For nearly 26 years,Cleveland, OH has been the proud home of the beloved Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an establishment dedicated solely to the celebration of rock and roll’s most prominent and influential artists.
Which is why Kiss, Rush, Deep Purple, Journey, Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Bon Jovi, and Cheap Trick have been ignored by this illustrious institution.
And I guess it also explains why icons of rock and roll, like Run-DMC, Abba, Grand Master Flash, and Madonna are honorary inductees.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is like the opposite sex. You’ll simply never understand some of the decisions they make.
The Deep Purple snub alone is just outrageous. I mean, Smoke on the Water? DUH-DUH-DUH. DUH-DUH-DUH-NUH. That is about as iconic a riff as any rock and roll band has ever played.
But apparently not as iconic as all the great guitar riffs Run-DMC has written.
Now before I continue ranting, I would like to take a second to congratulate the Hall on recently inducting two legitimately credible rock bands this year, in Guns ‘N Roses and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. These two bands can now be mentioned in the same breath as other legendary rock and roll acts, like Madonna and Run-DMC.
And even when the Hall gets it right, they get it wrong. On the few occasions that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has farted out a credible inductee, it has come after years of disrespect.
Black Sabbath, Van Halen, and Alice Cooper all waited 10+ years to be inducted after being eligible. Who is more iconic in rock and roll than Van Halen? The 80s hard rock era is entirely their fault. And Black Sabbath and Alice Cooper? Both acts singlehandedly invented entire genres.
Now at this point, readers are probably waiting for some justification for a rant of this magnitude. Here’s why you should care: people simply are not aware of the atrocities that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame commits year after year: who’s in and who’s left out. It is my job here to be your source of enlightenment, the catalyst to your epiphany.
Yes, the bands who played “Rock ‘N Roll All Nite” and “Smoke On the Water” have not been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. You also read correctly when I said that Madonna has been inducted.
There must be some strong smoke in the room when the “expert committee” makes its selections.
It is atrocious, blasphemous, and sickening. I mean for God’s sake, LL Cool J was nominated last year. No one with half an ounce of respect for rock and roll and its history can justify that action.
I guess what I’m hoping for is that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame chooses to induct some of the most influential and iconic rock bands of all time, and that they not induct hip-hop and rap artists into a rock and roll institution. My sincere apologies if that is too much to ask.