Why is ABBA in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame?
Some Fans Claim the Swedish Pop Band Isn't 'rock' Enough for the Hall of Fame
Why is ABBA in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame: ABBA's credentials
The ABBA foursome of Frida Lyngstad, Bjorn Ylvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anna Faltskog recorded numerous smash hits during their run from 1972 to 1982.
"Dancing Queen" was the group's only #1 hit in the U.S., while "Take a Chance On Me" peaked at #3. ABBA's first American hit was "Waterloo," which reached #6. Many of their other songs didn't perform as well on the U.S. chart but have become classics over time, like "Mamma Mia," which only reached #32, and "Fernando," which hit #1 or #2 in ten other countries but stopped at #13 here.
ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits has sold 28 million copies worldwide, making it one of the more successful pop music hits collections.
Overall, ABBA scored 14 top 40 hits in the U.S. and many more throughout the U.K., Sweden, Australia, Japan, and Canada. Their record label now claims worldwide album sales of more than 370 million, an astounding figure.
Why is ABBA in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame: Not "rock" enough?
Clearly, ABBA had enough hits and influence to warrant induction into the Rock Hall. The real issue, then, is the group's style of music. Most of the critics of ABBA's induction point to their lightweight pop style, noting that the band's music doesn't fit the definition of "rock n roll."
To which I say: So what? People made the same tired argument when Madonna was inducted. The Rock N Roll Hall of Fame has never been just for "rock n roll" artists. From its very start, the hall has included artists from blues, jazz, R&B and country music. In recent years, performers from disco, rap, reggae and dance-pop have been inducted as well.
The Rock N Roll Hall of Fame is an all-encompassing institution for the best performers from all musical genres. There has never been any requirement to be a "rock artist" in order to be recognized by the Hall. The argument that ABBA isn't "rock" enough simply doesn't hold up.
Why is ABBA in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame: Other snubbed artists
A final argument people make against ABBA's induction is that there are other more deserving rock artists who have yet to be inducted, like KISS, Bon Jovi, Alice Cooper, Hall & Oates, Depeche Mode, The Cure, and the Moody Blues.
But just because those artists have been overlooked doesn't mean that ABBA should be overlooked too. Those artists will get their turn in the spotlight eventually. Saying that ABBA shouldn't be inducted just because KISS was overlooked is not a very compelling argument.
Why is ABBA in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame: Summary
Though some music fans may cringe at the thought of ABBA in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, their sales and chart success make them worthy of the accomplishment.
Why is ABBA in the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame: Sources
http://rockhall.com/inductees/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23673187/
Published by Scott Allan
Scott Allan runs a travel blog at http://quirkytravelguy.com. He is a freelance journalist specializing in music, travel and sports who has been published on Yahoo! Sports, Livestrong.com, Spinner.com, AOL T... View profile
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9 Comments
Post a CommentRather late in the game, but for those who think ABBA didn't belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, listen to their pre-Dancing Queen material. You will find some rock material like So Long, the ridiculously named King Kong Song, their first hit Waterloo and a few other gems. Much of their music was what I'd call pop-rock, which still holds up rather well some three decades on.
If ABBA is in, who`s next in "rock exception" category?
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is kind of crap anyway. It's mostly there for industry types to pat themselves on the back.
Rock and Roll is a mixture of country, r&b, jazz, and blues. That's why artists of those genres can be inducted. ABBA is none of those.
I think you got it right here...in a lot of situations, the term "rock n roll" is an all encompassing term, including all music of the pop era. Nice read Scott!
ABBA rocks but nope not RnR. I love their music.
I sort of agree, ABBA isn't rock and roll, but then neither are the soul artists in there, and certainly not the rap artists (hmmm - rap and artist? must be an oxymoron). I sometimes think the selection committee are rather biased, with some top older bands not being featured, and yet some newer lesser bands in there already.
Isn't pop music a subset of rock and if they induct music from other genres -there really shouldn't be a problem
This is going to be a continuing problem as newer groups that aren't rock become elgible for the Hall.