Rock Hall could use some Flash

NEW YORK —  There was a lot of talk at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction dinner here this week about recent anniversaries, from the 50th anniversary of the birth of rock to the 20th anniversary of the induction dinners themselves.

But one anniversary was ignored, leaving the Hall of Fame looking shortsighted (at best) and clueless (at worst) in a program that had some otherwise glorious moments, highlighted by Bruce Springsteen’s moving induction speech for U2.

It was 25 years ago that the pop world met Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, the Bronx rap group whose landmark 1982 single, “The Message,” is considered by many to be as important to hip-hop as Bob Dylan going electric was to rock.

With its provocative chorus of “It’s a jungle out there sometimes / It makes me wonder how I keep from goin’ under,” the record was a penetrating look at the tension and despair of ghetto life. Overnight, it transformed rap from simply energetic party music to an art form that would go on to become the dominant sound of young America.

“The Message” was the main reason Grandmaster Flash was nominated for induction into the Rock Hall of Fame. But the group didn’t get enough votes in the balloting among the 1,000 record company executives, musicians and critics.

That left a void in Monday’s nearly four-hour ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria, and it should serve as a wake-up call.

“I’m shocked they weren’t inducted,” Public Enemy’s Chuck D said in an interview on the eve of the dinner. “There’s no way to overstate the importance of Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. There were things Flash did with music and recordings, in terms of turntables and technology, that I thought were inconceivable until he actually did them.”

What’s especially ironic about the failure to induct Grandmaster Flash is that the Hall of Fame needs desperately to embrace hip-hop to maintain its credibility and standards through the rest of this decade.

There is far more great hip-hop talent becoming eligible for induction over that period than there are great rock acts, unless someone thinks all those ‘80s MTV video acts, such as Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and Wham!, live up to standards. Not until the end of that decade, when Nirvana and Nine Inch Nails led a new infusion of energy into rock, did the genre regain a relevance to rival hip-hop.

Among the rap acts who should be inducted during their first year of eligibility: Public Enemy, Run-DMC, N.W.A, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and LL Cool J.

Run-DMC is a cinch because the trio from Queens was the first consistent hit maker in rap and its music, such as “Rock Box” and a remake of Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way,” frequently reflected strong rock ‘n’ roll ties.

But they don’t become eligible until 2008 under Hall of Fame rules that say acts aren’t eligible until 25 years after their first recording -- and it would be a serious error for the hall to wait that long to embrace hip-hop.

Joseph Simmons (Run of Run-DMC) agrees.

“I thought it was a done deal about Flash getting in,” Simmons said in an interview last week. “Maybe there are just some slow-moving people over there” at the Hall of Fame.

Because rock fans were slow in the ‘80s to embrace hip-hop, some may still not think of the music in the rock tradition.

But rock has been the strongest over the years when it has been the most inclusive, and the Hall of Fame has recognized this by inducting the best from all of contemporary pop music: soul (Aretha Franklin), blues (Muddy Waters), country (Johnny Cash), reggae (Bob Marley).

Rock’s link to those various strains was spotlighted during Monday’s dinner as Rod Stewart warmly inducted R&B; singer Percy Sledge; B.B. King and Eric Clapton teamed up to induct blues guitarist Buddy Guy; and Justin Timberlake praised the R&B; vocal group the O’Jays.

But the most touching moments came during the inductions of the Pretenders and U2.

Unlike U2, whose members have been together since high school in Dublin, the Pretenders have gone through numerous personnel changes since being formed in London in the late 1970s. Two members, guitarist James Honeyman-Scott and bassist Pete Farndon, died of drug-related causes two decades ago.

That left just lead singer Chrissie Hynde and drummer Martin Chambers to walk on stage after Neil Young’s induction address, the former mates clearly on Hynde’s mind. The Pretenders, she said, have really been a tribute band for the last 20 years. “We’re paying tribute to James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon, without whom we would not have been here.”

It was after midnight when Springsteen stepped to the podium to induct U2 amid enormous expectations because his induction speeches over the years (for Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan and Jackson Browne) have been as eloquent and entertaining as his songs.

“Uno, dos, tres, catorce,” he said playfully, reciting the Spanish intro to U2’s “Vertigo” single. “The translation is ‘One, two, three, 14.’ That is the correct math for rock ‘n’ roll. The whole had better equal a lot more than the sum of its parts, or else you’re just rubbing sticks together.”

The heart of Springsteen’s remarks, however, expressed admiration for how U2 has stayed together and works so well as a team. “Bands get formed by accident, but they don’t survive by accident. It takes will, intent, a sense of shared purpose and a tolerance for your friends’ fallibilities and they of yours.”

The remarks were all the more emotional because Springsteen broke off from the E Street Band for a while before realizing how much the members meant to him and bringing them back together on stage.

In his turn at the microphone, U2’s Bono, whose induction speeches (Bob Marley, the Who) have matched Springsteen’s in grace and humor, spent most of his time on the same theme of partnership, going from guitarist the Edge to drummer Larry Mullen Jr. to bassist Adam Clayton, telling in detail how essential they are to the band.

Springsteen then teamed up with U2 in a stirring rendition of one of the band’s most captivating anthems, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”

The Springsteen-U2 segment ran nearly 30 minutes, and hopefully VH1’s highlights show (9 p.m. Saturday) will find room for most of it.

With luck, next year’s highlights show will bring us into the hip-hop world. The only question about Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five: Should Springsteen or Bono induct them?

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Robert Hilburn, pop music critic of The Times, can be reached at robert.hilburn @latimes.com