Musical excellence is the essential qualification for induction in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Not to dismiss Arkie's musical excellence, his claim to fame is the 1950 hit "Hot Rod Race #1." Hot Rod Race sold more than 1,000,000 copies and rose to #5 on the County Billboard chart for seven weeks. His place in country, rockabilly, early rock and roll is assured on the strength of "Hot Rod Race." Its influence was immense, not only on rock and roll car songs like Chuck Berry's "Mabellene" and Gene Vincent's "Race With The Devil," but also on the hot rod music scene from the early 1960s (the Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, the Hondels, etc.) The most likely landing spot for Arkie is with the Rockabilly Hall of Fame Museum. The museum was established to gather, preserve and honor rockabilly music and culture from early rock. I and other "music experts" absolutely believe, without a doubt, that Arkie's massive influence on rockabilly is worthy of Hall of Fame induction. His day will come.

Posted by Mark Alexander Shibley Trainor on Saturday, 05/11/2024 @ 09:38am