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Well, we’ve come to the last 24 hours or so of voting in the 2023 Rock And Roll Hall of Fame “fan vote,” and I thought I’d start expanding my territory, so to speak, into talking more often about things other than politics, by taking a look at this year’s Rock Hall vote – in part because it’s a pretty fascinating class and the decision-making was definitely not easy.
As a matter of personal taste, Kate Bush never really resonated with me and I was only barely aware of her when she was truly contemporary. I’ve since become more aware of and familiar with her influence and work, and of course the recent resurgence in her popularity after her 80’s hit “Running Up That Hill” was used in the popular Netflix series Stranger Things in 2022.
As a matter of objective musical merit as best as such a thing can be determined, I think there’d be a strong argument for her nomination in a weaker field. I suspect the bump in her Q rating that came from the recent exposure in “Stranger Things” may well put her over the top for the nomination in the end, and if so I won’t be very mad about it.
Her work with synthesizers and heavy reliance on multimedia elements in her stage shows long before the word “multimedia” was coined, combined with her uncompromising commitment to maintaining control of her music, unquestionably make her a worthy nominee.
That her work was far more popular and recognized in her native Britain isn’t really relevant; her influence is undeniable as is the respect she’s earned from her peers. Without her you’re missing a big piece of everyone from Enya to Tori Amos to her fellow 2024 Fan Vote contender Cyndi Lauper, to say nothing of male acts like Spandau Ballet and more modern successors such as Lady Gaga. All of these and thousands more – Bjork, the B-52s, on and on – owe Kate Bush some part of their careers large or small. In terms of her “place” in music in terms of history and style, I’d say she’s probably the critical bridge between Yoko Ono and latter-day descendants like Bjork, along with the B52s.
To cap it all off, she holds the one key requirement I think is most critical for defining who we really see as our heroes and laureates: she’s always been herself, unapologetically, come what may, and there’s never been anything rock and roll was more about except maybe sex. (Don’t give me that look, the phrase literally started its life as a euphemism for sex.)
While she didn’t make my vote choices I think she’s a worthy contender. Enjoy her first single, Wuthering Heights.