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Peter Frampton was taking a bathroom break during a recording session at home in Nashville when his managers called to tell him he was included on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ballot — for the first time ever.“I screamed — not like a girl, but I did scream. I said, ‘You’re kidding me!’” Frampton tells Billboard via Zoom, with a laugh. “My band leader Rob [Arthur] was in my music room at the time, ’cause we were doing a video… He came running, ‘What the hell’s going on!’ He thought something was wrong. “So, anyway, it was a very good day.”Frampton’s long-awaited appearance on the ballot — he’s been eligible since the early ’90s based on his first recordings — is good news for a legion of fans that have long been lobbying for him and protesting his exclusion from even the Rock Hall ballot. In fact, Frampton notes, “A lot of those fans feel more outraged about it taking so long for me than I am. So they can all rest easy now; at least my name’s in the hat.”“I never expect anything,” adds Frampton, who for several years has been battling degenerative Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM). “I’m a realist. I understand there have been criticisms of the past Rock Hall administration for bizarre choices, which I agree there were. And, yes, my career is what it is, and whatever anybody thinks about it I do feel I deserve [to be inducted].” However, he cautions, “This isn’t it, you know? I’ve still got to get the votes.”Frampton credits his nomination in part to 2023 Rock Hall inductee Sheryl Crow. She included him in last year’s ceremony in her performance with Stevie Nicks, which Frampton says “stirred the pot big-time and made people aware — including some of the board members, I think. They thought I was already in.”Frampton’s Rock Hall credentials are unquestioned, certainly. A younger classmate of David Bowie‘s at Bromley Technical School in England, where Frampton’s father was a teacher, he began playing from the time he was an adolescent and began touring in 1964 with his band The Preachers, whose recordings were produced by the Rolling Stones‘ Bill Wyman. As a member of The Herd, Frampton was named “The Face of 1968” by the British teen magazine Rave, and a year later he was part of the original Humble Pie, in which he spent three years before going solo.Along the way Frampton also played on George Harrison‘s All Things Must Pass, and he did sessions for The Who‘s John Entwistle, Harry Nilsson and Jerry Lee Lewis. Frampton’s first solo album, Winds ofChange, came out in 1972, and it was of course the iconic Frampton Comes Alive! album in 1976 that made him a global star, with estimated sales of more than 20 million copies worldwide and an induction into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Frampton lost his rock credibility after that, however, with his I’m in You album and an ill-advised starring role in the 1978 film adaptation of The Beatles‘ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.“I was trounced on, rightly so, for being the pop star. I became this teenybopper thing,” Frampton acknowledges. But Frampton continued to record and got a boost from Bowie, who featured Frampton on his 1987 album Never Let Me Down and in the band for the subsequent Glass Spider Tour, which reminded the world he was first and foremost a guitar player. Back in rock ‘n’ roll favor, he also won his first Grammy Award in 2007 for the previous year’s instrumental album, Fingertips.
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“I have had so many wonderful helping hands along the way,” Frampton says. “Yes, my career has been my own, but I really have had some helping hands, wonderful helping hands, along the way that went to bat for me.”Frampton adds that the Rock Hall nomination is so fresh that “I haven’t quite realized what I feel it means yet. I’m still in the troughs of ‘Really?!’” But as “a super, super fan of other great talent,” he says the nomination, and the potential of an induction, mean a great deal to him.“It’s a heady kind of thought, really,” Frampton explains. “If I do make it, to be on the same level these artists that are the be-all and end-all, as far as I’m concerned, is pretty incredible.” Among those as well is fellow first-time nominee Foreigner, whose founder Mick Jones played on “All I Wanna Be (Is By Your Side)” on Wind of Change. “I’m so thrilled to hear that Foreigner got on [the ballot] ’cause Mick and I have been friends for a lifetime.”Frampton says he’ll do some modest campaigning — mostly reminding fans to participate in the Rock Hall’s public vote — when he sets out on his Never EVER Say Never Tour on March 3 in Greensboro, N.C. He’s been busy of late as well: he and his son Julian, who’s also a musician, recently appeared on the Fox TV reality show We Are Family , and Frampton is among the 60 musicians playing on Mark Knopfler‘s new version of his 1983 instrumental “Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero,” a fundraiser for the U.K.’s Teenage Cancer Trust that comes out Feb. 19.During the summer, meanwhile, Frampton says he’ll continue work on both a new album of original songs — his first since Hummingbird in a Box in 2014 — and a documentary that’s been in process for several years.Rock Hall inductees are expected to be announced during early May, with the ceremony taking place this fall in Cleveland, on a date to be determined. Disney+ will again telecast the event.
