Donovan and the Small Faces made it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, putting a bit of psychedelic seasoning on the class of 2012.
Producer/engineer Glyn Johns, who worked with the heaviest of the British psychedelic rock bands, also is to be honored April 14 in Cleveland.
Beastie Boys, Guns N’ Roses, Laura Nyro and Red Hot Chili Peppers filled out the list of Rock Hall inductees. Faces (with Rod Stewart) share the honor with the band’s earlier incarnation, the Small Faces.
The early influencer nod went to bluesman Freddy King, the only black artist to be honored this year. Songwriter/TV rock producer Don Kirshner (“The Monkees”) is to be memorialized in the non-performer slot.
Rock producers Johns and Tom Dowd, and New Orleans studio owner Cosimo Matassa are to receive awards for musical excellence.
Donovan, a nominee last year, was among the first recording artists to chart with psychedelic songs. He also was among the first long-haired British pop stars busted for drugs. The artist (pictured, top) was closely associated with the hippie movement and flower pop.
Donovan’s psychedelic singles include “Sunshine Superman,” “Mellow Yellow,” “Hurdy Gurdy Man” and “Barabajagal (Love Is Hot).”
The album “Sunshine Superman” was among the first rock works to feature the sitar. Donovan also flirted with jazz and Indian music, making for a heady musical brew that remains underappreciated among casual music fans.
The Small Faces first scored with the heavily flanged psychedelic single “Itchycoo Park,” a global smash in 1967 despite a BBC ban for its druggie lyrics.
A year later came the classic LP “Ogdens’ Nut Gone Flake,” an early concept album. Side 2 was devoted to an odd psychedelic fairy tale. Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane did the band’s heavy lifting until Marriott quit to form Humble Pie.
Then came the Faces, with three original members joined by up-and-coming vocalist Rod Stewart and guitarist Ron Wood. The Faces’ sound shifted to inebriated good-time rock n’ roll. This line-up enjoyed a short but brilliant career, cut short by the demands of Stewart’s solo success and Wood’s wooing by the Rolling Stones.
Producer/engineer Tom Dowd was mostly known for his work on the classic Atlantic R&B recordings, but he also dabbled in psychedelia with acts like Cream, Wishbone Ash and Chicago. Dowd was one of the first engineers to take stereo seriously and to employ multitracking. He died a decade ago after a long run with Criterion Studios in Miami.
Producer/engineer Glyn Johns boasts a sterling resume when it comes to psychedelic music. His credits include the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Small Faces, the Who, Led Zeppelin and Family. He’s best known for his work with the Stones. Johns remains active, recently working with Ryan Adams.
Passed over for induction were the Cure, Heart, the Spinners, Donna Summers, Rufus with Chaka Khan, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and Eric B. & Rakim.
The 27th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is set for April 14 in Cleveland. The video will run on HBO in early May. A limited number of public tickets go on sale Dec. 17.
Psychedelic music is well represented in the Hall of Fame: Inductees include the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, the Beatles, Pink Floyd, the Grateful Dead, Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, the Yardbirds, the Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, Miles Davis, Traffic, Santana, Frank Zappa, the Doors and the Who.