RATING ROCK’S NEXT HALL OF FAMERS

You’re not going to be asked an easier question all year: Do the Beatles, Bob Dylan and the Beach Boys deserve places in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

This follow-up is only slightly harder: Should the Drifters and the Supremes also be saluted during the Hall of Fame’s third annual awards ceremony next January in New York?

But the issue gets more complicated when we get to names like La Vern Baker, Bobby Darin, the Four Seasons, Little Willie John, Frankie Lymon, the Platters, Del Shannon and Chuck Willis.

And what about Hank Ballard, Booker T. & the MG’s, Bobby (Blue) Bland, Ruth Brown, King Curtis, Dion, Duane Eddy, Ben E. King, Lloyd Price, Jimmy Reed and Gene Vincent?

The questions aren’t theoretical.

Those 24 names are being weighed this week by the recording industry executives, record producers, performers and critics who have been asked by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation to select next year’s eight inductees.

Under Hall of Fame rules, performers become eligible 25 years after their first record--in the case of this year’s balloting: 1962. The majority of this year’s nominees began recording in the ‘50s, so they have been eligible since the Hall of Fame judging began two years ago. However, the key nominees--including Dylan and the Beatles--are eligible for the first time this year. (See Page 86 for the names of the 25 rock pioneers already inducted.)

Beyond the simple cut-off date, the approximately 250 members of the Foundation’s voting committee are on their own in determining guidelines for Hall of Fame membership.

In the past, the voters have shown good judgment in opting for artists who helped define rock rather than record-makers who accumulated the most hits. For instance, Bo Diddley and Carl Perkins--who, astonishingly, had only one Top 20 pop hit each--are in, while singers like Paul Anka, Pat Boone and Bobby Vinton aren’t.

Reduced to its simplest form, the question to be asked about each nominee is: How irreplaceable was this artist in rock history?

To answer the question adequately, it is important to look at both the artist’s impact at the time of his or her most significant work and the influence of the artist on subsequent generations of musicians.

Every nominee made some terrific records that, on a purely nostalgic level, could lead to a sentimental Hall of Fame endorsement. But some of the artists--through force of personality as well as vitality of music--contributed to rock in other, less clearly definable but uniquely important ways.

Here is an overview of the 1987 nominees as I would group them--with artists listed alphabetically within each category.

THE MUSTS:

Beach Boys. Stats: 34 Top 40 hits, from “Surfin’ Safari” in 1962 through the current “Wipe Out,” in which the group joins the Fat Boys on a rap version of the old Surfaris hit.

History: The Beach Boys’ inner squabbling and personal problems have turned the Southern California band into rock’s longest-running soap opera, but the group’s early celebrations of fun in the warm California sun captured teen-age daydreams about girls, cars and surf with an innocence and exuberance unmatched in pop music. Equally rewarding were darker, more complex songs like “Caroline No” and “God Only Knows.”

Beatles. Stats: 49 Top 40 hits in the U.S., including a rock-era record 21 No. 1 singles--stretching from the simple zest of 1964’s “I Want to Hold Your Hand” to the lush orchestration of 1970’s “The Long and Winding Road.”

History: Unquestionably the most influential group in rock history, the Beatles started out in Liverpool simply imitating the music of their American rock ‘n’ roll heroes. While many of their earliest hits seemed a bit too pop-minded when compared to the force of models like Little Richard and Carl Perkins, records like “I Want to Hold Your Hand” and “She Loves You” asserted a disarming spirit that, even more deeply than the Beach Boys, seemed in step with teen aspirations and ideals. The breakthrough was in albums like “Rubber Soul” and “Revolver,” where the increased ambition and sophistication of Beatles songs profoundly stretched rock’s boundaries.

Bob Dylan. Stats: 12 Top 40 singles, including 1965’s “Like a Rolling Stone,” 1969’s “Lay Lady Lay” and 1973’s “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door.” In addition, several of his songs have made the Top 40 via other artists. Among them: “Mr. Tambourine Man” (the Byrds), “Blowin’ in the Wind” (Peter, Paul & Mary and Stevie Wonder), “All Along the Watchtower (Jimi Hendrix), “Mighty Quinn” (Manfred Mann).

History: After Presley, Dylan did more to shape rock than any single figure. In wedding the energy of rock with a seriousness of purpose and lyric consciousness that came out of his interest in folk music, Dylan influenced almost every significant figure who followed him--from Lennon and Bowie to Springsteen and Hewson. Though Dylan’s importance is often measured by critics in relation to the social commentary of songs like “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” many of his most absorbing images and probing thoughts are found in his love songs. Twenty-five years after his recording debut, Dylan remains one of our most challenging and provocative figures.

NEXT IN LINE:

Drifters. Stats: The group’s 16 Top 40 pop hits started in 1959 with the endearing “There Goes My Baby” and continued through “Save the Last Dance for Me” and “Under the Boardwalk” to 1964’s “Saturday Night at the Movies.”

