This month, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will be announcing its 2016 inductees. Judas Priest, who gives a fat rat's ass any more, anyway?

I'm not kidding. No one is ever happy with the selections. There is no definition of what "rock and roll" is, which means that there is no consensus on which artists are appropriate candidates. Apart from the need to have released the first recording at least 25 years previously to qualify and a vague suggestion of "musical excellence," there are no criteria that can be universally applied. And with only fragmentary glimpses of the Hall's nominating committee and its selection and voting procedures, sustained mutterings about how the entire process is an industry charade stage-managed by driving force Jann Wenner and his cronies are approaching whispered revelations about the Freemasons, the Illuminati, and other occult conspiracies.

We have been waiting a long time to hear a comment from this man.

In a recent interview in Japan, Rodgers had this to say:



“I honestly, honestly don’t get weird about it.  I can’t figure out what the criterion is. It’s actually sort of funny.

If it’s not based on statistics then it’s just an opinion poll deciding this person’s cooler than that person.  But if a hall of fame is something that says this person had 20 gold records or influenced this amount of people, I’ve sold more records than almost anyone in there. I’ve written more hit records than almost everybody in the Hall of Fame. Come on, guys!

Most people don’t know I wrote We are Family, or I’m Coming Out – they don’t know that. They just go oh, it’s Sister Sledge, or oh it’s Diana Ross.

When David Bowie walked into my bedroom and played his version of Let’s Dance, it didn’t sound anything like the one everybody knows and loves. It was sort of like a folk song. Most of the things I have done, nobody knows that I did them.”


It is interesting that Rodgers did not speak so much of the band’s accomplishments but rather that of his own.  As many of you know, Chic has been nominated for a tenth time, but is their any real reason to think that this will be their breakthrough year?

Rodgers did do everything he said, and most recently collaborated with Daft Punk in “Get Lucky”, an international smash. 

Rodgers has been a successful performer, songwriter and producer and would be a candidate for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Award for Musical Excellence (which was won last year by Ringo Starr) which could go to Rodgers, or a performer like Todd Rundgren and/or Brian Eno, who fits into the same category as Rodgers. 

At least if they did that, we would probably be spared the annual refusal of the Hall to induct Chic, which lets be honest, is mostly nominated because of Nile Rodgers.

As most of you know, Deep Purple has been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year, which marks the band’s third time up as a Finalist.  For many (including us as we have them ranked #1 on our Notinhalloffame.com rock list) the exclusion of Deep Purple has been a joke and other bands who are in (Metallica, KISS and Rush) have stated that the Hall needs to induct them.

In a recent interview with Classicrock.com, Deep Purple frontman, Ian Gillan had the following to say about their nomination and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in general.



“I have no respect for them.  They’re the kind of people that having seen A Hard Day’s Night decided that the Monkees would be America’s equivalent to the Beatles.  They’ve no idea what goes on in the big wide world outside of their self-arbitrating surroundings.  To me, those people are bloody arrogant and rude.

I’ve heard that somebody on their committee dismissed us as one hit wonders.  I couldn’t figure out what that hit was; ‘Hush’, ‘Kentucky Woman’, ‘Black Night’, ‘Strange Kind of Woman’, ‘Child in Time’, ‘Perfect Strangers’, ‘Knocking At Your Back Door’ or perhaps even ‘Smoke on the Water’.

I’m sure that my mum would have been pleased and it all sounds very grand, but just take a look who’s in it!  I once wrote a song called ‘No Laughing in Heaven’ which was about not wanting to go to heaven due to the company I’d be keeping, and with a few exceptions, the Hall of Fame is pretty much the same thing.”



While we aren’t exactly sure what Gillan meant with his Monkees reference (They have never been nominated and are not considered a band that will get in due to the way they were brought together) it can be understood why he is frustrated considering that the group has been eligible since 1994. 

We are certainly curious just which artist he doesn’t want to be in the Hall with however it is worth noting that the Hall does not seem to view acceptance by an artist (see the Sex Pistols) to get inducted.

Still, is it not safe to say that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is missing a major act by not having them in it?  Maybe this could be the year for Deep Purple…let’s see if they care to attend if chosen!

At 2:00 AM Eastern the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced their Class of 2016 Nominees and it features some new possibilities, old returnees and a few headscratchers.

Let’s take a look at this group in order of their rank on Norinhalloffame.com.

Deep Purple: (#1)The British rockers have been nominated twice before, though their first nomination came seventeen years after being declared eligible.  They have been number one on our list for the past two years and have never been out of the top four since our website began.

The Smiths: (#5) This is their second straight nomination.  The group has always been ranked in our top ten.

N.W.A.: (#11) This is their fourth consecutive nomination and coming off of their successful biopic, this could be their year.

Chicago: (#12) Surprisingly, this is the first nomination for Chicago who have waited over twenty years for this.  Seriously, how could this one wait so long just to get to this stage?

Yes: (#16) The progressive rock band gets a second shot at the Hall and clearly they have landed on Cleveland’s radar.

The Steve Miller Band (#21) This also marks the first time that the Steve Miller Band has been nominated and like Chicago it took over twenty years to get here.  Chances are that all of you reading this had a cd of their greatest hits.