With his first-ever Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nomination as a solo artist, Ozzy Osbourne is poised to become shrine’s the 27th multiple inductee.
Osbourne was inducted as a member of Black Sabbath back in 2006. If he’s voted in this year, he’ll join the likes of all four Beatles, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Stevie Nicks, Rod Stewart and others with double honors. Only Eric Clapton has three inductions on his own and as a member of the Yardbirds and Cream.
“I’m deeply honored to receive this news from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” Osbourne said in a statement on Saturday (Feb. 10), after the nominations were announced. “To be one of the few musicians who’s being considered for a second entry, now as a solo artist, is something I could never have imagined. After 44 years as a solo artist the fact that I can continue to record music and receive this recognition is something I am incredibly proud of.”
Osbourne began his solo career with Blizzard of Ozz in 1980 and has released 13 albums on his own, most recently Patient Number 9 during 2022. Those have launched a number of iconic hard rock hits, including “Crazy Train,” “Flying High Again,” “Bark at the Moon” and “No More Tears,” as well as the ballad “Mama, I’m Coming Home.”
Some recent surgeries and a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis have rendered Osbourne unable to perform in recent years; he had to drop off the bill of the Power Trip festival last October in Indio, Calif. His wife and manager Sharon Osbourne, however, recently spoke of plans for a pair of farewell concerts in Osbourne’s home town of Birmingham, England.
During a November appearance on The Adam Carolla Show, Sharon lobbied for Ozzy to be considered for Rock Hall induction on his own as well.
“They know that Ozzy deserves to be there,” she said. “They know he’s been a solo artist. You’ve gotta be doing it for 24 years. He’s been 43 years as a solo artist. He sold nearly a hundred million albums as a solo artist. So where is he? Induct him!”
Sharon added that she and Ozzy attended a dinner for the 2023 inductees “and people were saying to Ozzy, ‘Oh, you’ve been inducted in,’ and we were like, ‘No, actually. We were just invited for the food, so we’re here.’ That’s as near as we’ve got, but no.”
Public voting has begun for this year’s inductees via rockhall.com, while ballots are being mailed to industry voters. Inductees are expected to be announced during early May, with the ceremony slated for the fall in Cleveland.
Foreigner’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination feels like the first time indeed for the veteran rock band.
The group’s appearance on this year’s ballot is its first ever, despite being eligible since 2002. With worldwide record sales of more than 80 million and nine top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 (including “Feels Like the First Time,” Cold As Ice,” “Hot Blooded,” “Urgent” and “I Want to Know What Love Is”), Foreigner has long been considered one of the Rock Hall’s biggest snubs by critics and commentators as well as fans.
“I deeply appreciate the recognition from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (nominating) committee,” Mick Jones, who founded Foreigner during 1976 in New York, tells Billboard via email. “It is wonderful that Foreigner has maintained its presence all these years and brought the music to our fans. Getting this news is an incredible endorsement of what we have achieved over time.” Jones and original Foreigner vocalist Lou Gramm were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013.
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Phil Carson, an executive at Atlantic Records when it signed Foreigner and the band’s manager since 2004, calls the nomination “fabulous” — and overdue. “Oh, of course it’s been frustrating, and I do know that many of the nominating committee members have put Foreigner on the list, but we just never got in,” Carson says, noting that the late Rock Hall co-founder Seymour Stein was an ardent supporter. This year, Carson says, “the usual suspects who have always been in our court voted, and I guess there was just that little bit of extra credibility of people that surround Foreigner, surround Mick, helped.”
Since the release of the Foreigner debut in 1977, the group has logged six multi-platinum albums and 22 songs on the Billboard Hot 100, including one chart-topper in 1985 (“I Want to Know What Love Is”). The band, which has gone through lineup changes throughout its career, went on hiatus during the early 2000s but re-formed during 2004 with Kelly Hansen as frontman and former Dokken bassist Jeff Pilson. Several of the original and principal members have participated in sporadic reunions and guest appearances, while founding bassist Ed Gagliardi passed away in 2014 and multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald died in 2022.
