Let’s Help the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame -2025

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, a hall of fame is “A place that is like a museum, with exhibits honoring famous people and events related to a particular activity.” This may be true, but when I hear “hall of fame,” I think more about what the title symbolizes. Yes, there are physical buildings which house the various halls of honor: Cooperstown, Canton, Springfield, Toronto (that’s where the hockey one is in case you didn’t know), and of course, Cleveland….home to the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. But what does “Hall of Fame” mean? In my mind, whether it be sports or other forms of entertainment, the hall of fame symbolizes ‘the best’ and/or ‘essential contributors’ to something. In fact, ‘essential’ is the more logical term to use. If they only included the best, these halls wouldn’t need to be very big. ‘Essential,’ in terms of music, means the following to me: Can you truly tell the history of Rock n’ Roll without including a particular artist, band, or era that various acts largely contributed to? If the answer is yes, then those acts probably don’t need to be in the Rock Hall. If the answer is no, then those acts are probably hall of famers.

In terms of the Rock Hall, one must understand the whole thing has historically been flawed. Established in 1983, the Hall originally appointed a small group spearheaded by Rolling Stone magazine founder Jann Wenner to run the organization. Wenner would rule the Rock Hall as gatekeeper for the better part of 40 years before finally being ousted from the board in 2023. The problem with his stewardship was if he didn’t like a particular type of music (Progressive Rock and Heavy Metal for example) you could damn near forget about consideration to the Rock Hall.

Of course, in his latter years at the helm, with his influence waning, the Hall’s doors started opening to absolutely ridiculous acts. In an effort to diversify their brand, or perhaps demonstrate more inclusionary efforts to offset Wenner’s decades of exclusion, the Rock Hall has recently inducted artists such as Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson. Hall of Famers? Absolutely. Country music hall of famers. 2024 also saw Cher get inducted. Yup, Cher. A Rock and Roll Hall of Famer! Good lord. 

I certainly have no control or influence on who the Rock Hall opens their doors to, but I sure as hell can list some suggestions for current and future consideration. This will likely be a 2-part post. The first highlighting 10 performers who should be in the Rock Hall already. The second part will feature a dozen or so additional artists who should at least be considered. With that said, let’s get into it. 

TEN ARTISTS/BANDS WHO SHOULD BE IN THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME

*Images courtesy of wikipedia.com unless otherwise indicated

*Statistical facts courtesy of ultimate classic rock’s article, “145 Artists Not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

*Commentary courtesy of yours truly

(No particular order here. They all deserve to be in)

SOUNDGARDEN:

 I’ve stumped for this band in previous posts, so I’ll keep this short and sweet. They’ve been eligible for over a dozen years now. They sold millions of albums. They sold out venues all over the world. Most importantly, they were the OG’s of the mainstream Seattle sound. Highly original, and a hugely influential band, they continue to be one of the Rock Hall’s most criminal omissions. 

STEVE WINWOOD:

The Spencer Davis Group. You know them…”Gimme Some Lovin’,” “I’m A Man.” Traffic. You know them…”Dear Mr. Fantasy, play us a tune, something to make us all happy.” Blind Faith w/ Eric Clapton. You know them….”Can’t Find My Way Home.” Oh, then there’s his hugely successful solo career in the 1980s, including multi-platinum selling albums “Back in the High Life” and “Roll With It.” Steve Winwood has been contributing to Rock and Roll’s story for an astounding 60 years. He’s a Rock legend. His omission is downright insulting. 

PHIL COLLINS:

Phil was one of the most omnipresent performers of the 1980s. He was everywhere, playing with everyone. Yes, we all eventually burned out on Phil. That said, you simply can’t deny his contributions. He had more hit songs spanning from his solo albums Face Value, No Jacket Required, and But Seriously, then probably just about any artist who branched off from a highly successful band. Yes, Phil is technically in the Rock Hall because of his membership in the band, Genesis. I’d argue, however, he was bigger as a solo artist than either Genesis or his former Genesis bandmate Peter Gabriel (who is in the Rock Hall as a solo artist).

