Welcome to Michigan's Online Hall of Fame!
Welcome to the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Website - a tribute to the artists and songs of Michigan's vinyl era. The 2015 vote opened on January 1, 2015, and will close on midnight June 1, 2015. Interested parties can vote for 5 different artists for the MRRL Hall of Fame and 10 different recordings to be designated Legendary Michigan Songs. Vote for both categories on the sidebar to the left.
Michigan's online Hall of Fame. A total of 78 artists and individuals have been inducted into MRRL during the past ten 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.
Honored: MRRL was designated "A Cool Michigan Website" by the Detroit Free Press in 2013. http://archive.freep.com/article/20131006/NEWS06/310060017/Cool-website-Michigan-Rock-and-Roll-Legends-Hall-of-Fame
Visit Michigan Rock and Roll Legends on Facebook featuring Michigan Rock and Roll events, Voting Updates, Videos, and up-to-the minute Rock and Roll News!
Watch videos of the 90 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!
MARV JOHNSON
Marv Johnson
In a perfect world a Detroit native who recorded the first Tamla single and whose hits helped establish the Motown Record Corporation would not be left out of the label’s illustrious history. Al Abrams, Motown’s former director of advertising and public relations, states it best; “The main thing to me is that Marv Johnson is an unsung hero of Motown. It’s criminal that he’s not mentioned or acknowledged in Berry’s play (Motown The Musical). There’s no mention of Marv, of “Come To Me”, or United Artists. Come on, there wouldn’t have been a Motown without Marv Johnson!”
Bay City's Madonna Tour
Bay City is a great place to grow up and live. It is relatively quiet and safe and provides numerous recreational activities. There are a respectable number of good restaurants and bars in town, although there is a noticeable lack of live music options. Unlike many Michigan cities, the downtown area of Bay City seems pretty healthy. Sports have always played an important role in the city and there are ample opportunities for citizens from children to adults to participate in a wide variety of athletic activities. The Rail Trail and Riverwalk are stellar additions to the community that encourage a healthier lifestyle. Despite the lack of support from the current governor and his cohorts in Lansing, the public school system is in decent shape and the town has both a junior college and university nearby to provide higher education at a fairly reasonable price.
The big economic news is that Uptown at River's Edge project has finally gotten off the ground. The former 43-acre industrial site along Bay City's riverfront is now the home of Dow Corning and will soon include McLaren Bay Region, Chemical Bank, a new hotel, and a number of new restaurants and shops. It's hoped that 500 new jobs will be created, and in the words of current Mayor Chris Shannon: "It's not just the jobs; it's the intangible...that, after decades of economic decline and jobs loss, this brings a level of confidence that investment in Bay City has returned." So where does Madonna fit into all of this?
ARP - The Inside Story
American Record Pressing in Owosso, Michigan, was one of the state’s most important record producing plants during most of rock and roll’s first two decades. ARP’s legend is large. Besides pressing records for an array of major labels in the United States, the company also pressed the first Motown 45s, the first single by The Beatles to be released in America, as well as many of the records released by Michigan teen bands in the 60’s on a wide variety of small independent labels. Despite its interesting history, the story of the ARP’s ownership, its daily operation, and the mystery surrounding its untimely demise by a fire in 1972 have largely gone unreported.