Content Guidelines:

Of utmost importance is DO NOT write an emotional letter. DO NOT write things like "DEVO rules, you’re crazy if you don’t nominate them!" or "They’re the best! Please please please elect them!" or "I started listening to them when I was a fetus and I still love them." THIS WILL DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD. Emotional letters will come across as the pleadings of a passionate fan as opposed to a logical objective reason to induct DEVO. Please write a letter that is based on objective facts (these can be found in the Why Nominate? page). Inductees are selected based on fact and not emotion, and so the tone of the requests sent to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame must always be thus.

In addition, please do not direct people to this website in your letter. Your letter must be strong enough to stand on its own. It will be much more powerful if it is self-contained. Referencing this website may give the incorrect impression that "the power of the Internet" has spawned all of these letters like chain mail, and might therefore dilute the success and merit of DEVO as a band. Referencing this website might also give the appearance of all of these letters coming from "one voice" as opposed to actually coming from the opinions of many.

Structure Guidelines:

Introduction:

The introduction of a letter is what succeeds or fails in grabbing the reader’s attention, making them decide whether or not the letter they have just opened is important or valuable for them to read. Successful introductions are those that appeal to the reader’s priorities or responsibilities. If a letter begins with a proposition that is uninteresting or irrelevant to the reader, they are more likely to discard the document without reading it.

The individuals on the Nominating Committee have been tasked with a job, and that is to recommend inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Their job is to submit recommendations to an international body that chooses the inductees. Rather than stating that you want DEVO nominated and here are the reasons why, it will be much more effective to come across as someone who is helping them to do their job. As an example, an introduction might read, "I understand that you are responsible for nominating performers for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I am writing to propose the nomination of DEVO." This would then be followed by the logical and factual reasons for why DEVO should be inducted.

Grouping Your Points:

The facts in your letter should be grouped into categories. Each category should have no more than five items. If there are more than five items in a category then you should split the category into sub-categories. A correct example of this is depicted below.

For the purposes of example, let us assume that my letter had more than five examples of how DEVO has influenced other musicians. In that case, I would create subcategories in my letter as depicted here:

This structure is very important when creating a persuasive and compelling letter, which we must do if we are to succeed.

Ordering Your Points:

Within each group or subgroup, there must be a logical order to the items listed. If you do not tell the reader what this ordering is, they will automatically look for one on their own. Readers look for and expect a logical order in a document, and it makes it difficult for a reader to understand what they are reading and why if they cannot find one. This is perhaps the most important strategy to create a clear and compelling document.

The most typical and effective ordering strategies are:

• Chronological - in the order in which events happened from furthest in the past to the most recent
• Structural - listing items according to specific categories or alphabetically
• Comparative - most important to least important

As an example, look at the structure indicated above listing how DEVO’s music has been used over the years. These items are grouped structurally - the songs are listed in alphabetical order. The beginning of this section of the letter could read something like, "DEVO’s lasting appeal has led to its songs being used in many situations over the years. Examples include, in alphabetical order by song" Note that this tells the reader how the items are ordered, and so they know what to expect and have greater clarity.

When in doubt and when feasible, use chronological ordering since this is the easiest for the reader to understand. For example, it would be best to list DEVO’s awards in chronological order. It would, however, be confusing to list the times that DEVO’s songs have been used in chronological order. This is because, since their songs have been used so often over the years, you would wind up listing the songs over and over if you used a chronological structure. The reader would likely be confused and feel like they are re-reading material they have already read. Since awards are generally won only once, they are best communicated chronologically. Each song’s usage, because some have been used so often, are best listed structurally, such as alphabetically.

Summarizing Your Points:

The purpose of a summary is to make the reader’s process of thinking as easy for them as possible. You have just stated a series of facts backing your point, now it is time to summarize and solidify that point. If your category or subcategory has a long list of items or is moderately complex, it is best to take a moment at the end to summarize the points. Summaries should be as brief as possible, however, so as not to insult the reader by trying too hard to tell them what they have already learned in your letter. If your category or subcategory has a short list of items and is easy to understand, it is best not to include a summary.