BRYAN ADAMS:

Similar to Phil Collins, Bryan Adams was a tour de force in the 1980s. He was a genuine hitmaker. Every classic rock radio station in every big city in America played a Bryan Adams song in the past two hours. Ok, I can’t prove that, but it’s probably more true than false! Perhaps the Hall can’t figure Bryan Adams out. Even back in his heyday, his sound was too Rock for Pop, and too Pop for Hard Rock. He never really fit nicely into one place. I can’t say how influential his music was to the Rock landscape of future artists. Honestly, I’d say probably not much at all. I will say however, back in that heyday he was big. Real big. There are many, many less-deserving artists currently in the Hall.

HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS:

Starting to notice a trend here? Another wildly successful 1980’s act not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Remember when I said Jann Wenner hated Prog Rock and Heavy Metal? Well he apparently hated the 1980s as well. Look, regardless of what you may feel about this band, how can you deny them? They sold over 11 million albums in the 80s. They had 21 songs on the billboard charts. Three #1 songs. 12 more in the Top Ten. Two #1 albums (Sports, and Fore!) Huey Lewis and the News were literally one of the biggest bands around back in their day. They have been eligible since 2006. It is long overdue to do right by these guys and induct them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 

THE BLACK CROWES:

Let’s take a much-needed break from the 1980s by talking about a band whose first album dropped in 1990! The Robinson brothers & company have been eligible for a decade now, and with each year that passes without nomination it’s starting to feel more and more Soundgardensque-criminal. In my opinion, they more or less stamped their hall of fame status following their first two albums, Shake Your Moneymaker, and The Southern Harmony & Musical Companion. We’ve seen bands deliver perfect debuts, but rarely has a band delivered two perfect albums right out of the gates. They’d go on to release some other quality material before flaming out by the end of the millennium’s first decade. Brothers Chris and Rich reformed the band in 2019, and in the fall of 2024 they released their first studio album in over a decade. (To be discussed in a future post!) The new album features their best work since the late ‘90s, and reaffirms why this great band deserves to be enshrined.

MOTLEY CRUE:

As a kid growing up during this period of rock, I remember general sub-categories or degrees. You had Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, and Speed Metal. Nowadays they all get lumped together as “Hair Bands.” For years, these bands went as ignored by the Hall of Fame as many pop rock artists of the same time period were. Whether it was Van Halen (2007), Metallica (2009), G ‘n R (2012), Bon Jovi (2018), or Def Leppard (2019), the Hall has since opened its doors to the ‘Hair Bands.’ That doesn’t mean they should let them all in. Most of the bands of that era were imitators in both sound and appearance of the bands listed above as well as a few others. One of those others was Motley Crue. If there’s a Mount Rushmore for hard rock/metal bands of that era, the ‘Crue’ would have to be on it. It’s high time they join their Rushmore contemporaries Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, and Van Halen. 

TOTO:

(image: totoofficial.com) Even if these guys never started their own band back in the late ‘70s, they should be at least recognized by the Rock Hall in the musical contributors category for their great sessions work. They recorded with the likes of Steely Dan, Michael McDonald, and Boz Scaggs, just to name a few. Unbeknownst to many, they were essentially the backing band for nearly all of Michael Jackson’s Thriller album. But despite that, they did start their own band too, and that band made a pretty nice mark on Rock. Hold the LIne, Rosanna, Africa. Yup, that was Toto too. They weren’t flashy. Hell, at heart they were studio guys. But they were some of the most technical, talented instrumentalists you’ll find. They’ve been overlooked for induction since 2003.

BILLY IDOL:

AND

CYNDI LAUPER:

I’ll close by lumping these two together. They were at the height of their powers during the same era (1980s MTV). They both seemed woven into the very fabric of pop culture during that time. For a time they were as popular (especially Lauper) as a musical artist could be. The mention of these two brings me all the way back to the beginning of this post: 

“Can you truly tell the history of Rock n’ Roll without including a particular artist, band, or era that various acts largely contributed to? If the answer is yes, then those acts probably don’t need to be in the Rock Hall. If the answer is no, then those acts are probably hall of famers.”

So I’ll ask you….can you tell the history of Rock without talking about Cyndi Lauper and Billy Idol? In my book, the answer is ‘no.’ Therefore…chalk up two more 80’s artists the Hall of Fame is currently overlooking. 

Thanks for reading,

Vic