Why does the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have an ongoing vendetta against Alice Cooper? Why hasn't Alice Cooper ever been nominated, let alone inducted, into the Rock Hall?
If the prerequisite for consideration is being a pioneering and influential rock 'n' roll artist with a series of multimillion-selling hit albums and hit singles who has the respect of his peers and continues to record relevant albums and tour every year, then Alice is seriously overqualified and his admission long overdue. The next time "Eighteen" or "School's Out" or "Elected" or "No More Mister Nice Guy" or "Trash" or "Poison" or "Lost In America" comes on the radio, ask yourself this: Why is Alice Cooper blacklisted from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — on what grounds, and on whose orders?
Maybe it's because he had the misfortune of signing with Frank Zappa and Straight Records instead of with Seymour Stein and Sire Records. Perhaps if he had signed with Seymour Stein — a Rock Hall co-founder (Strike 1) who heads the Rock Hall's nominating committee (Strike 2) and who himself has been inducted into the Rock Hall with a lifetime achievement award (Strike 3) — then Alice might have been fast-tracked to the front of the line alongside all the other Sire Records artists who have already been inducted into the Rock Hall including the Ramones, Talking Heads and Pretenders.
By the way, according to reference.com, a conflict of interest is a situation in which someone in a position of trust, such as an executive or director of a corporation, has competing professional or personal interests. Such competing interests can make it difficult to fulfill his or her duties fairly. Even if there is no evidence of improper actions, a conflict of interest can create an appearance of impropriety that can undermine confidence in the ability of that person to act properly. Those with a conflict of interest are ethically expected not to participate in any decisions where such a conflict exists. To minimize any conflict, they should not participate in any way. (A spokesman for the Hall of Fame Foundation had no comment as of press time Monday.)
As long as Alice Cooper continues to be deliberately excluded, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will remain a biased patronage-driven fraud unworthy of anyone's respect.
Jeffrey Morgan is a freelance writer. Send comments to [email protected]
