How The Beach Boys and George Harrison broke the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame curse
Rock and roll has always been the music of underdogs and rebels, rooted in grassroots musical expression and authenticity. As such, the idea of a ‘Hall of Fame’ surrounding the rebellious genre has often been the subject of controversy; lauding musicians solely for their fame and influence seems somewhat counterintuitive when it comes to rock and roll. Nevertheless, the vast majority of inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame have already come to the end of their careers by the time they are inducted into the museum.
After all, being placed into a Hall of Fame already carries the expectation that an artist has achieved everything that they have the potential to do and have few places left to go. If you look at the very first musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame back in 1986, the list is dominated by the stars of yesteryear, like Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, and Sam Cooke. Berry might have still been active during that time, but it is not as if he was still dominating the singles chart as he had been back in the 1950s.
In fact, throughout the entire history of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, only two inductees have managed to achieve a hit song in the same year that they were inducted. Admittedly, many of the artists were inducted posthumously, or at least post-break-up, which does account for the lack of hits. However, there does seem to be some kind of curse whereby an artist’s career is more or less over by the time they are inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Interestingly, both of the artists to break this curse were inducted in the same year, 1988. It was a strong year for the organisation, admitting the likes of Bob Dylan, The Supremes, and The Drifters. However, The Beatles and The Beach Boys seemed to overshadow the rest. It is easy to see why those two names dominated the conversation at the Hall of Fame in 1988; both groups changed the landscape of pop and rock music indefinitely.
Albums like Pet Sounds, Revolver, or Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band are routinely – and rightly – hailed among the greatest rock albums of all time, so it only seems right that those artists feature in the Hall of Fame. Their joint entrance into the museum is particularly heartwarming given the joint history of the two bands, who regularly inspired each other’s music and songwriting. Without Pet Sounds, there would be no Sgt. Pepper.
Another attribute that unites the two groups is their enduring popularity, made clear by the fact that members of each band had a hit single in 1988, the year they were inducted into the Hall of Fame. Former Beatle George Harrison topped the US singles chart with his cover of James Ray’s ‘Got My Mind Set On You’, while The Beach Boys achieved a number-one single a few months later with their track ‘Kokomo’.
What makes this curse-breaking feat even more impressive is that both singles came as something of a surprise. To this day, ‘Got My Mind Set On You’ is the last US number-one single by any Beatles member, while ‘Kokomo’ was The Beach Boys’ first number-one song since ‘Good Vibrations’ over 20 years prior and remains their final number-one track.
The fact that Harrison and The Beach Boys managed to defy the expectations of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is telling of their enduring quality and success. Both artists helped to define the revolutionary age of the 1960s, but their careers remained strong throughout multiple generations and are still beloved to this day.
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