Jones has stopped touring with the group due to health reasons but continues to oversee and participate in its operations.
Foreigner fans have waged campaigns to get the band onto the Rock Hall ballot for many years, though Jones has stayed out of the fray while quietly lamenting the snub. He previously told Billboard that, “I’m not thinking about it much. I know we’re getting a lot of support from a lot of places; obviously the fans who are kind of, ‘Let’s induct Foreigner to the Hall of Fame’ and all those kinds of things. And lots of other people seem to think we should be in there. I think it’s down to the panel and whatever mood they happen to be in and whatever style of music they award…. But I’m quite happy with what I’ve achieved and the songs speak for themselves. Whether it happens or not, I’m still a happy man.”
Carson says Foreigner will promote the nomination via its website and social media to encourage fans to participate in the public vote. The current incarnation of Foreigner, meanwhile, launched a farewell tour last year that will resume with a second leg this year. It’s scheduled to finish in North America during the summer of 2025, but Carson says demand from other territories may push the end date into 2026.
02/10/2024
Here’s how we handicap this year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class and their chances of induction.
02/10/2024
The Bible tells us it’s more blessed to give than to receive, but when it comes to awards and honors, most artists would rather be the inductee than the inductor. Five of this year’s nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame have helped to induct other honorees at past ceremonies. Three did the […]
Here we go again. On Saturday (Feb. 10) morning, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced this year’s nominees, unveiling 15 artists who are in contention to join the Rock Hall’s Class of 2024. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The 2024 Rock Hall nominees are: […]
Former Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne called out Kanye West on social media on Friday (Feb. 9), saying that West had asked to sample a song but was “refused permission because he is an antisemite,” and used the sample anyway at a listening event for his new album at the United Center in Chicago on Thursday. “I want no association with this man!” Osbourne wrote.
Although Osbourne said online that West asked to sample “War Pigs,” the song he seems to have used is “Iron Man” – specifically a version performed by Ozzy Osbourne’s solo band at the 1983 Us Festival.
“We get so many requests for these songs,” his wife and manager Sharon Osbourne tells Billboard, “and when we saw that request, we just said no way.” Without permission, West would be unable to release a new song that used the sample. “We’ve been in touch with his team” about the legal issue,” says Sharon Osbourne. “And it’s also an issue of having respect for another artist.”
Starting in 2022, West, now known simply as Ye, made a series of antisemitic comments, for which he was widely condemned, and lost numerous sponsorship and fashion deals. Although he offered an online apology for his statements in December, the first song from his forthcoming album, Vultures, includes the lyric “How am I antisemitic? / I just fucked a Jewish bitch.” Although West does not seem to have finalized release details for the album – and Ozzy Osbourne’s comments suggest he may face issues clearing samples – he has held a number of listening events to promote it.
Ozzy Osbourne often allows other artists to sample his work. “But the simple thing is, we don’t want to be associated with a hater,” says Sharon Osbourne, who was raised Jewish. (Her father, the U.K. music manager Don Arden, was Jewish.) “To spread hate the way he does, it shouldn’t be allowed. All the excuses – he’s bipolar or whatever – doesn’t change that. It’s like, fuck you, basically.”
Like many early Black Sabbath songs, “Iron Man” was written by the band – Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward. Who has the rights to license interpolations of a composition by more than one songwriter can depend on the agreement between them. In this case, Sharon Osbourne tells Billboard that the agreement says all four songwriters need to agree. There could also be permissions issues with the 1983 performance recording, to which Ozzy Ozbourne presumably has the rights.
Coincidentally, Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne dressed up as Kanye West and Bianca Censori for Halloween, but that was “a joke,” Sharon Osbourne said.
Ozzy Osbourne has an urgent PSA. According to the 75-year-old rocker, his music was recently sampled by Kanye West without his approval — and he wants no part in it. In an all-caps Instagram post Friday (Feb. 9), Osbourne cut right to the chase. “@KAYNEWEST ASKED PERMISSION TO SAMPLE A [SECTION] OF A 1983 LIVE […]
The Black Keys return to the top of Billboard’s Adult Alternative Airplay chart for an eighth time with “Beautiful People (Stay High),” which reigns on the Feb. 17-dated survey.
