Sun 5/29 @ 10AM-5PM
Every year people argue about who should or shouldn’t have been inducted into the Rock Hall.
German proto-electronic quartet Kraftwerk certainly should be in, as they laid the groundwork for the entire electronic music movement of the last 30 years. Their paradigm-shifting music broke through on the charts around the world (Autobahn was an FM staple in Cleveland), and they literally influenced millions of musicians in multiple genres.
For example, their music formed the basis for early breakthrough hip-hop tunes in the early 1980’s and they continue to be sampled to this day:
Afrika Bambaataa & Soulsonic Force, “Planet Rock” (1982)
Samples Kraftwerk’s: “Trans-Europe Express” and “Numbers”
The Fearless Four, “Rockin’ It” (1983)
Samples Kraftwerk’s: “The Man Machine”
Sir Mix-A-Lot — “Rippin” (1988)
Samples Kraftwerk’s: “Numbers,” from Computer World
Kool G Rap & DJ Polo — “Rhymes” (1989)
Samples Kraftwerk’s: “Metal On Metal” cut from Trans-Europe Express
Tag Team — “Whoomp (There It Is) (WPGC Remix)” (1993)
Samples Kraftwerk’s: “Numbers” from the album Computer World.
Jay-Z featuring Memphis Bleek, “It’s Alright” (1998)
Samples Kraftwerk’s: “The Hall of Mirrors” and Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime,”
Busta Rhymes f. Pharrell — “Light Your Ass On Fire” (2003)
Samples Kraftwerk’s: “Trans Europe Express.”
Timbaland f. Dr. Dre, Justin Timberlake & Missy Elliott — “Bounce” (2007)
Samples Kraftwerk’s: Tour de France
And none other than Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Darryl McDaniels (the DMC of RunDMC) states, “Kraftwerk created hip-hop. Kraftwerk were a foundation of hip-hop not just because of their music, but they built their own machines and computers,” DMC says. “They were doing the same thing as young boys and girls in the Bronx were doing at the beginning of hip-hop. We didn’t have studios but we heard their music and there was something in their music that connected us. If you listen to the early years of hip-hop… we followed the blueprint of a group from Germany.”
In 2012, CoolCleveland had the chance to speak with Darryl McDaniels as he was being inducted into the Rock & RollHall of Fame, “When everybody was using disco records and R&B records, RunDMC was rapping over rock beats…” View the video interview here: https://youtu.be/fsBEPOr3P00
The controversy surrounding their induction last year was why they weren’t just inducted as an act rather than in the “early influence” category, previously awarded almost entirely to pre-rock acts of the mid 50s or earlier, such as Robert Johnson, Woody Guthrie, Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith and Jimmie Rodgers. Kraftwerk was solidly part of the 1970s rock scene. They stick out like a sore thumb as you scroll through the list.
But any of you Kraftwerk fans who head down to the Rock Hall for its Kraftwerk Fan Day, please don’t complain to the people there: that decision came from the inscrutable New York committees.
Just enjoy immersing yourself in the band’s music: songs being played in the museum and on the Rock Boxes along East 9th Street, videos, footage from their 2021 induction which will play all day in the Foster Theater, and the chance to jam on Kraftwerk songs in the interactive Garage where you can grab guitars, bass, keyboards and drums and join in.
But if you’re a major Kraftwerk fan, you know THAT’S really weird because Kraftwerk didn’t play any of those instruments: onstage they stood, still and deadpan, behind four podiums manipulating electronic controls, similar to today’s laptop DJs.
It’s all included in regular Rock Hall admission.