Run-DMC's Road to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Rolling Stone announced earlier today, legendary rap trio Run-DMC will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 4th, becoming the second hip-hop act to receive the honor (Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five entered the Hall last year). Run, DMC and Jam Master Jay were the first rappers to ever earn a platinum plaque, accomplishing the feat, for 1986's Raising Hell, which was also the first rap album to get five stars in a Rolling Stone review. The classic LP placed Number 120 on the 500 Greatest Albums of all Time. Run-DMC were also the first rappers to appear on the cover of a Rolling Stone — the December 4th, 1986 issue. Said Jay in the feature: "Bad lyrics? Bullshit! We're not talking about laying the girl down or doing this drug. ... We're the only people who can talk to kids. Besides Bruce Springsteen, Born in the U.S.A., I haven't heard a decent record." Added Run, "Yeah, I love Bruce Springsteen. Like us, he has a positive message. We're gonna sell as much as him, if not more, 'cause we feel the same way. I hang with Bruce. I know him." And DMC said, "The reason why they are listening to us is because we are the Michael Jackson of now. Prince was it when Purple Rain came out. But we are what's going on right now. We are the music. We are what's hot." The article captures Run-DMC at their height — receiving open invites for dinner at Jackson's house, collaborating with Aerosmith on "Walk This Way." Run told writer Ed Kiersh that despite the gang fights that often marred their concerts, the group rapped about staying in school, laying off the crack and respecting your parents: "Life is hard enough without drugs or joining gangs. We have great positive messages for kids. We're in touch with all the kids." But the group's positive message worried Def Jam President and Run's brother, Russell Simmons, who told us, "This preaching scares me. ... It could kill their careers in front of their first audience." Read the full story here: • Beating The Rap: Run-D.M.C. Wants To Be Heroes, Not Hell-Raisers More Rock Hall: • Metallica, Run-DMC, Jeff Beck Lead Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Class of 2009 • Photos: The Rock Hall's Class of 2009 • Rolling Stone's Essential Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Coverage

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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