Now that we mention it, since their commercial peaks occurred at roughly the same time, why hasn't Debbie Gibson landed on any RRHOF ballots? Need we remind you that, unlike Jackson, Gibson actually wrote, performed and produced her own material. Seems like something the Rock Hall might want to showcase...talent.
Speaking of talent, for every Janet Jackson that makes it into the Hall, we need to add a country artist.
All in favor say "Fuck yeah!"
And who better to add a little country swagger to the Rock Hall than Dwight Yoakam, himself?
In all seriousness, it is impossible fathom that the man hasn't yet been nominated, considering all that he's done for tweaking country just enough to appeal to those of us repulsed by what country had become before he arrived.
By then, quite frankly, this music lover who'd been soaking up all the "devil-may-care" antics of country music's outlaw acts (Waylon, Willie, Merle, Hank 2, D.A.C., et al.) was now dying for someone to come along whose sound actually lived up to the rebel lifestyle whilst Willie, Waylon and the others continued making some the sappiest assembly-line country records of the decade this side of Jim Nabors.
Unlike those acts, Yoakam never had to claim to be an outlaw. The music did the talking and, geographically speaking, he was a complete outsider in Nashville, which made his immediate success all the more of a gut punch to the major label country establishment.
This, combined with the slow-build popularity of Jason & The Scorchers (EMI), followed by the out-of-the-box success of Georgia Satellites' "Keep Your Hands To Yourself" (Elektra) had the country music industry taking a good hard look at what they'd allowed themselves to become and suddenly went on the look-out for the next rock-infused country act destined for greatness.
That proved easier said than done and, while there were some great country records made during that time, few acts got the attention they deserved, leaving only that first wave to ride out the wave that they'd created in the first place.
This, combined with the slow-build popularity of Jason & The Scorchers (EMI), followed by the out-of-the-box success of Georgia Satellites' "Keep Your Hands To Yourself" (Elektra) had the country music industry taking a good hard look at what they'd allowed themselves to become and suddenly went on the look-out for the next rock-infused country act destined for greatness.
That proved easier said than done and, while there were some great country records made during that time, few acts got the attention they deserved, leaving only that first wave to ride out the wave that they'd created in the first place.
Yoakam wasn't alone, of course, as Steve Earle and Lyle Lovett were also perennial outsiders who suddenly found themselves the talk of not only the country music industry, but of the mainstream entertainment press, as well.
The truth of the matter is that we all want to like country music, but the industry seems to go out of its way to make it as difficult as possible. One need only look at today's top country artists to see that everything has come full circle an that we're once again besieged by pretend outlaws for the fellas down at the plant and sugar-coated country stories for the office gals who like that sort of thing.
In the 30+ years since he arrived on the scene, Yoakam has never even dabbled in that sort of nonsense and, as a result, he has remained a stark contrast to anything the industry has thrown at the proverbial wall and, quite frankly, we are all the better for it.