A

lan Freed was not around to 
accept his honor at the first 
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 
induction ceremony during 1986 in 
New York, but it was only right to 
include the late radio personality who 
popularized the term in the inaugural 
class.
The Pennsylvania native was also 
the first Jew to enter the Rock Hall.
There have been many since, in 
multiple categories; suffice to say 
that from performers (Bob Dylan, 
Simon & Garfunkel, Neil Diamond, 
Carole King, many more) to exec-
utives (Leonard Chess, Clive Davis, 
Bill Graham, Seymour Stein, Don 
Kirshner, Jac Holzman), songwriters 
(King and Gerry Goffin, Jerry Leiber 
and Mike Stoller, Doc Pomus) pro-
ducers (Phil Spector, Jerry Wexler, 
Milt Gabler) and managers (Brian 
Epstein, Jon Landau, Irving Azoff), 
there’s been no shortage of representa-
tion in the Rock Hall’s 39 classes.
This year’s induction ceremony 
took place on Oct. 19 in Cleveland — 
where the physical Rock and Roll Hall 
of Fame and Museum resides — and 
included an Early Influence honor 
for the late British blues musician 
Alexis Korner, along with Musical 
Excellence Awards for Detroit’s MC5 
and Motown songwriter-producer 
Norman Whitfield and Motown exec-
utive Suzanne DePasse. A primetime 
highlights special will air at 8 p.m. Jan. 

1 on ABC. 
Discussions about the Rock Hall, 
however, involve not only who’s in 
but who’s not. This year’s class fea-
tures a few names that have long been 
considered slights (Peter Frampton, 
Foreigner, Ozzy Osbourne) while 
debates continue about dozens of oth-
ers fans feel are overdue. With that in 
mind, we thought it was a good time 
to consider Jewish candidates who 
are still on the runway. There are a 
great many of those, of course, but 18 
seemed like the appropriate number 
to put on the table for this occasion.

WORTHY INDUCTEES
Leonard Bernstein: Not somebody 
you think of when you say rock 
‘n’ roll, but given the Hall’s broad 
perspective on who’s eligible, why 
not? The late Bernstein’s enormous 
impact on American music — music 
period, classical and popular — is 
unquestioned, and his score and 
soundtrack work have certainly hit 
audiences beyond the orchestra halls. 
And let’s not forget his insightful 
and respectful treatment of rock in 
his 1967 CBS special Inside Pop: The 
Rock Revolution. Classical is one area 
that Rock Hall has not really traipsed 
yet; Bernstein would be a fitting first 
choice. 

Blood, Sweat & Tears: Founder 
Al Kooper received an Award for 
Musical Achievement last year, but a 

strong argument could be made for a 
full-band induction. BS&T was one 
of rock’s first bands with a self-con-
tained horn section, and it was a 
commercial juggernaut during the 
late ’60s and early ’70s with hits such 
as “Spinning Wheel” and its arrange-
ments of Brenda Holloway’s “You’ve 
Made Me So Very Happy” and Laura 
Nyro’s “
And When I Die,” along with 
three consecutive Top 10 albums. 
Steve Katz, Jerry Weiss, Fred Lipsius, 
Lou Soloff and Bobby Colomby merit 
inclusion alongside their friendly 
rivals in the band Chicago.

Don Was: Plenty of producers — 
from Phil Spector and Jerry Wexler 
to Motown’s Holland-Dozier-Holland 
and, this year, Norman Whitfield — 
have entered the Hall. Oak Park native 

Was (nee Fagenson) certainly has the 
credentials, with four Grammy awards 
(including Producer of the Year, Non-
Classical in 1995) and a resume that 
includes work with the Rolling Stones, 
Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, the B-52’s, 
Brian Wilson, Iggy Pop and a great 
many more. On the performing end, 
Was co-founded the Detroit group 
Was (Not Was) and is also part of Bob 
Weir’s Wolf Bros as well as leading the 
Pan-Detroit Ensemble.

The Dictators: This ’70s punk 
troupe was like an AZA chapter that 
managed to stay together into college 
(at the State University of New York 
at New Platz) with Ross “The Boss” 
Friedman, Andy “
Adny” Shernoff, 
Scott Kempner, Mark “The Animal” 
Mendoza (nee Glickman) and 
Handsome Dick Manitoba (Richard 
Blum) churning high-octane music 
that was every bit as important as 
the New York Dolls, the Ramones 
and other contemporaries of the 
CBGB’s scene. Records such as “Go 
Girl Crazy!” “Manifest Destiny” 
and “Blood Brothers” still hold up, 
and Friedman and Shernoff are still 
leading a version of the band.

Art Garfunkel: He’s in as part 
of Simon & Garfunkel (1990), but 
partner Paul Simon’s solo induction 
in 2001 raises a question of whether 
his frenemy of more than 70 years 
should be accorded the same honor. 
Garfunkel hasn’t had Simon’s level of 
solo success or the critical acclaim of 
a Graceland album, but he’s scored 
a few hits (“
All I Know,” “Wonderful 
World,” “My Little Town” with Simon) 
and still enjoys regard as one of the 
great voices of the pop music era. He’s 
still going at 82, too, most recently in 
tandem with son Art Garfunkel Jr. 

Richard Gottehrer: One for the 
Musical Achievement Award or 
behind-the-scenes Ahmet Ertegun 
Award. Gottehrer — who left law 
school for a music career —wrote 
indelible hits such as “I Want Candy,” 
“Hang on Sloopy,” “My Boyfriend’s 
Back” and scores of others, and 
produced artists such as Blondie, 
the Go-Go’s, Marshall Crenshaw, the 
Fleshtones, Robert Gordon and more. 
He also founded The Orchard, which 
remains one of the industry’s largest 

38 | OCTOBER 24 • 2024 J
N

ARTS&LIFE
MUSIC

GARY GRAFF CONTRIBUTING WRITER

HALL OF FAME
HALL OF FAME

Jews
Jews

in the

Which Jewish musicians are still waiting to get in?

Don Was

MIRYAM RAMOS

