Jim Dyson/Getty Images; Chiaki Nozu/WireImage; Scott Gries/Getty ImagesWhen you think rock 'n' roll, you think Neil Diamond. Um, right?
If so, you have a lot in common with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame voters, who today announced their class of 2011 inductees, in which the adult contempo superstar was deemed much more rocking than his actual rock counterparts.
So better luck next year, Bon Jovi and the Beastie Boys. Just as long as another powerhouse of rock (Barry Manilow? Neil Sedaka?) isn't up for the same slot, you're golden.
But who else made the cutting-edge cut?
We'll get to that. But first, a word from the Cracklin' Rose himself.
"I think it's great," he wrote on his website this morning. "I'm happy that they recognized me and my work. Any club that has Chuck Berry and Little Richard and The Everly Brothers is a club that I want to be a part of."
In addition to Diamond (who in fairness is a bona fide hitmaking industry and at least has more true rock credentials than 2008 inductee Madonna), the Rock Hall included less eyebrow-raising selections for its new crop of inductees.
Singer-songwriter and sometime beat poet and actor Tom Waits—the only performer, incidentally, who was not a first-time nominee—will be included among the honorees next spring, as will Alice Cooper, Dr. John, Darlene Love, Jac Holzman, Art Rupe and Leon Russell.
So what about the snubs? Well, in addition to the Beastie Boys and Bon Jovi, who were among the nominees announced two months ago, LL Cool J, Donna Summer, Chic and the J. Geils Band were thanked for playing, but asked to try again.
Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first single or album. This, the 26th class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, will be inducted on March 14.