ROCK HALL OF FAME FINALLY IS COMING OUT OF THE SHADOWS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, January 12, 1993                   TAG: 9301120233
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 3   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: MARK BROWN KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES                                LENGTH: Medium
ROCK HALL OF FAME FINALLY IS COMING OUT OF THE SHADOWS
It's almost like a secret club - a ceremony to which the public hasn't been invited, a fantastic concert only a few select people get to see, and a tribute for a place that doesn't exist.
Unlike the Grammys or American Music Awards, the annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremonies aren't televised, save for a few tightly controlled snippets on the evening news. The actual hall hasn't been built.
The hall's nominating and voting members themselves don't know how they were chosen to be part of one of rock music's greatest honors.
No wonder it leaves those on the outside somewhat confused. The public hears about the legendary music jams and wonders exactly how these performers - from the Beatles to Ma Rainey - get chosen for the honor.
"It's not televised. The public can't vote. The closest the fans get is seeing the photos in Rolling Stone a month later," said Goldmine magazine editor Jeff Tamarkin, on the hall's nominating committee.
But that's changing as the hall works out its growing pains and reaches out more to the public. The eighth annual gala is set for tonight at the Century Plaza Hotel ballroom in Century City, Calif., the first time it has been held outside New York City.
The talent lineup is perhaps the best so far. Expect every major rock star not clinically dead. Inductees are: Ruth Brown, Cream, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Doors, Etta James, Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers, Van Morrison, Sly and the Family Stone, Dick Clark, Milt Gabler and Dinah Washington.
And organizers are making it more accessible to the public to drum up more support - and funds - to build the hall.
For the first time, the average Joe can buy a ticket and attend. Make that the richer-than-average Joe. As of Friday, tickets for the black-tie event were available - starting at $750 each, with good seats going for $1,500.
The purpose is to raise money to build the actual hall in Cleveland. So unless you're inducted or introducing an inductee, you pay.
In past years, ceremony regular Springsteen has performed a duet with John Fogerty on "Born on the Bayou" and "Long Tall Sally;" Springsteen, Fogerty, Young and George Harrison jammed on "Like a Rolling Stone" with Dylan; Springsteen and Mick Jagger joined for a rousing "Satisfaction."
While the ceremonies get bigger every year, the hall is struggling to establish an identity and build its integrity.
The inductees are selected for their merit and achievement, not popularity or sales, Tamarkin explained. Basically, organizers don't want public input the way other ceremonies do.
Instead, the nominating committee tries to balance popularity with achievement.
"Ruth Brown would never get in if it were left totally up to the public," Tamarkin said. "And the Grateful Dead should be in, even if the critics don't like them."
Fans push for their favorites - like the people who sent Tamarkin a petition with 5,000 signatures demanding that the Moody Blues be added to the hall. They've never been nominated.
Groundbreaking for the hall is set for this year, but no one's sure when. The ceremonies, meanwhile, have been going on since 1986.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB