NPR Music Playlist
Julie London: The artist who connected torch singing to teen angst, Julie London has influenced everyone from Annie Lennox to Lana Del Rey. She made Justin Timberlake cry a river, why isn't she in the Hall?
Janis Martin: The "My Boy Elvis" singer is too often classified as a novelty, but her chops and verve make her just as representative of rock's first generation as peers like Presley or Gene Vincent.
Patsy Cline: Never simply confined to the country genre, the legendary Cline showed both the raw emotion and willingness to transcend musical boundaries that rock and roll supposedly pioneered.
Connie Francis: The top singles artist of the late 1950s, Francis embodied teenage girls' yearnings – the rocket fuel that made rock and roll run – but was, for too long, considered too "pop" for the Hall. Such distinctions make no sense in the era of Ariana Grande.
Carole King: "But she's in as a songwriter (in partnership with her ex-husband, Gerry Goffin)!" That weak argument has stood between King and the placement she rightly deserves for too long. Tapestry is one of the biggest-selling albums of all time and the definitive emotional soundtrack for countless women and men of the baby boom. The most egregious omission, many would say.
Miriam Makeba: The Hall needs to expand its scope in many ways, including internationally. Makeba connected Africa to the West and still stands as the founding figure of the mutable category of "world music." Plus, that majestic voice.
Carla Thomas: If you believe in Memphis, you believe in Carla Thomas. The signature female voice of the time and place that made Elvis possible.
Barbra Streisand: Inducting La Barbra would make great strides in eradicating the prejudices against pop that long concealed sexism and, to some extent, racist tendencies within the Hall. (Disco is black music, friends.) Gaga's revival of A Star Is Born reminded people that Barbra showed how Hollywood glam and rock excess could combine in the 1970s, and she remains one of America's most charismatic stars.
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