The Hall of Fame Hall of Fame has completed its annual induction balloting. Again this year, no hall has met the requirements or gotten the one vote necessary for induction. Eligibility is rather simple as there are only two stipulations. The first is simply to be a hall of fame. The second is to really be a hall of fame.
All halls of fame are flawed, but two of them are the most discussed: The Major League Baseball Hall of Fame and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I could go on and on about Pete Rose or how Sosa and McGwire literally saved baseball, but this is a music blog.

Van Dyke

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a joke. I have yet to hear anyone disagree with me on that point. It is as much about who is in as it is about who is not. Metallica is in there. No one was a bigger fan of
Metallica during their heyday than I was. I just have a hard time understanding how they would be put in before Motorhead or Iron Maiden. Even Judas Priest is not in and they have been around forever. They
recently did an album about Nostradamus and it was not because he fascinated them. It was because they used to open for the guy.
Madonna? Don’t get me wrong, she was a pop culture icon back in the ’80s and had an influence on a lot of artists. She just seems to be the only artist from that decade inducted. Where is Duran Duran? They were
everywhere back then. They even left Hall and Oates out and Huey Lewis. It seemed like they had four songs out at a time when I was growing up. Van Halen is in, but no Motley Crue? I am pretty sure the Crue had
something to do with the millions of bands that popped up out of the LA scene.

They have left almost entire genres of rock out. Glam rock is not entirely David Bowie. What about Sweet, Slade, Mott the Hoople, T. Rex, or the New York Dolls?

I will list some significant snubs at the end. Right now what I think are the major omissions:

1) Kiss — Say what you will, but they had a huge impact on the music industry and should be in there. Thanks to Gene Simmons, I am beginning to think they are being left out because the museum would need to be expanded to house all their merchandising.

2) Rush — Every musician I have ever discussed music with has mentioned this band. Every artist I have followed in rock music in the ’80s up to today lists them as an influence.

3) Stevie Ray Vaughan — The influence of this man is heard just about everywhere a guitar is playing. He was stolen away from us much too soon. I truly believe it was because Hendrix wanted to jam with him that much and called in a favor.

So better luck next year, halls. You know Pete Rose may have bet on baseball, but I am pretty sure he never started a riot that tore up a stadium. Not to say Guns ‘n’ Roses ever bet on Rock and Roll. They are in.
They deserve to be. I guess this makes you the front runner next year, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Don’t blow it. Again. I may be wrong, but that is my right.

The 27th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place April 14, 2012, in Cleveland, Ohio. Among the inductees are: Donovan, The Beastie Boys, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Guns’n'Roses.

Those not among the inductees are: Deep Purple, Styx, Bad Company, Chicago, The Doobie Brothers, Cheap Trick, The Commodores, KC and the Sunshine Band, The Cars, The Guess Who, Electric Light Orchestra, Kansas, Jimmy Buffet, The Steve Miller Band, Ozzy Osbourne as a solo artist, and Weird Al Yankovic to name a few.

 

Don Van Dyke