Rock and Roll Hall holds Dolly Parton hostage
Stephen H. Provost
You can’t honor someone if you don’t respect them. That’s my message to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which is refusing to accept Dolly Parton’s decision to graciously decline her nomination.
By refusing to honor her wishes, the Rock Hall is disrespecting the very person they’re supposed to be honoring.
Imagine that: The people who run the hall think they know better than anyone else who should be included — even the people they’re including.
This is really nothing new for the hall, which has bypassed deserving artists like Jethro Tull, Motörhead, Ozzy Osbourne (as a solo artist), Pat Benatar, and Judas Priest repeatedly. Yes, Benatar and Priest are on this year’s ballot, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Both have been eligible since 2000, but Benatar didn’t make the cut when she was on the ballot two years ago, while Priest have been considered and rejected twice before.
The hall clearly considers its own opinions more important than those of fans whose favorite (worthy) acts have been rejected. So why shouldn’t it consider them more important than someone who thinks she doesn’t belong there? It’s to be expected.
Not any one genre
The Rock Hall issued a statement defending its choice, declaring that rock and roll “is not defined by any one genre, rather a sound that moves youth culture.” If this is so, they should kindly change the name of their organization to the Youth Music Hall of Fame. But even under that criterion, Parton’s inclusion is dubious: She’s most popular among Baby Boomers (ages 57-75) and least popular among Millennials (26-41).
The statement continues: “Dolly Parton’s music impacted a generation of young fans and influenced countless artists that followed. Her nominations to be considered for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame followed the same process as all other artists who have been considered.”
That actually explains a lot: The same process that has excluded worthy acts is now including someone who doesn’t consider herself worthy.
Parton’s statement was both humble and gracious: “Even though I am extremely flattered and grateful to be nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I don’t feel that I have earned that right. I really do not want votes to be split because of me, so I must respectfully bow out.”
The Hall of Fame declined to return that respect.
Michael Jordan in Cooperstown?
To repeat an analogy I’ve used before, including Parton in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame would be like giving George R.R. Martin an award for writing history, because he writes about the “history” of imaginary worlds he creates himself.
Perhaps even more to the point, it would be like including Michael Jordan in the Baseball Hall of Fame. Jordan briefly quit the NBA and played a season of pro baseball for the Birmingham Barons in the Double-A Southern League, which is about the level of Parton’s involvement in rock music. (The theme to the movie 9 to 5 might be considered rock, but Parton has been almost exclusively a country artist.)
Parton recognizes this. “I do hope the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will understand and be willing to consider me again — if I’m ever worthy,” she wrote in her statement, adding that the nomination had inspired her to “put out a hopefully great rock ’n’ roll album at some point in the future, which I have always wanted to do.”
None of this matters to those doing the nominating, who refuse to admit they might have been wrong. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is, in effect, holding Dolly Parton hostage to its decision-making process. Should she really be forced to be part of an organization she doesn’t want to be associated with (at least at this point)? Celebrities can sue over having their faces put on the cover of a cereal box without their permission. How is this so different?
Self-serving nomination?
Certainly, the Rock Hall stands to benefit from Parton’s inclusion. According to the polling firm YouGov, she ranked as the most popular country artist and the seventh-most popular music artist overall in the fourth quarter of 2021 — and that’s in Great Britain.
So how much of this is self-serving on the part of hall, which sells tickets and concessions at its Cleveland facility? The question is worth asking. Yes, the organization is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, but it still has to support itself and its mission.
I doubt Parton cares much about the money. She certainly has enough of it. More to the point, she’s one of the few celebrities (Keanu Reeves and the late Betty White also come to mind) with a reputation for decency and humility. In a word, she’s got class.
Unfortunately, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame does not.
Stephen H. Provost is a former journalist and the author of Pop Goes the Metal, a history of ’80 pop metal, and 40 other books, all available on Amazon.