top of page

ABOUT THE COURT

The INTERNATIONAL COURT of ROCK 'N ROLL JUSTICE validates artists that have not been fully considered by elite critics of the media.

The Audacity of this court will be to recognize, validate and congratulate key artists of our time for the vital impact of their work during  the rock 'n roll era.  Often those artists have achieved great acclaim and commercial success, but some key part of their story requires further illumination.

Artists such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, or The Beach Boys, are well loved and respected by The Court, yet have already received recognition in full calibration with their impact on rock and roll, and our lives.   This spotlight by writers or fans becomes uncomfortable and tiresome as they endlessly grab on to the 'mojo' of such artists, as if we haven't yet heard about them.  On some level, the adulation takes away the humanity of those artists as fallible individuals with real creative highs or lows.

More mystifying  are artists who have become 'critical darlings' and receive a "free pass"  for  all of their work, without any critical challenge, ever.  The anointment of such royalty has created a certain staleness, and reward for poor musicianship or truly unprofound additions to the canon of rock and roll.

 This Court is not formed to add to the oeuvre of their critical acclaim.  

Not one more word.

 

There is a certain dire straits for popular music today without weeding out of artists who fail to learn their instruments, and often confuse the attention of youth.  Society could fall over this issue. 

The Justices of the Court are keen observers and consumers of rock and roll and consider the songs and artists to be a key part of their lives.  By definition, The Court is LOYAL to artists and remembers their impact, as it happened, not just as defined by what the rock intelligentsia chooses to remember.

Popular song is enjoyable and entertaining.  And also powerful and important.  This website seeks to spread validation and light on artists who deserve greater recognition.

Key cases and conclusions about major artists will be  examined, reopened and  investagated with Rulings issued by The Court.

We are ready to Rock and Rule!

CHIEF JUSTICE

BENNETT ZIMMERMAN founded the court after decades of being a music industry fan, executive, and avid reader of the rock and roll press.  Often dismayed at artists deserving of fuller recognition, with their contributions forgotten or mischaracterized, disrespected or misrepresented, or receiving little or no adulation at all. He wishes to fully consider and recognize the many rock artists, huge in their own time, for making impact in sometimes silent or overlooked fashion.

Hugely successful artists are eligible in large by the court, because perhaps their full impact might have been minimized, miscategorized, overlooked, or impact forgotten over the years.

Still other artists, sometimes the bravest of all, have become unfairly the lightning rods of criticism.

More so than any other case, Yoko Ono had such a huge and important imact on my life through her artistry AND impact on popular music yet has at best been ignored, often dismisssed and often savaged by music fans an critics.  She deserves Justice.

This is a fun sight. Yet it is as important as art itself and

in validating real people with real journeys that deserve recogniztion, and again, validation and  . .  even kindness.

bottom of page