I wrote this article back in 2012 but I believe it’s still relevant as nothing has really changed except that a few snubbed acts I mentioned have been inducted.   

“The heart of Rock and Roll is still beating…in Cleveland,” sang Huey Lewis and the News back in 1984.

But is it true for Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum?

Every year when they announce the nominees, it seems the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame continues to ignore the “What were they thinking?” reaction from rock fans and critics.

Since its inception, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was created to “recognize the contributions of those who have had a significant impact on the evolution, development, and perpetuation of rock and roll music by inducting them into the Hall of Fame.”

However, they appear to have been doing just the opposite. Rock and roll fans and critics alike, feel the nominating committee is only interested in selecting the artists they like. But that may never be proven. The selection process is cloaked in secrecy and remains controversial.

This is what is known about that process. To be nominated, artists qualify 25 years after the release of their first single or album.  Each year, the inductees are chosen through a two-step process. First, the nominating committee, made up of music critics, entertainment lawyers, and recording executives whittles down the field of nominees to 15 artists. Then five winners are chosen by a committee of 600 people that includes musicians, music industry veterans, and past winners, all of who belong to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation.

What about having the fans involved in this process? The Hall seemed to waffle on this idea. In 2011, Joel Peresman, President & CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation said they wanted to involve the public more and introduced an Internet poll on its website that let fans vote for nominees. Mr. Peresman noted that the results would have no impact on the committee’s decisions.

It seems they had a change of heart. In 2012, it was announced that the poll would create a “fan’s ballot” that would be counted along with the other 600-plus ballots, to select the inductees for 2013. The fan’s ballot is a small fraction of the vote, but it’s a step in the right direction.

However, it doesn’t matter how vocal fans, artists, or their managers are, the road to induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame remains a long and frustrating one. And sometimes, it can remain elusive.

There seems to be no rhyme or reason for how some artists are picked and others are overlooked for years. Is it biased? That’s been speculated.

Some examples:

• Alice Cooper was finally inducted in 2011, after 16 years of being passed over. It didn’t seem to matter that his style largely influenced other artists, and at the time, had over 40 years of touring and 27 studio albums.

• The Bee Gees waited 11 years before being inducted in 1997. Was it their disco music that kept them out for so long? Fans and managers say yes. Perhaps the committees may have ignored their impressive body of work and chart success that came long before the disco era.

• Heart was inducted in 2013 after 10 years of eligibility. It was a long overdue acknowledgment of Ann and Nancy Wilson, arguably the most successful women of rock and roll.

• Ozzy Osbourne and his fans complained loudly until Black Sabbath was inducted in 2006 after being on the ballot for eight years.

• Rush was inducted in 2013, after 13 years and a lot of fan outrage. You can bet releasing almost all gold and platinum albums since 1976 isn’t what had kept them out.

Sometimes complaining to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for unjustly ignoring certain artists, goes nowhere. KISS fans have gone so far as to stage rallies outside of the Hall, to no avail. KISS has never been nominated.  (Ed. note: In 2014 KISS was finally inducted).

Then there is Styx, Bon Jovi, and Def Leppard who continue to be overlooked. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts didn’t make the final cut in 2013. And the list goes on.  (Ed. note: Joan Jett and the Blackhearts were inducted in 2015. Bon Jovi in 2108.  Def Leppard in 2019. Styx continues to be snubbed). 

Perhaps the solution is to overhaul the committees and selection process and get a fresh perspective. For starters, have the fans’ ballot conducted earlier, in the nominee selection process, with their results being one of the 15 final nominees; rotate out those 600 plus people on the voting committee each year and bring in new faces from the music industry; allow the processes to be transparent; change the eligibility requirements.

In the end, it seems The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has lost its way and needs to be reminded of why it was created.