Sunday, January 22, 2023

The Beatles induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

 







January 20, 1988


It has been 35 years since The Beatles were inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.   It was a HUGE deal in 1988 and even a bigger deal that Paul was a no show.   I found this article written by a fan that was there in an old issue of GoodDay Sunshine.   There was no author given to the article. 


Beatles News and other interesting News

GoodDay Sunshine Winter 1988

 

George and Ringo were joined by Yoko, Julian, and Sean to accept induction on behalf of the Beatles at the third annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremonies on January 20th at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.  Paul should have been there, but he wasn’t.  He should have given a proper, intelligent explanation for his no-show, but he didn’t.  Truthfully speaking, it was his loss. 

  In addition to receiving the coveted award, all the presenters and presenters ended the Hall of Fame festivities (with George right up front) by jamming on some classic standards.  “Twist & Shout” kicked off a mind-boggling all-start session in which the capacity black-tie crowd of 700 (at $1,000 a plate) also heard renditions of “All Along the Watchtower,” “Stop! In the name of Love,”  “Who Lot of Shakin’ Goin’ On,”  “Born on the Bayou,”  “Like a Rolling Stone,” and “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.”  The ultimate highlights, however, had to be when Julian contributed vocals to “Stand By Me” with Ben E. King (and some of the Beach Boys) and when “I Saw Here Standing There” saw Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Mick Jagger and George Harrison trade off vocals and “oohs.”   George not only sang, he played guitar, as did Neil Young, Jeff Lynne, Bruce Springsteen, Dave Edmunds, Jeff Beck, Steve Van Zandt, John Fogarty, Bob Dylan, Les Paul, and member of Paul Schaffer Late Night Band, Oh yes, Elton John played piano and Ringo drummed.

  It was Mick who presented the induction, crediting The Beatles with giving the Rolling Stones their first hit and stating, “We (The Stones) thought we were totally unique animals.  Then we heard there was a group from (he sneered) Liverpool!  They had long hair, scruffy clothes, but they had a record contract – I was almost sick!”  Harrison swiped a line from Pepper in his acception:  “It’s wonderful to be here.  It’s certainly a thrill.”  But he was also very serious, “We all loved John so much, and we all love Paul very much.”  Yoko added, “I wish John was here.  He would have been here, you know.  He would have come.”  She was alluding to Paul’s absence.  Julian, sporting a hairstyle more becoming on the lead singer of the band Simply Red, remarked, “I’m grateful to my dad for giving me a lot of inspiration.”  Sean, growing up quickly, confessed, “I’m a little young to know about all this stuff, but I love The Beatles.  I’m proud to be up here for doing nothing.”  Not to be outdone in the humor department, Ringo chimed in, “We’re all doing nothing…give us the prize and let’s go home!”  The five held hands and were all smiles.

  Let us pray that the complete award ceremonies will be made available as a video.  Our guess, though, is that the only place anyone will get to see replays of these Rock & Roll Hall of Fame annual presentations is at the actual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame when it finally opens sometime in the future in Cleveland, Ohio.

   For the record, Paul refused to join the others on grounds of “business differences.”  The precise message, delivered from a McCartney publicist:  “I was keen to go and pick up my award, but after 20 years, The Beatles still have some business differences which I had hoped would have been settled by now.  Unfortunately, they haven’t been, so I would feel like a complete hypocrite waving and smiling with them at a fake reunion.”  It sure doesn’t sound like the Paul of old, who would always think of public relations first.  Former Beatle publicist Derek Taylor said, “It’s a grim statement.”  Beach Boy vocalist Mike Love called Paul’s absence “…a bummer because we’re talking about harmony” when he accepted his award from Elton John.  

Others inducted were the Drifters, who were presented by Bill Joel; the Supremes, who were presented by Little Richard; and Bob Dylan, who was presented by Springsteen.  Motown founder Berry Gordy was inducted as a non-performing professional, while Les Paul, Leadbelly, and Woody Guthrie were honored as “early influences.”  Other notable no-shows were Diana Ross and Keith Richards, who was supposed to join Jagger in presenting The Beatles.  Little Richard was asked backstage how it felt to be an artist The Beatles took on tour in the sixties.  He was quick to correct, “Oh, you got that backward.  I took them on tour!  They stayed at my home…I knew ‘em  before you did!”  So there. 

43 comments:

  1. I 100% supported him then and now in this decision. In fact, not showing up for this HOF induction never touched Paul's reputation. His band-mates did him and even Linda so dirty in the 70s and 80s and I am sure there was much hurt that was still very much present. I am sure the last thing he wanted was to be up there pretending. Good for him! He was and still is a man of principle!

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    1. how do you sleep...

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    2. Agree completely with Jan 23 at 7.02 am.

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    3. What do you mean exactly?

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    4. What exactly do you mean?

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  2. good article - am very disappointed in Paul's attitude - John would have been there

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    1. That's just your opinion, but it doesn't mean that you are right!

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    2. 12:33 I think John would have been there too - am still missing him btw

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    3. John wouldn't have been there unless he was on better terms with George by 1988, something people seem to have forgotten about. He'd also fallen out with Jann Wenner because John felt conned by him. Pity this Good Day Sunshine writer wasn't in possession of the facts before giving Paul a dressing down. Not so easy to have romantic notions about everything if John had lived.

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    4. April 5. Agree completely, a very good observation. Yes George wasn't talking to John, in his last years. The Bangladesh concert, and George sleeping with Maureen, didn't go down well with John. He called it incest.