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“Beautiful People” rules in its fourth week on the tally, sporting the quickest rise to the chart’s peak in 2024 so far and fastest since The Beatles’ “Now and Then” also took four frames in December 2023.
It’s the duo’s first No. 1 since “Wild Child” reigned for four weeks beginning in April 2022. Between “Wild Child” and “Beautiful People,” the band also appeared with “It Ain’t Over,” which peaked at No. 5 in September 2022.
The Black Keys first led with “Lonely Boy,” a seven-week topper beginning in December 2011.
With eight No. 1s, the band moves into a three-way tie for the fifth-most rulers in the history of Adult Alternative Airplay, which published its first chart in 1996, alongside Death Cab for Cutie and John Mayer. U2 leads all acts with 14 No. 1s.
Most No. 1s, Adult Alternative Airplay14, U213, Coldplay11, Dave Matthews (solo and with Dave Matthews Band)11, Jack Johnson8, Death Cab for Cutie8, John Mayer8, The Black Keys7, Counting Crows7, R.E.M.7, Sheryl Crow
Concurrently, “Beautiful People” jumps 5-3 on Alternative Airplay and 30-26 on Mainstream Rock Airplay. On the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart, the track bullets at its No. 3 peak with 5.3 million audience impressions, up 9%, according to Luminate.
“Beautiful People (Stay High)” is the lead single from Ohio Players, The Black Keys’ 12th studio album, scheduled for release on April 5. The band’s last album, Dropout Boogie, debuted at No. 2 on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart dated May 28, 2022, and has earned 146,000 equivalent album units to date.
All Billboard charts dated Feb. 17 will update on Billboard.com on Tuesday, Feb. 13.
Daughtry reaches No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart for the first time as “Artificial” lifts 2-1 on the Feb. 17-dated ranking.
“Artificial” follows 17 years of appearances on Mainstream Rock Airplay for Daughtry, which first made the survey with “It’s Not Over,” a No. 5-peaking track in March 2007. The band boasts eight entries in all.
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That stretch between first appearance and first No. 1 is the longest since Jeff Beck, who set the all-time record when he went 37 years between “People Get Ready” charting in 1985 and Ozzy Osbourne’s “Patient Number 9,” on which he’s featured, reaching No. 1 in 2022.
As Daughtry is the lead artist on “Artificial,” the previous longest as a lead act went to Disturbed frontman David Draiman, who went 19 years between his solo track “Forsaken” in 2002 and “Dead Inside,” a co-lead with Nita Strauss, which hit No. 1 in 2022.
Prior to “Artificial,” Daughtry’s highest ranking song on Mainstream Rock Airplay had been “Heavy Is the Crown,” which peaked at No. 4 in 2021.
While it’s Daughtry’s first Mainstream Rock Airplay ruler, the Chris Daughtry-fronted band boasts multiple No. 1s over the years on other Billboard’s airplay charts. That includes four leaders on Adult Pop Airplay between 2007 and 2009 (“It’s Not Over,” “Home,” “Feels Like Tonight” and “No Surprise”) and one reign apiece on Pop Airplay (“It’s Not Over”) and Adult Contemporary (“Home”).
Daughtry’s output generally performed better on pop airplay formats early in the band’s career, to the point where it experienced a nearly 13-year break from Mainstream Rock Airplay between “Crashed” in 2007 and its return to the ranking, “World on Fire,” in 2020.
Concurrently, “Artificial” rises 14-13 on the all-rock-format, audience-based Rock & Alternative Airplay chart with 2.7 million audience impressions, up 13%, according to Luminate. It reaches its peak so far, No. 12, on the Jan. 13 tally.
The most recent multimetric Hot Hard Rock Songs list (Feb. 10) found “Artificial” at No. 12. In addition to its radio airplay, the song earned 346,000 official U.S. streams Jan. 26-Feb. 1.
“Artificial” is currently a standalone single for Daughtry. Its last album, Dearly Beloved, debuted at No. 4 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart dated Oct. 2, 2021, and has earned 88,000 equivalent album units to date.
All Billboard charts dated Feb. 17 will update on Billboard.com on Tuesday, Feb. 13.