Welcome to Michigan's Internet Hall of Fame!
Welcome to the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Website. The site is a totally independent and proudly non-commerical tribute to the artists and songs of Michigan's vinyl era.
The 2017 vote for the MRRL Hall of Fame and Legendary Michigan Songs closed on midnight June 1st. The voting for both the 2018 MRRL Hall of Fame inductees and Legendary Michigan Songs opens on January 1, 2018 and will close at midnight on June 1, 2018.
Induction certificates are now available for all past MRRL Hall of Fame inductees. Contact Dr. J via email for information.
Check out the list of 2018 Hall of Fame nominees before voting by clicking below: http://www.michiganrockandrolllegends.com/mi-rock-a-roll-hall-of-fame/116-2014-michigan-artists-and-songs-ballot Check out the nominated recordings for 2018's Legendary Michigan Songs before voting by clicking here: http://www.michiganrockandrolllegends.com/mi-rock-a-roll-hall-of-fame/132-2014-legendary-michigan-songs-nominees
Michigan's Internet Hall of Fame. A total of 97 artists and individuals have been inducted into the MRRL Hall of Fame during the past twelve years. Read their biographies along with recommended recordings, books, the best Internet sites, and watch youtube videos for each inductee. Click on "MRRL Hall of Fame" at the top of the page to view the Inductees. The 2017 inductees are Edwin Starr, the Spinners, the Excels, the Galaxies, the White Lines, and the Sunday Funnies.
Alina Simone's latest book, 2016's Madonnaland, details MRRL's efforts on behalf of Madonna and ? and The Mysterians. Read the review in PopMatters by clicking below: http://www.popmatters.com/review/madonnaland-by-alina-simone/
Madonnaland was selected as one of Rolling Stone magazine's Ten Best Music Books of 2016. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/10-best-music-books-of-2016-w456438
Dr. J's Blog. Click here for in-depth articles about Michigan's Rock and Roll history. http://www.michiganrockandrolllegends.com/dr-js-blog
"Spin Guys" Video: Gary (Dr. J) Johnson discusses his love of vinyl albums in this short video produced by the Bay City Times. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDQfvx6HVyw&feature=youtu.be
Visit Michigan Rock and Roll Legends on Facebook featuring Michigan Rock and Roll events, Voting Upda
tes, Videos, and up-to-the minute Rock and Roll News!
Motown Black & White: The MRRL Internet Hall of Fame is proud to announce that it is now a permanent interactive component of the Al Abrams' collection and exhibit on the Motown music empire. The MRRL kiosk was unveiled at the red carpet event at the Detroit Historical Museum on April 21, 2016.
Watch videos of the 120 outstanding recordings voted Legendary Michigan Songs. "Kick Out The Jams", "Night Moves", "Runaway", "My Girl", "School's Out", "96 Tears", "Respect", "Hanky Panky" and much more! The 2017 Legendary Michigan songs are: "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)", "Like A Virgin", "All Along The Watchtower", "The Wind", "You Haven't Seen My Love", "Work With Me, Annie", "Fever", "The One Who Really Loves You", "Come To Me", and "Cool Jerk".
Big Man's Bash 2018
Clarence Clemons may be gone, but he is certainly not forgotten. The Big Man, who passed away on June 18, 2011, at the age of 69, was the most significant member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. This was made abundantly clear in Springsteen’s book, Born To Run, where an entire chapter was devoted to Clemons. Their friendship is also celebrated during each performance of Springsteen on Broadway when a nightly cheer for Clemons rocks the rafters at the Walter Kerr Theatre as Springsteen talks about his late bandmate and performs an acoustic version of “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out”, the song that immortalized the Big Man’s importance to the E Street Band.
Mystery of the Flying Wedge
Alina Simone’s Madonnaland, was selected by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the Top Ten Music Books of 2016. It was also the very best Michigan rock and roll book of that year as it examined fame and its aftermath through the stories of its three main subjects: Madonna the most successful female recording artist in history; Question Mark and the Mysterians, a Mexican-American band known around the world for their # 1 hit “96 Tears”; and the Flying Wedge, a here-to-fore unknown band, that recorded one of the Michigan’s most mysterious and collectible 45s in 1972.
Simone’s account of the reluctance of Madonna’s hometown, Bay City, Michigan, to appropriately recognize one of the world’s most famous women and the reasons behind it is fascinating. The same goes for the city’s continued acceptance of a little-known song with racially insensitive lyrics as its official anthem rather than the chart-topping hit that was both written and recorded in Bay City in 1966. But according to the reviewer in the New York Times, the highlight of Madonnaland was the final chapter which documented the author’s doggedness in pursuing the unusual story of one of Michigan rock and roll’s most curious recordings. Because of her persistence and ability to track down leads, Simone was finally able to get a handle on the four-decade-long mystery of the Flying Wedge; and her detective work would help lead to the rerelease of the band's rare single in 2017.
"5,000 Ways" Revisits Detroit's Glory Days
Although I confess that I wasn’t born in Detroit and I haven’t read many books about the city, I find it hard to believe that there could be a more beautiful and interesting publication on the market than 5,000 Ways You Know You’re From Detroit by Chris Edwards and Elaine Weeks. Subtitled Recollections & Images From The Baby Boomer Years, the 480-page coffee table book focuses on a 50-year period from roughly 1930 to 1980 when Detroit was thriving as one of the nation’s most important cities.