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    5. John would have gone just for the kick of it

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    6. "John would have been there"....that is speculative talk. Maybe he would have, maybe not. John went out of his way to avoid the PRIVATE NYC 1974 legal meeting with the other 3. And he categorically said in 1980 that he would never be not be part of a "reunion". John could be as cynical as anyone, and stated several times he was wary of people creating a Beatles "reunion" for publicity.

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    7. maybe this conversation should end now

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  3. Why should it be Paul's loss? The Hall of Fame is pretentious rubbish. It's criminal that John and Paul weren't inducted at the same time anyway. What a judgmental fan. He/she also forgot to mention Bob Dylan called out Mike Love for his snide comment. Why were John's sons there? Ringo and George didn't haul along their kids. That was Yoko's PR in the wake of John's murder. Because he was viewed as THE Beatle.

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  4. Paul shot himself in the foot. He was being sued by the others at the time of their induction because he was now getting a higher royalty rate on Beatles records. This was part of the negotiations to resign with Capitol Records. Once Yoko, George and Ringo found this out, they sued him. I don't blame them. So, the only one that did Paul dirty here was...Paul. (MarkZapp)

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    1. From my understanding it was Capitol rewarding Paul for his loyalty because of his prestigious output. George and Ringo didn't, and obviously John. Instead of suing Capitol Records, which would have made more sense, they instead sued Paul. They shot the messenger in fact.

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    2. absolutely agree w/1-23-23 at 12:33 and 1-23-23 at 10:15

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    3. 23 10.15pm. As inaccurate as the buying shares story. Yoko/John always led George and Ringo by the nose in business dealings. That's why they signed with Klein to their detriment. Paul showed Yoko Ono up about Klein and she knew it. She's been on his back ever since. Anyway, it was Paul pushing the Beatles on when the others lost interest that earned them the royalties in the first place.

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    4. Think about it. Most people who are being sued do not wanna go around hugging and kissing the plaintiffs, so walk a mile in Paul's shoes. Yes, he was getting a higher royalty rate because Eastman negotiated a great deal with Capitol -- too bad the others' didnt receive better counsel to do the same. All of this fretting is much ado about nothing -- they ended up settling out of court, and a few years later they got together for Anthology -- thats all that matters. Besides, the RNR HOF has a selection committee of egomaniacs who think they know music better than all of us, and look down on us. It's voting process is about as transparent as a concrete wall. What a joke.

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    5. Jan 25 at 10.44. And I bet you're a George devotee!

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    6. Mark Zapp- always look forward to your comments on this site, keep on mate

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    7. I'm sorry but I don't agree with Mark Zapp here.

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    8. I think it's great that different perspectives and opinions are allowed here that question some of cut and paste bias found in biographies and articles. Thank you Sara.

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    9. THE Beatle ^^^^ ? In retrospect, when one reviews all of McCartney's musical output to date, we all should know who THE Beatle IS and always WAS. Lennon had a few remarkable songs but by all Beatles' accounts, was a musical hack who was envious of McCartney's output during the Beatles years of stardom.

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  5. Glad he didnt show up. He was the first to give Jann Wenner & The HOF a richly deserved middle finger. Good for Paul. Wenner is one of the smug, boorish puppeteers "running" the HOF induction "process". He went out of his way to show up Macca by inducting John first. And then there's the little matter of the time he was furious that one of his Rolling Stone writers gave Paul's 1st solo album a good review -- so he intervened and edited the review to make it scathingly negative. Almost 40 years have passed since that event-- the HOF's voting process & integrity has become a joke. Paul's probably glad now that he didn't waste his time going to that sham event.

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  6. this was for the Beatles which made Paul's career fame and he should had been there - bravo to George and Ringo and to Yoko for bringing John's boys

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    1. I would say it was Paul's songwriting, and John's, that gave them career fame. The lads won many, many awards and accolades throughout their whole time together. Do you seriously think they needed the silly HOF to validate them? HOF is a joke and so is Rolling Stone and their endless fawning lists of who is good and who isn't.

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  7. thinking that the Temptations showed up at their HOF even though they had group issues

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    1. The Temptations hadnt had a Top 20 hit since 1972 -- they needed every ounce of PR they could get.

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    2. The Temps were a fantastic group

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  8. a bit ironic that the man who was a no show for being in the most famous group in the world is keen on the Get Back flick and using Beatle film behind his singing at his concerts ; how people change in time

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    1. I don't see anything ironic whatsoever. Funny how the Anthology came after ...
      George needed the cash. Paul was in that famous band and he's allowed to remember his past the way he wants. HOF and Beatles fans don't get to decide his life. Whether people like it or not it's always been Paul who's kept the Beatles in the public eye through his concerts. He has carried George and Ringo imo who never did much except benefit from it. They changed too.

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    2. I totally agree and Paul has every right to do whatever he wants in his concerts. After all, it was him who kept the band together in their last years. And that's when their best creative period came out. And it's all thanks to Paul because the others were losing interest.

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  9. Wish I had seen this event as they look so happy in the pictures here. Beatles Forever!

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  10. great write up from GoodDay Sunshine and the pictures are wonderful

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    1. agree w/ 6:40, thanks Sara for finding this gem

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    2. I love these pictures and the article too. Great job Ms. Sara...Pinky

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  11. THE BEATLES - JOHN, PAUL, GEORGE AND RINGO.

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