Dolly Parton embraces rock stardom, Emimem pays tribute to hip-hop at Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony – but the musical world still isn’t ready to embrace the American Songbook – as many think it is.
In a strange twist of fate, two events took place at once Saturday night during the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s annual Rock Hall of Fame Weekend in Cleveland.
That was the night when the new inductees were announced for the annual class of musicians and songwriting celebrities. Then, a few hours earlier, at the same time, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame also inducted Dolly Parton, who will serve as president of the organization.
Parton was already something of a rock star by the time she was a teenager in the Nashville music scene of the ‘50s. She became a teen idol — and, like many of us, a fan of Johnny Paycheck, Buddy Holly, Eddie Cochran, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sam Cooke, Little Richard and many others. “I love folk music. I love country music and blues music. I love jazz music,” she said. “It’s the music that touches my heart.” She also said that she had found a songwriting niche that was more meaningful than being a singer, and more influential than writing for other performers.
She’s even admitted that she would rather have written an entire album of songs and then had nobody ever hear them than just write for others.
Parton is in her sixth year as president of the R&RHOF, and there will be no shortage of new inductees in the next few days. But in the days since Parton was announced as a finalist again, questions about the Hall’s mission and direction have swirled around the organization.
The timing of her selection to become the fourth woman ever to serve as president of the hall, and the timing of the announcement that legendary country singer Merle Haggard will induct Parton, and that Parton’s induction has been moved to Monday night because of the Hall’s tradition of inductions on the third Monday of January, came just after the R&RHOF announced that it would be moving forward with plans to expand from three to five categories in the coming year.
Fittingly, Parton will become one of those five new categories. The other new