Concluding Your Letter:

Believe it or not, conclusions are actually very difficult to accomplish effectively. We are writing letters to the Nominating Committee that are asking them to take action, and this can be a tricky thing to do. In asking people to take action, it is crucially important to take care to frame that action in such a way that it will not be questioned by the reader. If it is questioned by the reader, then they might disagree. As an example, it would be dangerous to conclude a letter to the Nominating Committee by writing, "In conclusion, I feel DEVO should be nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame", because the reader, despite the logical and objective facts in your letter, may disagree. It is much more effective to conclude such a letter with something like, "If you agree that DEVO’s awards and lasting influence make them a candidate for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame then they should be included in your recommendations." The first example is questionable - "DEVO should be nominated" is a proposal open to debate. It is, however, impossible to debate what the committee member should do if they agree that DEVO is a candidate for induction. There is a subtle difference between these two examples, but it is a very important one when writing "call to action" letters such as ours.

You may wish to refer to these guidelines regularly while composing your letter.

Other Guidelines:

Please do not ask the Nominating Committee for feedback in any way. For example, please do not include a self-addressed stamped envelope asking for feedback about whether or not they plan to submit a recommendation for DEVO. Please do not provide e-mail or phone contact details in case they have any additional questions. Although this may seem like a polite and courteous thing to do, it is actually implying an additional task to "to do" for the member of the Nominating Committee. As described earlier, we want this process to be as easy for them as possible. That means as little work as possible. We want them to do one thing and one thing only, and that is to submit a recommendation for DEVO. Any additional task means more work, and reduces our chances of success.

Sending Your Letter:

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, which handles the induction process, does not have an e-mail address. It is also physically located in an entirely different state than the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum. Please, therefore, do not send any letters via e-mail - they will all go to the wrong place. Please send your letter by regular mail to:

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation
Nominating Committee - Performers Category
1290 Avenue of the Americas
New York , NY 10104

If you are mailing your letter from outside of the United States, then please add "United States of America" on an additional line underneath the above address.

It is often difficult to construct a precise grammatical structure in a language that is not one's mother tongue. If English is not your first language and/or you would like to have your letter reviewed by a native English-speaker, we are happy to do so. Please send your letter to webmaster@nominatedevo.com and we will review and return it. We will not make structural changes, we will simply review the letter for phrases that might be confusing or have double meanings for the Nominating Committee. For example, "DEVO blows music" is a compliment in some cultures but happens to be an insult in the English language. We can also translate letters from Italian and Spanish. Again, we would not change the meaning of your letter, we would only ensure that it is free of ambiguity for the Nominating Committee.

Please include a return address on your envelope. Please also ensure that you apply sufficient postage so that there is not postage due upon your letter’s arrival.

Sample Letter:

Please see the facts in the Why Nominate? page and the structure guidelines in this section and compose your own letter. If you must copy an existing letter, you may use the following letter that follows the graphical structure example depicted above.

Good Day,

My name is Marc Friedman. I understand that you are in charge of nominating performers for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I am writing to propose the nomination of DEVO. I am proposing this because of their influence on other musicians, the accolades they have received from other musicians, the awards and recognition they have already won and the lasting influence their music has had on our culture.

DEVO gained a significant audience among their peers, even in the early days of their musical career in the late 1970s. Neil Young (1995 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee) named his famous "Rust Never Sleeps" album after DEVO's influence and comments during a shared jam session. Neil Young also used to walk across the stage during his concerts holding a sign reading "DEVO" and asking the audience "Have you got it yet?"

Sex Pistols' former lead singer Johnny Rotten approached Virgin Records' Richard Branson asking him to broker a deal with DEVO in which Johnny Rotten would be the new lead singer of DEVO, on Branson's Virgin label. Mr. Branson even had a group of the press on hand to make the announcement should DEVO accept. Although DEVO did not accept Mr. Branson's proposition, Johnny Rotten and Mr. Branson's interest are another example of the appeal DEVO had among their early contemporaries.

