My Ten Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Snubs: Brian Eno (#5)

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The doctor’s appointment is in two days. I don’t know if I can hold out that long with this pain in my arm. As they said in Spinal Tap, this goes to 11. It kept me up most of the night. Oh, well, there’s always music to soothe the pain, and here’s another person I think should be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. #5: Brian Eno And I know what you’re thinking: “Wasn’t he just inducted this year?” Yep, as part of Roxy Music. To me, however, his work as a member of Roxy Music isn’t where he made his biggest and most lasting contributions to rock and roll. To that end, I think he should be inducted as a producer. (And yes, they actually do have a separate category of induction for people like producers, sound engineers, and record company owners!) I can give you two stunning examples of Eno’s work as a producer or co-producer, which individually would warrant his induction: Fear of Music by Talking Heads; and The Joshua Tree by U2. But wait, there’s more! During the first Talking Heads break-up (1981-82), Eno and Heads frontman David Byrne recorded an album together called My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, which is credited as being the first use of “sampling.” Today I don’t know if you can have a pop record without sampling. (Wouldn’t know, I haven’t listened to pop music since “Material Girl” by Madonna.). He’s worked on albums such as The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway by Genesis, Hurricane by Grace Jones, Low and Heroes by David Bowie, and a whole lot more. He’s twice won the BRIT Award record producer of the year award. Honestly, my first knowledge of him was as a producer, to the point where I said, “Oh, he was in Roxy Music?” when I read it. Those skills (and you can throw in his solo and collaborative albums if you want) make him worthy of induction as a producer. This is one of the most mesmerizing songs I’ve heard in ages, from the second collaboration between Eno and Byrne: