Paul Ackerman
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Year:
1995
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Inducted by:
Seymour Stein
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Category:
Ahmet Ertegun Award
Introduction
One of rock and roll’s first advocates.
As music editor of Billboard, Paul Ackerman’s prime coincided with the advent of both rock and roll and music journalism as forms. While some dismissed rock as a fad, Ackerman recognized its artistry and wasn’t afraid to let people know.
Ahmet Ertegun Inducts and Accepts for Paul Ackerman
Ahmet Ertegun Inducts and Accepts for Paul Ackerman at the 1995 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony-
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Ahmet Ertegun Inducts and Accepts for Paul Ackerman00:02:27
Hall of Fame Essay
1995
Editor’s note: One of the most revered music-industry figures of the mid-20th century, Paul Ackerman was the music editor of "Billboard” magazine from 1943 to 1973. His tenure in this powerful post coincided, of course, with the tumultuous birth of rock & roll; and via his formidable intellect and his reputation as a scholar of European and American civilization, he was first among the journalists who made the new music a form to be taken very seriously indeed, inside the business and out.
Paul Ackerman was the recipient of dozens of awards in the fields of musical journalism and scholarship. His induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame crowns, albeit posthumously, the honors gathered by this remarkable man.
