By John Grindrod
Guest Columnist
Of course, for most of us, no matter how we use our talents to craft a career and pay our way while traversing life’s thoroughfare, it’s important for us to feel good about work beyond the financial compensation that we receive. In short, we want to be recognized for our efforts.
I thought about that last May when I saw the list of this year’s inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of fame, one of whom is Willie Nelson, who’ll be welcomed in November in a ceremony in New York.
Now, I will tell you that I’ve never been as big a fan of musical hall-of-fame acknowledgments as I have of sports and their halls of fame, but I do have a couple of thoughts and a reminisce that I’ll share with you today. The first thought is one I’ve had pretty much every year when the musical inductions take place, one that actually offends me as a fan of the state that raised me from the age of 7 and where I chose to stay following my Miami University days.
The rock hall of fame is in Cleveland and is a relative newbie when it comes to halls of fame. Baseball’s hall in Cooperstown, New York, opened in 1936; basketball’s hall in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1959; and football’s hall in Canton, Ohio, in 1963. The rock hall on Cleveland’s lakefront didn’t open until 1986. And, although the official induction event will be in Cleveland in 2024, the fact is, since the first ceremony in ’86, next year will mark just the seventh time it has been at the hall of fame in the city that’s considered to be the birth place of rock and roll. The majority of the induction ceremonies has been in New York (28) while Los Angeles has hosted three times. Why on earth the event isn’t anchored at the actual hall, giving Cleveland the benefit of an influx of exposure and tourist dollars, is, to me, a mystery.
The other thought I had about this year’s inductees in the performing category — Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, George Michael, Rage Against the Machine, The Spinners and Nelson — is how it took until Nelson’s 90th year on the planet and 61st year of his career to induct him.
Nelson, whose career began in 1962 when he signed his first major recording contract with Liberty Records, is certainly one of the truly iconic musicians and songwriters of his generation. He’s had several recordings that have crossed over from country to mainstream since that first recording deal, yet, since 1986, he’s been waiting for the call to, as long-time “Price Is Right” host Bob Barker would say, “Come on down!”
If you’re thinking that Nelson was skipped over so many years because he was too country, then how would you explain the induction of several others whose roots are buried as deeply in country’s soil as his? After all, in the very first year Jimmie Rodgers was inducted. Then it was Hank Williams, Senior, in 1987; Johnny Cash in 1992; Bill Monroe in 1997; and Dolly Parton in 2022.
When I heard about Willie’s selection, I recalled the reaction of Paul McCartney’s daughter Stella back in 1999. You see, despite the Beatles’ induction in 1988 (and please explain to me how the most influential group of their time wasn’t in the very first class), Sir Paul, as important a solo artist and songwriter as you’re likely to find, had to wait 13 years for his solo nod. That prompted Stella, a noted fashion designer, to wear a white tank top to the induction ceremony with the words, “About [expletive deleted but it’s the big one] Time.” I’m wondering if any of Willie’s six living children are considering wearing anything with a similar sentiment.
Of course, it’s impossible for me to think of Nelson, a favorite of mine for many years, without thinking of his benefit concert at our fairgrounds back in 1982 during Lima’s troubling recessive times. Nelson had heard of Lima’s rising unemployment, foreclosures and other economic hardships from an article in the Wall Street Journal and felt it would boost morale in our town if he came and performed a free concert.
It was on July 30 some 41 years ago that Willie came. I remember 30,000 free tickets were made available, and, of course, I got mine, and, my, was it ever a special Friday night back in ’82. Nelson performed all his hits and even brought his outlaw-country bestie, Waylon Jennings, out on stage to help him with “Goodhearted Woman.”
That evening, I recall, the influx of people who arrived without tickets was so great that everyone was let in, swelling the appreciative crowd far beyond the expected 30,000.
So, despite a much greater affinity to sports, I’m thinking like a lot of other people who remember being in that fairground’s sea of humanity back in ’82, I’ll be thinking about Willie on Nov. 3 during his induction in Brooklyn’s Barclay Center.
It’s long overdue, Willie, and thank you for what you did for Lima during our hard times four-plus decades ago.
John Grindrod is a regular columnist for The Lima News, a freelance writer and editor and the author of two books. Reach him at [email protected].
