Carole King’s “Tapestry,” released in 1971, jumped to number 11 this morning on iTunes and 43 on Amazon.
The boost came from last night’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction special on HBO, which was very well produced overall despite being too long and in some instances, quite strange.
The special showcased King right at the top of the three hours and twenty minutes. So “Tapestry” got the most effect of the evening. The video piece about Carole, and Jennifer Hudson’s electric performance of “Natural Woman,” did the trick. So did Carole’s own performance. Taylor Swift also sang for Carole, although she was flat and it was neatly covered up.
The Carole King segment set the tone for the evening, which was smoothly executed despite the Hall of Fame’s inherent weirdness. They inducted LL Cool J and Jay Z, neither of which made any sense. But their speeches were terrific. The Jay Z bio video was interminable, however, as was LL Cool J’s music segment. The appearance of Jennifer Lopez, clearly augmented in the vocals (she cannot sing) was torturous.
Tributes to inducted performers who were dead and also Black were a little embarrassing. Although Ringo Starr’s video piece on Billy Preston was welcome, Paul McCartney could have said something about Billy, the Fifth Beatle, especially when he sang “Get Back” at the end of the show with Foo Fighters. Also, McCartney asserted that the Beatles, like Nirvana, ended because of a tragedy. Huh? Kurt Cobain died. No one died when the Beatles broke up. I didn’t quite get that.
Tina Turner obviously couldn’t travel from Switzerland, but her video acceptance was great to see. I love Tina, but this idea that she’s the only Black woman ever who triumphed in these arenas is misguided. Aretha Franklin had just as much adversity and scaled higher heights. Gladys Knight is out there still working, with a monumental and underrated talent. Diana Ross probably threw something at her TV when she watched all this. Ditto Patti Labelle, Dionne Warwick and many others.
The best segment, unexpectedly, was about Kraftwerk. The piece actually delineated how the avant garde German EDM group influenced disco and post-punk New Wave 80s dance music. I actually felt like I learned something during those few minutes.
Overall, the Rock Hall induction show was the best it’s been in years. And a lot of artists who’d been ignored or forgotten were finally included. Mission accomplished. Next year I’d like to see Sting as a solo artist, Carly Simon, J Geils Band, Chubby Checker, among others join the club. And to Todd Rundgren: you made a mistake not going. Couldn’t I just tell you? You should have seen the light.