History: The Drifters’ impact on rock began well before their pop success, thanks to a pre-1959 series of 11 excellent R&B; hits, including “Money Honey” and “White Christmas.” The group, which went through several lead singers (it was Clyde McPhatter on “White Christmas,” Ben E. King on “Last Dance” and Rudy Lewis on “Up on the Roof”), specialized in later years (with the help of writer-producers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller) in an urban, East Coast version of the teen-age escapism outlined by the Beach Boys--music that was sweet, innocent and full of promises of better times.

Supremes. Stats: 33 Top 40 singles, including 12 No. 1 records (a figure topped only by the Beatles and Presley). The No. 1 tunes stretched from “Where Did Our Love Go” in 1964 to “Someday We’ll Be Together” in 1969.

History: There’s a tendency to look back on the Supremes’ enormous success as more the result of the masterful Motown machine (from the overall guidance of Berry Gordy Jr. to the specific molding of the songwriting-producing team of Holland-Dozier-Holland) than of the talent of the women themselves. And true enough, Diana Ross was no creative fountainhead like Smokey Robinson, and the Supremes’ records showed little of the daring instincts of the Temptations’. Still, the Supremes were the quintessential “girl group” of the era and, in some ways, the purest example of Gordy’s Motown vision.

CONTENDERS:

Booker T. and the MG’s. Stats: 7 Top 40 instrumental hits, including “Green Onions” in 1962, “Hang ‘Em High” in 1968 and “Mrs. Robinson” in 1969.

History: Perhaps rock’s finest rhythm section, organist Booker T. Jones, guitarist Steve Cropper, bassist Duck Dunn and drummer Al Jackson started out as the house band for Stax Records in Memphis, playing on hits by Otis Redding, Rufus Thomas and Sam & Dave. They also applied their minimalist, R&B-accented; sound to their own hits, including the splendid “Green Onions.” The group--one of rock’s first integrated outfits--also represented a breakthrough racially.

Jimmy Reed. Stats: 2 Top 40 singles, but more than a dozen Top 20 R&B; hits, including “Baby, What You Want Me to Do” and “Big Boss Man.”

History: Though he didn’t rival Chuck Berry or Bo Diddley in the ‘50s as a hard-core rock hero, this Chicago-based bluesman was enormously influential on the ‘60s English rock community, including the Rolling Stones and Yardbirds. His music sidestepped the emotional intensity of Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf in favor of a looser, more accessible approach that made him something of a bridge between the basic Mississippi blues and the teen-oriented rock approach of Berry and Bo Diddley.

Gene Vincent. Stats: 3 Top 40 hits, most notably “Be-Bop-A-Lula” in 1956.

History: Like almost every other Southern-bred, rockabilly-minded artist (including Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran), Vincent began with a sound almost totally patterned after Elvis--and he did such of good job of capturing the sexy, almost breathless side of Elvis in “Be-Bop-A-Lula” that a story went around that Elvis’ mother thought it was Elvis the first time she heard the record on the radio. Though his style was limited, Vincent was especially important in England, where he functioned in some ways as a surrogate Elvis (the latter never appeared in England).

MAYBE NEXT YEAR:

Hank Ballard. Stats: 7 Top 40 singles, including two Top 10’s: “Finger Poppin’ Time” and “Let’s Go, Let’s Go, Let’s Go,” both in 1960. With the Midnighters, he also scored 10 earlier R&B; hits, including “Work With Me Annie” in 1954. Plus: Ballard wrote “The Twist.”

History: To suburban teens, the Midnighters’ “Work With Me Annie” was a classic “forbidden” record whose title was widely viewed as a blatantly sexual overture. The interpretation was confirmed when the Midnighters came back with a follow-up hit titled “Annie Had a Baby.” But it was Ballard’s later, more good-natured tunes, most notably “The Twist,” that represented his most lasting contribution to early pop-rock culture.

King Curtis. Stats: 3 Top 40 hits, including “Soul Twist” in 1962 and “Memphis Soul Stew” in 1967.

History: Besides his own recordings, rock’s most respected saxophonist (real name: Curtis Ousley) contributed to numerous records by other artists, including perhaps the most famous rock sax solo ever: the squawking punctuation on the Coasters’ “Yakety-Yak.”

Bobby Darin. Stats: 21 Top 40 hits, starting with “Splish Splash” in 1958 and moving through “Dream Lover” and “Mack the Knife” in 1959 to “If I Were a Carpenter” in 1966.

History: Darin was one of the most talented artists in the modern pop era, though his tendency to follow his musical instincts and commercial ambitions to a variety of styles (from country and mainstream pop to folk and protest music) caused him to be viewed with suspicion within rock circles despite some great early rock records (including “Early in the Morning.”)

Dion. Stats: 12 Top 40 hits on his own, including “Runaround Sue” and “Abraham, Martin and John,” plus another 7 with Dion & the Belmonts. Among the latter: “A Teenager in Love.”

