Marvin, Diana, Jackson 5, Aretha, Earth Wind & Fire are all being inducted.



Michael Jackson is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame, the National Museum of Dance Hall of Fame, the UK Music Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame and the Grammy Hall of Fame.

Jackson’s heirs can now add another hall of fame to the late singer’s list of honors – he was the biggest vote-getter among this year’s inductees to America’s Pop Music Hall of Fame, which is based in Washington County. The newest batch of inductees was announced late last week.

In fact, Jackson is getting in twice, as both a solo artist and as a member of the Jackson Five, the group he was in with his brothers Marlon, Jermaine, Jackie and Tito.

The Jackson Five has been nominated previously to America’s Pop Music Hall of Fame, but in online voting by the public, the group “rode in on Michael Jackson’s coattails evidently,” according to Terry Hazlett’s, the pop hall’s executive director and the former borough manager of Canonsburg.

America’s Pop Music Hall of Fame is designed to honor the biggest hitmakers to have ever reached the Billboard singles chart. It also honors artists that don’t fit neatly into any of the other leading halls of fame, like the country, rock or jazz halls of fame. All told, 71 artists have now been inducted into America’s Pop Music Hall of Fame, from shoo-ins like the Beatles, Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley, to Barbra Streisand, the Monkees, Glen Campbell and Canonsburg natives Bobby Vinton and Perry Como.

Along with Jackson and the Jackson Five, this year’s inductees are:

• ABBA, the Swedish vocal group who put 20 hits on the American charts from 1974 to 1982.

• The Dave Clark Five, who were part of the 1960s British Invasion and had hits with songs like “Because” and “Bits and Pieces.”

• Earth, Wind & Fire,” who produced disco-era hits like “Shining Star” and “Sing a Song.”

• Aretha Franklin, the “Queen of Soul” who has charted more than 70 discs and had a No. 1 hit with “Respect.”

• Marvin Gaye, the Motown great who brought the world “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “What’s Going On” and “Let’s Get it On.”

• Billy Joel, the enduring singer and songwriter who had hits in the 1970s and 1980s with “Just the Way You Are” and “Piano Man,” among many others.

• Diana Ross, who is already in America’s Pop Music Hall of Fame as a member of the Supremes, also had solo hits in the 1970s and 1980s, like “Endless Love” and “Upside Down.”

• Rod Stewart, who has enjoyed late-career success with a series of standards albums.

Five “legacy” acts chosen by the pop hall’s nominating board are also being inducted. They are Pat Boone, Fats Domino, Connie Francis, the Drifters and Bobby Vee.

Plans are still in the works to create a permanent home for America’s Pop Music Hall of Fame, with a spot near the Meadows Racetrack & Casino in North Strabane Township remaining a favored location. Hazlett said he had received inquiries from officials in Branson, Mo., Florida and Las Vegas, but “our intent all along is to keep it in Washington County.” A home for the pop music hall would feature memorabilia, in keeping with most other halls of fame, but also performing spaces for live music.



http://www.observer-reporter.com/201...hall_inductees