POP MUSIC : California Dreamin’ : Creedence, the Doors and Sly & the Family Stone will make the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s L.A. debut a real homecoming

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s induction dinner, a New York City affair the last seven years, will be held in Los Angeles for the first time in January.

But that’s not the only reason the affair will have a strong California flavor.

Four of the seven inductees live in or have been primarily associated with music scenes in the state: Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Doors, Etta James and Sly & the Family Stone. The other inductees will be Ruth Brown, Cream and Van Morrison.

The surprise is that there won’t be even more California-based acts honored at the dinner Jan. 12 at the Century Plaza Hotel. The Buffalo Springfield, the Grateful Dead and Frank Zappa were among this year’s 15 nominees.

But surprises are becoming a fact of life with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

What started out in 1985 as a credible and predictable selection system has turned into a frequently frustrating guessing game. Instead of honoring musicians who have exhibited the greatest artistry and impact, the more than 600 voters-- executives, musicians, critics--now allow everything from the artist’s popularity to personal nostalgia to cloud their judgment.

The result is that some marginal acts--LaVern Baker, the Platters and the Four Seasons--have been inducted, while landmark artists like Bob Marley and David Bowie are turned away. Even Cream was passed over last year. That’s something you’d expect from the Grammys, but not a Hall of Fame.

On balance, however, this year’s Hall of Fame class is strong. Four of the seven were from my personal A list (essential artists), while one other came from the B list (acceptable). Only two--Brown and James--are from the fringe C list. The latter are both quality artists but had limited impact on the evolution of rock. Their election, however, does help increase the female presence in the Hall of Fame. Under the rules, artists become eligible 25 years after their first recording.

Here are my A, B and C lists:

The A List

Creedence Clearwater Revival-- Fourteen Top 40 singles, including “Proud Mary” and “Bad Moon Rising” in 1969, as well as seven Top 15 albums, notably “Green River” in 1969 and “Cosmo’s Factory” in 1970. First year of eligibility.

Creedence--from the Oakland-East Bay area--combined the energy and compactness of ‘50s rock with the social commentary and ambition of ‘60s rock in a flawless series of records. Influenced by Southern rock, country and blues, leader John Fogerty wrote songs and designed records that seemed on the surface as simple as the carefree hits of the ‘50s but carried a subtext that reflected on everything from social responsibility (“Who’ll Stop the Rain”) to blue-collar frustration (“Fortunate Son”). The greatest American rock group of its day, and perhaps ever.

The Doors-- Eight Top 40 hits, including “Light My Fire” in 1967 and “Riders on the Storm” in 1971, plus eight Top 20 albums, including “The Doors” in 1967 and “Waiting for the Sun” in 1968. First year of eligibility.

If the Beach Boys, who joined the Hall of Fame in 1987, were the symbol of sunshine and fun, fun, fun in Southern California ‘60s rock, the Doors stood proudly as the voice of darkness and doubt. The band could be frightfully pretentious on record and indulgent onstage, thanks in both cases to Jim Morrison, the group’s charismatic leader. Yet it was the same Morrison who led the Doors on their brief, fearless search for new truths in the psychedelic age. It was a search that eventually destroyed him, but the Doors’ music and ambition lit a fire in rock that may have connected more strongly than even Lennon & McCartney with disaffected ‘80s teens.

Van Morrison-- Five Top 40 singles, including 1967’s “Brown Eyed Girl” and 1971’s “Wild Night,” and five Top 30 albums, including “Tupelo Honey” in 1971 and “Wavelength” in 1978. First year of eligibility.

With his voice and his pen, Morrison ranks as one of rock’s true poets. His long rock journey began in his native Belfast, Northern Ireland, where he formed Them, a group that combined ‘60s British rock currents with American R&B.; After turning solo, Morrison released a 1968 album, “Astral Weeks,” that ranks with Dylan’s greatest for poetic daring and grace. Since then, Morrison has continued a spiritual quest that combines country, jazz and blues influences as deftly as anyone else in contemporary pop. He has influenced everyone from Bruce Springsteen to U2.

Sly & the Family Stone-- Eleven Top 40 singles, including “Everyday People” in 1968 and “Family Affair” in 1971, plus five Top 20 albums, including “Stand!” in 1969 and “There’s a Riot Goin’ On” in 1971. First year of eligibility.

Few figures in pop music have ever willingly broken as many barriers as Sylvester Stewart, whose integrated band crossed musical, racial and gender barriers in ways that brought together quite magically the boldness of Jimi Hendrix, the dance-minded sensuality of James Brown and the social idealism of the late-’60s psychedelic world. Sly, a Dallas native who was a record producer and disc jockey in the San Francisco area before forming the band, relied on rock, jazz and R&B; textures to produce some of the most life-affirming and spirited music of the era.

The Velvet Underground-- No Top 40 singles or Top 100 albums until “VU,” a collection of previously unreleased material, broke onto the charts in 1985, more than a dozen years after the band called it quits. Second year of eligibility.