History: One of the best and most consistent of the early white, R&B-influenced; urban singers--as opposed to the Southern, rockabilly-minded crowd of Elvis, Buddy and Jerry Lee. At his best, he summarized beautifully the loneliness and insecurity of the teen-ager. He resurfaced in 1969 with the socially conscious “Abraham, Martin and John.”

Little Willie John. Stats: Four Top 40 pop singles, including 1956’s “Fever,” and 14 Top 20 R&B; hits.

History: A distinctive stylist whose rendition of “Fever” certainly deserves a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame jukebox. But John’s potential (his vocals contained both a trace of the energy of Big Joe Turner and sweet soulfulness of Sam Cooke) was sabotaged by personal problems, including a manslaughter conviction. He died in prison in 1968 at the age of 30.

Frankie Lymon. Stats: “Why Do Fools Fall in Love”--which was reprised in 1981 by Diana Ross--was one of three mid-’50s Top 40 singles by Lymon.

History: Despite so few hits, Lymon made a profound impact on rock in the ‘50s, partly because of his endearing soprano vocals, and partly because of his youth. The New Yorker was just 14 when he released “Why Do Fools Fall in Love.”

Chuck Willis. Stats: 4 Top 40 pop hits in 1957 and 1958, including “What Am I Living For” and “Hang Up My Rock and Roll Shoes.” In addition, Willis had six other Top 10 R&B; singles between 1952 and 1956.

History: A distinctive singer, prolific writer and colorful showman (he wore a turban and billed himself as the “Sheik of the Blues”), Willis was just 30 when he died in 1958.

ALSO ELIGIBLE:

Duane Eddy. Stats: 15 instrumental hits, including “Rebel-Rouser” in 1958 and “Peter Gunn” in 1960.

Eddy’s main influence was in the throbbing, deep-rooted “twangy” guitar style, a sound that captured the imagination of a whole generation of fans and rock musicians. Everyone from Eric Clapton to Dave Edmunds owes Eddy a note of thanks. That wonderfully appealing sound, however, was frequently wasted on weak or inappropriate material.

La Vern Baker. Stats: 7 Top 40 pop hits, including the original versions of “Tweedlee Dee” and “Jim Dandy” (both of which were redone by Georgia Gibbs in sanitized versions).

History: A Chicago native whose husky vocal style on pop-influenced novelties like “Tweedlee Dee” made her one of the first female R&B; artists to win a following among white teens. But her ultimate impact was minor.

Ruth Brown. Stats: Only two Top 40 pop hits (“Lucky Lips” in 1957 and “This Little Girl’s Gone Rockin’ ” in 1958), but 18 Top 20 R&B; singles between 1949 and 1960--including “(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean” and “Wild Wild Young Men.”

History: Though she had fewer pop hits than Atlantic Records labelmate Baker in the ‘50s, Brown was a more compelling R&B; singer, and her recordings represented a stronger link with the emerging rock ‘n’ roll sensibilities. She remains a critically admired performer who mixes jazz, gospel and R&B; instincts.

Bobby (Blue) Bland. Stats: Four Top 40 pop hits, including “Turn on Your Love Light,” but nearly three dozen Top 40 R&B; hits through the ‘60s alone.

History: Bland’s early recordings reflected a cool, controlled approach to the blues. He most certainly influenced singers, though he seems more suited to a blues hall of fame than a rock hall of fame.

Four Seasons. Stats: 29 Top 40 hits, from the early-’60s hits like “Sherry” and “Rag Doll” to “December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night).”

History: Frankie Valli’s falsetto vocals and larger-than-life production values helped the group sell more than 80 million records, but--like the Platters--there was a sense of formula at work that was at odds with the maverick spirit of the best rock.

Ben E. King. Stats: Seven Top 40 pop hits, including “Stand By Me,” which made the Top 10 both in 1961 and 1987.

History: The success of “Stand By Me” may be enough to push King into the Hall of Fame, though the selection of the Drifters (with whom he first rose to fame) would be salute enough.

Platters. Stats: 22 Top 40 hits, both remakes of old pop standards (including “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”) and original ballads (“Only You”).

History: This L.A.-based R&B; group, featuring lead singer Tony Williams, utilized a distinctive, pop-minded approach to ballads that was immensely successful, but ultimately narrow and soulless.

Lloyd Price. Stats: 10 Top 40 pop hits, including “Stagger Lee,” “Personality” and “I’m Gonna Get Married.”

Born in New Orleans in 1933, Price was a flashy singer who made loud, personality-conscious records, but he didn’t have the drama or tension of Little Richard.

Del Shannon. Stats: Nine Top 40 pop hits, including “Runaway” in 1961 and “Keep Searchin’ (We’ll Follow the Sun)” in 1964.

History: One of the best of the American rock artists during the lull between the explosion of ‘50s rock and the revival of British rock. However, his overall impact seems short of Hall of Fame standards.

FO