hit record.