The History Of The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame (cont.)
Through the years, the board has grown to include about 60 top industry veterans, including Bruce Springsteen manager Jon Landau, former Elektra chief Bob Krasnow, BMG North America chairman/CEO Clive Davis, MTV Networks chairman/CEO Tom Freston, ASCAP chairman/president Marilyn Bergman, BMI president/CEO Frances Preston, Island Def Jam Music Group chairman Antonio "L.A." Reid, Sony Music Entertainment chairman/CEO Andrew Lack, Infinity Broadcasting chairman/CEO John Sykes, Universal Music Group chairman/CEO Doug Morris and others.
Grubman -- a senior partner in the law firm Grubman, Indursky & Schindler -- remembers vividly, "One of the first meetings we had was at a Chinese restaurant called Pearl's [in New York], and we've reminisced about that many times over the years."
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation eventually bought the rights to the Hall of Fame name. And the board immediately decided against a TV broadcast of the induction ceremonies.
In starting the foundation and establishing its criteria for induction, the board faced two main challenges, Evans says.
"It was very important that the honor be considered prestigious," she says. "In order to do that, we had to get a top-notch board in place who had the passion, love and time to make this into a credible organization.
"The second challenge was to create by-laws and rules which would stand the test of time yet be flexible to change with time. The rules of nomination and election had to work and be credible."
The inaugural Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction dinner took place in 1986 at the Waldorf Astoria in New York, which has been, for the most part, the longtime home of the event.
The first class of performing inductees is a roster of rock'n'roll's founding pioneers: Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley and Little Richard. Also inducted that year were Alan Freed, Sam Phillips, Robert Johnson, Jimmie Rodgers, Jimmy Yancey and John Hammond.
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