In addition to their peers, DEVO has also had an extended influence on their successors. Many musicians have not only covered many DEVO songs, but, perhaps more importantly, many modern successful bands have cited DEVO's musical influence upon their careers.

Example artists that have recorded and performed cover songs by DEVO are, in alphabetical order:

Moby - DEVO's Whip It
Nirvana - Freedom of Choice and Turn Around
Rage Against The Machine - Beautiful World
Robert Palmer - Girl U Want
Soundgarden - Girl U Want
Sugar Ray - Freedom of Choice

Many musicians and industry experts have also described their admiration for DEVO, and the impact that DEVO had on them:

DEVO’s "Whip It" was selected by James Henke, chief curator for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as one of "500 Songs That Shaped Rock."

"Whatever they were, when this (Freedom of Choice) came out, I wanted to enlist. I’d love to see some of these new-school rock bands step up to this level of concept. - Beck

"I’d always admired DEVO’s robot-gone-haywire sound, and their amazing videos."- David Byrne

"I learned to drum to ‘Freedom of Choice’."- Josh Freese, drummer for The Vandals, et al

"I love them. DEVO are like Dadaists to me."- Joni Mitchell

"The genius of that band is just staggering. There are only two kinds of people in this world: those who get DEVO and those who don’t."- Henry Rollins

"We went to play ‘Hey Hey (My My)’ and we weren’t hittin’ it that good. Neil (Young) showed us a video of him playin’ it with DEVO. I didn’t think we could ever play it that good, but that inspired us to play harder. From then on, we played the sh*t out of that song."- Frank "Poncho" Sampedro, Crazy Horse guitarist

Induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame would not be the first recognition of DEVO's artistry and successes, and it would not be the first time they have won a significant award. DEVO’s movie "The Truth About De-Evolution" won the Best Short Film award at the Ann Arbor Film Festival in 1977. "DEVO meets Sarah Jessica Parker on Square Pegs", which aired in 1982, is one of VH1's, "100 Moments That Rocked TV." DEVO received a Grammy nomination in February 1985 for their video "We’re All DEVO." DEVO's video for "Whip It" was inducted in the Music Video Production Association's Hall of Fame in 1998. And DEVO won the Los Angeles Weekly Music Awards’ "Pop/Rock Lifetime Achievement Award" in 2004.

Lastly, DEVO's music has had a long-running appeal, both in the way that music is experienced and in the way that it influences others.

DEVO, working with Chuck Statler, conceived of and made music videos before MTV even existed. As a result, their library of available videos were broadcast regularly and often in the early days of MTV. These helped shape people’s ideas of what music videos should be. DEVO was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live in 1978. DEVO was on American Bandstand in 1981.

The impact of DEVO's music had led it to be used in a number of motion pictures and TV commercials. Some examples are, by song:

DEVO’s "Beautiful World" is used as the theme song in a Target commercial in the year 2001.

DEVO’s "Going Under" was used in the TV show "Miami Vice" in the year 1984.

DEVO's "Gut Feeling" was used in the trailer for the movie "The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou" in 2004.

DEVO’s "Jerkin Back and Forth" was used in the trailer for the movie "Boogie Nights" in the year 1997.

DEVO’s "Uncontrollable Urge" is used in Nissan’s TV commercial in the year 2002, and in Mitsubishi’s TV commercial for the Galant in the year 2004.

DEVO’s "Whip It" is used:
- In the movie "Casino" in 1995
- In a Sunbeam commercial in 1996
- In a Swiffer commercial in the year 2003
- By reference in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me in 1999
- By reference in the movie The Weatherman in 2005

In conclusion, if you agree that DEVO’s awards and lasting influence make them a candidate for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame then they should be included in your recommendations.

Thank you for your consideration.

Kind Regards,

Marc