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CNN Live At Daybreak

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inducts Punk, Soul Figures

Aired March 19, 2002 - 06:34   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Punk pioneers, new wavers and soul sensations are some of the latest members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Hall's 17th annual induction ceremony took place last night, and here this morning to discuss the new inductees, deejay Tracy St. George of Atlanta's Q100 pop radio station -- thanks for coming back, Tracy.

TRACY ST. GEORGE, Q100 DISC JOCKEY: You are welcome! You are welcome.

COSTELLO: Should we just run down the inductees first off?

ST. GEORGE: OK. Sure, that would be good.

COSTELLO: OK. First off we have the Talking Heads, the Ramones, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Isaac Hayes, Brenda Lee, Gene Pitney, which a lot of people probably don't know, but we'll get to that...

ST. GEORGE: OK.

COSTELLO: ... Chet Atkins and Jim Stewart of Stax Records.

ST. GEORGE: Yes.

COSTELLO: Any controversial choice here this year?

ST. GEORGE: I don't think -- some people are saying the Talking Heads, but I think they are -- they are almost groundbreaking. I mean, I think their sound was really -- was different, but it was -- it was good for the times. It was -- you know what I am trying to say.

COSTELLO: Yes, but the strange to me is David Burn...

ST. GEORGE: Right.

COSTELLO: ... the lead singer of the Talking Heads. He kind of paid homage to the Ramones, who also made it.

ST. GEORGE: Right.

COSTELLO: So you kind of get the sense that maybe the Talking Heads stole some of their style from the Ramones and should they really be inducted? ST. GEORGE: Well, I think so. Actually, the three guys, they met in Rhode Island at a school -- a design school, and then a year later after they put the band together, they were actually opening up for the Ramones. So I think they definitely did get a lot of their things -- their style from the Ramones.

COSTELLO: And David Burn had that cool jacket.

ST. GEORGE: Yes! Ever wonder what happened to that?

COSTELLO: Yes.

ST. GEORGE: He actually had it in his basement in a box, and now it's in some rock and roll exhibition.

COSTELLO: So it's going to be sent to Cleveland maybe?

ST. GEORGE: I don't think it's in Cleveland. I think it's just in some rock and roll exhibition.

COSTELLO: OK. Before we get on, I just always wondered how these people are chosen to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Who does that?

ST. GEORGE: That is actually by a big, big-to-do actually. We've got -- they have to be around for 25 years after their first album was released. So you already have to be around for a long time. Then the nominees are selected by a group of rock and roll historians, and the inductees are chosen. Then those inductees are chosen by a rock panel of people that we don't know. They are secret people -- 1,000 people choosing and narrowing down the list.

COSTELLO: It's secret people.

ST. GEORGE: You're a secret.

COSTELLO: OK. Well, there's not much controversy about the Ramones. What a great group.

ST. GEORGE: They are great. And you know, the whole time -- until I did my research yesterday, I thought they were brothers. They were -- there are just four guys who took the same name, took the same look and made a cool band.

COSTELLO: And they were really responsible for the punk scene.

ST. GEORGE: Right. Exactly.

COSTELLO: And they never really made much money during their career either.

ST. GEORGE: They didn't, and they never even had a hit on the radio, which is surprising, but you always hear, "Hey Ho Let's Go" before every New York Yankees game. So we, of course, know that, and "Rock and Roll High School" that awesome movie.

COSTELLO: And Joey Ramone unfortunately just died.

ST. GEORGE: Yes. Last year of lymphoma.

COSTELLO: Oh. He didn't get to be around for this.

ST. GEORGE: I know.

COSTELLO: A lot of people around CNN really like the idea that Isaac Hayes made the list.

ST. GEORGE: Yes, he is great. He has been around forever too. He started as a side man in R&B groups backing such artists as Otis Redding, before going solo, and of course, he is best known for "Shaft."

COSTELLO: Oh, yes.

ST. GEORGE: How can you not love that song?

COSTELLO: I know. I hope we can play that again. You know, the thing that always bothers me about this -- about the inductee ceremony is you can't see it until later, because VH1 has the exclusive rights. And I think that takes some of the excitement out of it.

ST. GEORGE: It kind of does, but we can always look forward to at the very end of the show, they have a big jam session, where all of the inductees that are, you know, inducted, they come on stage and they do a jam session, play a little bit of their songs, so that's very exciting.

COSTELLO: Yes. I was surfing the Web, which you know, I love to do. And a lot of heavy metal lovers out there complained that not enough heavy metals groups have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. Would you agree with that?

ST. GEORGE: I don't think so. I think, you know, it goes a little bit different every year. This time they seem to be going with a little bit of the more punk scene. Maybe next year they'll go for, you know, a different scene. Actually next year -- or the people that didn't make it this year, didn't make the cut, Sex Pistols.

COSTELLO: Yes.

ST. GEORGE: That's rock and roll. We've got Jackson Brown. ACDC was actually -- was nominated but didn't make the cut, and Black Sabbath.

COSTELLO: Is Alice Cooper in there?

ST. GEORGE: Alice Cooper, you know, I don't know if he is or not.

COSTELLO: I'm going to have to check that.

ST. GEORGE: I love Alice Cooper. He is cool.

COSTELLO: Oh, me too. Hey, let's play that "Shaft" thing, because we just want to hear it.

(SHAFT SONG BEING PLAYED)

COSTELLO: It does, and it is so cool. Gene Pitney, who is that?

Gene Pitney, let's see, who is Gene Pitney? Gene is one of the definitely the golden voices of the early '60s rock and roll. He was one of the first guys to combine country and rock and roll music, so that's where he kind of got that rockabilly sound. He also wrote a lot of songs, "Hello, Mary Lou" for Ricky Nelson. He is a rebel for the Crystals and that oh so favorite of mine, "Rubber Ball" for Bobby Vee, one of the worst songs I think every written. Don't tell Gene I said that.

COSTELLO: We won't. Now, did you get to watch the whole ceremony, because they had this big jam session at the end, and that's usually the best thing.

ST. GEORGE: I didn't get to watch it, because obviously it's not on until...

COSTELLO: VH1.

ST. GEORGE: Yeah, VH1, so I'm going to be watching it along with everybody else on Wednesday night.

COSTELLO: Yes, but you've had a note from me in here, "Be sure to watch the show until the end." Maybe I...

(CROSSTALK)

ST. GEORGE: That was for -- yes, that was for everybody. That was for the world to know that the jam session is definitely the best part of the show.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes. I just can't believe how old David Burn looked. I think he should dye his hair.

ST. GEORGE: Oh, my gosh, I didn't know it was -- oh, wow! Last time I saw him, he had the big suit on and black hair. That was the last time I saw him. He actually quit the band in '91, so they have been defunct for a long time.

COSTELLO: Yes, but it's nice to see them together again. Tracy St. George, thank you so much for joining us again this morning.

ST. GEORGE: Thank you.

COSTELLO: And we'll have you back often, often, often.

ST. GEORGE: I hope so. Thank you.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes.

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