MERIDIAN — September again. That means football season starts, summer ends, and rock and roll fans look forward to a new crop of nominees to be announced for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio.

    Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Things considered for induction are "the influence and significance of the artists' contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll."

    Sounds simple enough. There are committees involved, however.

    Out of 26 induction ceremonies there have been 279 total inductees in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, represented by 681 different people.

    Some of those people have been inducted multiple times, like Eric Clapton, a three-time inductee (as a member of The Yardbirds, as a member of Cream, and for his solo career). John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison are all two-timers because of The Beatles and their solo careers. It's the same with Michael Jackson (Jackson 5 and solo); Paul Simon (with Garfunkel and without); Jimmy Page (Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin).

    With the induction of The Faces (aka The Small Faces) this year, Ron Wood and Rod Stewart both became two-timers. Ron had previously been inducted with The Rolling Stones and Rod was inducted in 1994 as a solo artist.

    I think I know something about rock and roll. I grew up with it pretty much, not because I was around when rock and roll started, but because my parents were. Their old records were my introduction to music — Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Fats Domino, Bo Diddley, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley — you know, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's first inductees.

    But September makes me question my taste in music. Every year I glance over my own collection and wonder why some of those artists, long eligible for induction, are not in the hall of fame: Dire Straits; Doobie Brothers; Gram Parsons; Electric Light Orchestra; Journey; Stevie Ray Vaughn; Steve Miller Band; Rush; Steppenwolf; and particularly Lou Reed and Warren Zevon.

    Lou Reed was inducted into the hall of fame with The Velvet Underground previously, but he deserves to be a two-timer.

    Warren Zevon, who died in September 2003, tops my personal list of non-inductees who should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

    As his old friend and drummer, Eddie Ponder said of Warren: "His tormented soul was like a deeper expression of what was going on than anybody else was even thinking about, let alone writing about."

    Sadly, Warren was kind of used to being overlooked and underrated during his career. But when he learned he was dying of Mesothelioma, and knew there was no way out, he went right to work to create one more great album.

    "I better die quick so they'll give me a Grammy nomination," Warren Zevon said. "It's a dammed hard way to make a living, having to die to get 'em to know you're alive."

    He lived long enough to see his last album released and his first grandchild born, but he died before his Grammy nominations were announced. He was awarded two Grammys in 2004: Best Contemporary Folk Album; and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group for the song "Disorder in the House" with Bruce Springsteen.

    Today is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's birthday. It officially opened to the public on Sept. 2, 1995. I hope it gets around to acknowledging Warren Zevon's genius in my lifetime. The work he left behind includes some of the funniest, saddest, most beautiful and brutally honest music on the planet. That doesn't even include "Werewolves of London," the song he's most associated with. That was just blowing off steam. It was written in 15 minutes with a couple of friends. If his wife at the time, Crystal, hadn't written it down right then, it would have never existed. That was Warren just fooling around.



    Steve Gillespie is managing editor of The Meridian Star. E-mail him at sgillespie@themeridianstar.com.