Nine Inch Nails (#33) This is Trent Reznor’s second nomination and the man who will likely (maybe this year) become the lone Industrial representative of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Janet Jackson: (#34) This is the first nomination for Janet Jackson and we know our friends at the #Inductjanet campaign will be thrilled!  This is a strong female contender for an institution that claims to support gender equity.

The Cars: (#36) Steadily climbing our chart since its inception, this marks the first nomination for the Ric Ocasek led Pop/New Wave group.

Cheap Trick: (#44) This is another first time nominee as the Chicago based power-pop rock group has been increasing in legacy in recent years. 

The Spinners (#54) The Spinners are nominated for a third time and considering that the band they inspired (Hall & Oates) got in, perhaps this year the Spinners will add another Philly Soul representative to the Hall.

Chic: (#100) This is the eleventh (that is not a misprint) nomination for the R&B/Disco outfit from the 70’s and this is getting a little sad.  Why not just induct Nile Rodgers through the same back door that they used to crowbar Ringo Starr in last year?

Chaka Khan (#131) Huh?  With all due respect to Chaka Khan, we are far more interested in seeing her inducted with Rufus, which is actually what the ranking reflects.  This is Chaka Khan’s first nomination.

Los Lobos (#135) I hope to God that those of you reading this only think that this group was known for covering La Bamba!  This is also there first nomination.

The J.B.’s (Unranked) Another strange nomination considering that the Rock Hall not long ago inducted multiple backing bands, including that of James Brown’s first band, The Famous Flames.  This was the band that supported Brown from the 70’s to the 90’s.

We know we are going to hear a lot about this one and expect that there will be a lot of people upset that their favourite musician(s) were not chosen. And while there is certainly a lot to criticize it is nice to see so many first time nominees. 

Now it’s your turn.

Do you agree with these choices?  Let us know here at Notinhalloffame.com!

The heavy metal band, Slayer has been eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for a few years now, but there has not been a lot of online support fro their fans clamoring for their induction nor have we really heard much about their opinion on the institution itself.

This has changed as VH1 spoke with their lead guitarist, Kerry King, who had this to say about the Rock and Roll Hall:

“I’m not making a ploy to get in, but it makes me think, ‘Man, I hope they call my name one of these days.’  I think it took them a long time to get in there.  But Metallica basically opens doors for us, because when you think of metal who do you think of next from that generation?  Of course there’s Sabbath, Priest and Maiden, without question.  But for ‘The Big Four’, you think Metallica.  We’ve always been number two on The Big Four shows. So come on, Rock Hall, give us that call!  We’re ready!  I’ll donate some change or something.”

King is right to a point.  Black Sabbath is in, as is Metallica (though they did not have to wait that long, but Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Deep Purple are not in and there has never been any indication that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame respects the genre that much.  As for the Big Four, that also includes Anthrax and Megadeth, neither of which seem to be entering the Hall anytime soon.

Still, we have to applaud King for not going the route of so many other snubbed bands that have elected to publically state that they don’t care about the Hall.

At present, Slayer is currently ranked #96 on our Notinhalloffame.com Rock and Roll list.

Now both the Baseball and Football Hall of Fame ceremonies are on the horizon, but it was the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the controversy that come with it that began this site in the first place. 

In the past, along with regular contributors, Sphensiscus and DDT, we have done projections as to who we thought would be the nominees for the Hall, but at the suggestion of Spheniscus, we put together a dream ballot of the fifteen acts, we want to see nominated and why.

We always look to the future here at Notinhalloffame.com and as such we are pleased to announce that we have expanded the Rock and Roll Futures up to 2026.  These are the acts who will be eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame that year and you can give us your opinion now as to whether anyone from this class has already done enough to be deemed RRHOF worthy.

Who are those that you can vote for whom are eligible in 2026?

They are:

Alicia Keys

Avenged Sevenfold

Bayside

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club

Blake Shelton

Brand New

British Sea Power

Broken Social Scene

Bubba Sparxxx

Clinic

Constantines

D12

Damian Rice

Daniel Bedingfield

David Guetta

Dirty Vegas

Drowning Pool

Flobots

Gorillaz

India Arie

Jack Johnson

Josh Groban

Liars

Lostprophets

Mastodon

Midlake

Miranda Lambert

N.E.R.D.

Nelly Furtado

Norah Jones

Pete Yorn

Psy

Puddle of Mudd

Regina Spektor

Rise Against

RJD2

Stars

Starsailor

T.I.

Tenacious D

The Black Dahlia Murder

The Coral

The National

The Shins

The Strokes

The Vines

The Von Bondies

Thrice

Tiesto

Will i.am

Yellowcard

As of this writing in the summer of 2015, is there really any artist that stands out as a sure thing at this point?

Are the Strokes the best contender from this group?  How about Alicia Keys? Maybe even a dark horse like David Guetta as the first DJ in the Hall?

The top candidate might a band that in theory doesn’t exist; the virtual band, Gorillaz.

We know this much.  With over a decade to go before they are eligible, a lot can change.

Here is what else we know. 

All of the above are now in the 2026 Rock and Roll Futures Section and are ready for your votes and comments.


As always, we here at Notinhalloffame.com thank for your support and look forward to your input. 

My, how time flies! Here it is more than a year since my last "audit" of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, my foolhardy attempt to evaluate the artists the Hall has inducted since its inaugural class of 1986, and I had better post my assessments now so I don't have to add another year's worth of inductees once the honorees for 2014 are announced.