The fact that this seminal group wasn’t voted into the Hall of Fame last year, in its first year of eligibility, was one of the biggest disappointments in the eight-year history of the institution. Formed in 1966, the Velvets, thanks chiefly to the songwriting excellence of Lou Reed, opened doors in rock both in arty musical textures and in the social realism that was at the foundation of its literary sensibility. Many of the group’s themes, which revolved around various forms of psychological obsession, had been explored and applauded in literature, but they shocked--and liberated--pop music.

The B List

The Buffalo Springfield-- One Top 40 single, 1967’s “For What It’s Worth,” plus three Top 50 albums, including “Buffalo Springfield” and “Buffalo Springfield Again” (both 1967). Second year of eligibility.

Part of the great ‘60s crop of Los Angeles bands, the short-lived Springfield may be better remembered as a launching pad (Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay) than as a landmark group. But its best records signaled a generational change and a musical awakening almost as vividly as the Byrds’ key works.

Cream-- Three Top 40 hits, including “Sunshine of Your Love” in 1968, and seven Top 40 albums, including “Disraeli Gears” in 1967 and “Wheels of Fire” in 1968. Second year of eligibility.

The failure of this English trio to be voted into the Hall of Fame last year was another major embarrassment. The team of guitarist Eric Clapton, singer-bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker, together for only three years, did more than anyone else except Jimi Hendrix to demonstrate the power of instrumental assault in rock.

The Grateful Dead-- It took more than 20 years for the band to register its first Top 20 hit (1987’s “Touch of Grey”), but it has about a dozen Top 30 albums, starting with “Workingman’s Dead” in 1970. Second year of eligibility.

No way these guys deserve to be in the Hall of Fame on the basis of music alone, but the whole Deadhead movement--with its allegiance to a ‘60s sense of community--is a social-cultural phenomenon so unique in rock that it makes a strong case for the band’s induction.

Rod Stewart-- More than two dozen Top 40 singles, including “Maggie May” in 1971 and “You’re in My Heart” in 1977, plus almost a dozen Top 20 albums, starting with “Every Picture Tells a Story” in 1971. Second year of eligibility.

If you looked at Stewart’s career from, say, 1975 on, there’s also no way he deserves induction. But that all changes when you go back to his early years, when he sang and performed with an innocence and a desire that were enthralling.

Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention-- The only Top 40 single was 1982’s “Valley Girl,” featuring daughter Moon Unit Zappa, but there were seven Top 30 albums, including “We’re Only in It for the Money” in 1968 and “Uncle Meat” in 1969. Second year of eligibility.

Vision is a central element in art, and Zappa’s may have been more fiercely independent and avant-garde than almost anyone else’s in rock--and his work with the Mothers introduced a mix ‘n’ match musical aesthetic that is still alive in such ‘90s hotshots as the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The C List

The Animals-- Fourteen Top 40 singles, including 1964’s “The House of the Rising Sun” and 1965’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” plus three Top 20 albums. Fourth year of eligibility.

The Animals made some engaging and influential records but nothing essential enough to demand a place alongside such other British acts as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Who and the Kinks.

Ruth Brown-- Two Top 40 pop hits, including “Lucky Lips” in 1957, plus two dozen R&B; hits, including “Teardrops From My Eyes” in 1950 and “(Mama) He Treats Your Daughter Mean” in 1953. Eighth year of eligibility.

The good news for Brown is that she is probably more deserving of hall membership than LaVern Baker, who was inducted in 1990. But it’s a stretch to suggest that Brown played a major rock in the development of rock.

Etta James-- Nine Top 40 pop hits as well as almost two dozen R&B; hits, including “The Wallflower” in 1955 and “Trust in Me” in 1961. Eighth year of eligibility.

James is an exquisite singer who is more deserving than Baker or Brown, though still a debatable choice. The hall, however, desperately needs more female members and she remains an engaging performer.

Little Willie John-- Four Top 40 pop singles, notably 1956’s “Fever,” and 14 Top 20 R&B; hits. Eighth year of eligibility.

A distinctive stylist who most certainly could have been a contender if his career hadn’t been sabotaged by personal problems, including a manslaughter conviction. He died in prison in 1968 at the age of 30.

The Rascals-- Thirteen Top 40 singles, including 1966’s “Good Lovin”’ and 1967’s “Groovin’,” plus six Top 20 albums, including “Groovin”’ in 1967 and “Once Upon a Dream” in 1968. Third year of eligibility.

They made some good but ultimately limited records. Beware, however: If lots of hits and deeply rooted nostalgia could get the Four Seasons elected, the Rascals could also some day slip in.

THE NOMINEES

The Animals

Ruth Brown

The Buffalo Springfield

Cream

Creedence Clearwater Revival

The Doors

The Grateful Dead

Etta James

Little Willie John

Van Morrison

The Rascals

Sly & the Family Stone

Rod Stewart

The Velvet Underground

Frank Zappa/Mothers of Invention