Inducting artists that are decidedly NOT rock 'n' roll while snubbing, sometimes for DECADES, performers who not only racked up top ten hits but influenced countless other artists is ridiculous. I'd hoped it would get better with the well-deserved ouster of Jann Wenner.
Biggest snubs to me:
-The Monkees: Six top 10 hits; do you know anyone who doesn't know ALL the words to their three number one hits, "Last Train to Clarksville," "I'm a Believer," and "Daydream Believer"??? 11 other top 40 hits, including the three number ones and three others in the top 5, from 1966 to 1968. I mean, Don Kirshner is in there but the group that was, arguably, his biggest success is not??? Hope they get it together while Micky Dolenz still lives to see it.
-The Sweet: 13 top ten hits worldwide, including three in the U.S. ("The Ballroom Blitz," "Little Willy" and "Fox on the Run," with "Love is Like Oxygen" also doing quite well here, and even more in England, Germany, Sweden and Australia, where they had multiple #1 and top 5 hits.) Cited as an influence by Def Leppard, Axl Rose, Motley Crue, Joan Jett, Poison, KISS and many, many others. Ivor Novello Award winners whose music has been included in so many movies/trailers and TV shows it's impossible to count! Two of their members died, tragically, so young (in their 50s), but with Mike Myers having nominated them back in the early 90s when they were first eligible, RRHOF had PLENTY of time to get this right before the unfortunate passing of founding bassist Steve Priest in 2020. I hope they rectify it while Andy Scott, last remaining member of the lineup that produced all those hits, is still around.
-Iron Maiden, The Scorpions, Motorhead and Judas Priest (the latter begrudgingly given the "musical excellence" award in 2022 but still denied status as full inductees): RRHOF has long seemed to have a problem with heavy metal. Metallica and Ozzy/Sabbath are the only exceptions I can think of OTTOMH. Each of these bands have millions and millions of die-hard fans and, other than Motorhead, are still going more than fifty years since their inception and continue being able to sell out huge arenas. They may not have always gotten the chart successes they've deserved, but they've dominated AOR radio since the 70s, and I remember their videos being a staple of "Headbanger's Ball" back when MTV still played music!
-The New York Dolls: They were punk before punk was punk and cast the mold for so many acts that followed. It's a shame now that all the members of the classic lineup are gone with the recent passing of David Johansen. They were real pioneers (along with the British glam bands like T. Rex, Sweet, Bowie, etc.) of fusing loud, infectious grooves with wild, gender-bending costumes.
-Dio: Arguably (along with the aforementioned and also-snubbed Maiden's Bruce Dickinson and Priest's Rob Halford) one of the most powerful, talented and versatile vocalists the music world has ever seen. From his early days with Elf to his storied tenures with Rainbow and Black Sabbath and on through his massive success as a solo artist, it's unbelievable he's still left out in the cold. Sabbath have had some fill-ins in the lineup that were rightfully excluded as part of their induction, but Dio most definitely should have been part of the personnel so honored.
And, speaking of that:
-Rainbow: Deep Purple got in ages ago, but the band that the legendary Ritchie Blackmore formed upon his departure should have gotten no less attention just because they got less airplay. Besides Blackmore and Dio, this band had Cozy Powell, Bob Daisley, Don Airey, Roger Glover and Joe Lynn Turner, among others, in its lineup over the decades.
In this latest round of voting, it's positively criminal that Bad Company, Chubby Checker and Joe Cocker weren't already inducted LONG ago. The Black Crowes and Joy Division/New Order and, as much as I dislike him, Billy Idol, were absolutely robbed. But sure, Outkast, Salt 'n' Pepa and the White Stripes deserve more recognition than everyone I just discussed. SIGH.
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