Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame for the Searchers

Ed · Post by Ed » Sat Mar 10, 2001 7:48 am

Maybe if the "powers that be" would consider inducting the Searchers into the R&RHOF, they might feel very awkward not knowing which Searcher would show up and which Searcher might be asked to play a song or two, ala John Forgarty.

jjr · Post by **jjr** » Sat Mar 10, 2001 2:08 pm

I think that before we worry about who's going to show, and play with whom (the issue w/ Fogerty and CCR didn't arise until after they were selected, and he then said he wouldn't play w/ his 2 surviving bandmates), we have to get them in! For that we need a plan. I sent whatever I could find about about the process (w/ addresses) to the Fan Club. I wrote to the Nominating Committee myself, and wasn't even acknowldged to have written. That leads me to believe the effort requires, as my paisanos would say, someone with "juice"- a figure in the music world, a critic who carries weight, somebody already in-McCartney, any of the Byrds, etc, or a biggie not yet in-Tom Petty, Springstein, etc. With that there are three problems right off the bat: Do they think the Searchers deserve it; are they willing to make an effort, and how can they be approached. There may be more problems after that, but solving those is a prerequisite to any-thing else. Agreed? Suggestions?

Beth_Manning · Post by **Beth_Manning** » Sat Mar 10, 2001 6:23 pm

Hey from Wellington, NZ, where Frank, John, Eddy and Spencer performed last night. It was awesome, and I had the good fortune to get to talk to Frank after the show.

I definitely think this group deserve to be inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, and well I'd forget the poiltics, it's not the point, the music is.

I think the Hall Of Fame is a bit rigged though, and specifically against artists and bands that didn't make it big in the US. As well as being a fan of the Searchers, I'm also an avid Cliff Richard fan (like Frank), and for the life of me I just can't understand why some artist have got into the hall of fame, yet Cliff isn't yet! It's incredible really, when you look at the track record. Sure people either love him or hate him... but I think know matter what you think of him, just looking at the success he has had, that speaks for itself. And I think it's much the same with the Searchers, though on slightly different scale.

Oh well, I think both deserve to be inducted, but wouldn't hold my breath. I wish it weren't that way... but it seems so.

Smiles.... Beth in NZ, still on a high after last night's concert.

admin · Post by **admin** » Sun Mar 11, 2001 1:23 am

Beth: Nice to hear from New Zealand. Should you have the time it would be very nice to have a short review of the Searchers' concert posted under a new topic. Please tell us what Frank had to say.

joehill · Post by **joehill** » Sat Jun 09, 2001 1:21 am

It's clear that the The Searchers should be inducted to the R and R Hall of Fame - for their early influences on Rock. Both the Beatles and Byrds have already acknowledged that. What more needs to be said or done? INDUCT EM!

admin · Post by **admin** » Sat Jun 09, 2001 2:02 am

Joehill: I'm with you on this one. Only the politics of Rock and Roll stand in the way. While my heart tells me that The Searchers are more than deserving, the politics of "getting there" are considerable as mentioned in the earlier posts in this thread. I am afraid that we are swimming against the current on the Induction. While The Searchers need do anything else in my view to be inducted, I have asked myself on many occasions what would need to happen to "make this so."

One scenerio comes to mind that may make a difference. I am thinking that a "Searchers' One Great Evening" concert based around the core players of Curtis, Pender, Jackson, Allen and McNally with support from Blunt, James, Adamson and Rothe would accomplish two things and get the attention of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. To begin it would establish the necessary solidarity to make their force known to the Hall of Fame. Moreover, it would arouse such attention from fans (the venue would be critical) that it would highlight their contribution to Rock Music spanning 40 years.

Right now, their history argues for induction but they are splintered. The very thing that has interfered with their success in the past, namely division, stands in the way of being inducted. None of us, on the outside, can truly appreciate the personal hardship that each of the Searchers has faced on the musical journey that they have taken. Having said that, surely being inducted into the Rock and Wall Hall of Fame outweighs their previous interpersonal problems, financial or otherwise.

RJHC · Post by **RJHC** » Mon Jun 11, 2001 9:19 am

__THE R&R HOF IS RUN BY PEOPLE WITH LATE 60'S AND

EARLY 70'S TASTES AND MENTALITIES . MAYBE THE

SEARCHERS DIDN'T USE ENOUGH DISTORTION IN THEIR

GUITARS . MAYBE THE LYRICS WEREN'T "SOCIALLY

CONSCIENCE" ENOUGH FOR THESE GUYS . MAYBE THEY

INHALED TOO MANY SUBSTANCES TO THE POINT WHERE

THEY DON'T KNOW GOOD MUSIC WHEN THEY HEAR IT .

_THEY ARE ALSO KEEPING OUT OTHER GOOD GROUPS

LIKE HERMAN'S HERMITS , FREDDIE AND THE DREAMERS ,

BILLY J. KRAMER AND THE DAKOTAS .

_I WILL WARN ALL OF YOU , THERE ARE IDIOTS WHO

WILL BRAND THE SEARCHERS AS "BUBBLEGUM" . I PUT

UP WITH THESE TYPES IN THE EARLY 70'S WHO TOLD ME

THE SEARCHERS WERE "OUT" , "OLD FASHONED" , AND

"BEHIND THE TIMES" . THE YEARS WENT ON AND THESE

IDIOTS STILL STUCK TO THEIR MUSIC AND I TOLD THEM

THEM HOW BEHIND THE TIMES THEY WERE WITH RAP AND

HIP HOP COMING IN .

Paul · Post by **Paul** » Sat Jun 23, 2001 11:46 pm

RJHC, I ran into the same kind of people in the 70's with regards to The Searchers. Now, most of those critics are either dead from, or have messed up their lives considerably with, drugs.

jimmore · Post by **jimmore** » Sun Jun 24, 2001 1:36 am

From a current day perspective, most of the great
bands of the British Invasion are regarded as mere
"rehashers" of American Pop and R&B.(Obvious
exceptions being the Beatles, Stones, Yardbirds,
the Who, and a few others though they were
essentially doing the same thing.)It would seem that the Searchers, Gerry, Dave Clark, and several
other front line bands from the era are fitting
nicely into this rather narrow minded , untutored
assessment. It is a remarkable achievement that the Searchers legacy can support a forum such as
this, one that receives more postings than similar
Byrds and Beatles forums. This, along with their
innovative and influential body of recorded work and the fact that they are STILL out there doing
it after 40 years, should be more than enough to
secure them a spot in Cleveland.
It seems likely that had there been no British
Invasion there would have been no Byrds, no Buffalo Springfield, no Pet Sounds, no electric
Dylan. Perhaps I'm stretching a point. None the less, the Searchers and many of the other great artists from the era deserve a lot more recognition and honor.

admin · Post by **admin** » Thu Jul 05, 2001 4:47 am

Jim: I concur with your comments and don't think you are stretching the point too far at all. The Searchers have, however, not really been "Front and Centre" over the past couple of decades. In my way of thinking, the group needs to do more than tour to get the political attention of the RnR Hall of Fame. They need a big hit or a well publicized "Reunion". As they are touring to make a living, the likelihood of their returning to the studio would seem to be diminishing. As far a a Reunion goes I would hazard a guess that too many bridges have been burned. As the clock is ticking for all of us, The Searchers included, I would expect that a hit or a reunion would need to happen fairly soon to make an impact on "The Hall."