Decker

She's clearly deserving. I think they must curate the list a bit. In the same way that The Cure, The Smiths and Depeche Mode have alternated nominations but never appeared on the ballot together, I bet they don't want Pat Benatar and The Go Go's competing against each other.

windom

Where is George Michael? If Whitney Houston is in, he definitely deserves to be in.

Decker

Don't quite know how the fan vote figures into everything (and FWIW Fela Kuti is running away with the fan vote, so that feels a little manufactured). Anyways, here's the link :

https://vote.rockhall.com/

JeffTheAlpaca

What happened to Pat Benator?

She was huge in the 80's and you would think she would have had hits in the 90's and beyond but disappeared.

cultshock

Damn, the Dolls and Maiden should have already been in by now.



(but your statement is true)

GuessWho

The fan vote counts as one ballot.

So of the 1000 or so ballots cast:

• 999 are from industry types & current inductees
• 1 is from the fan vote.

dex14

Decker

Yay Go-Go's! Guess my sister will be going to Cleveland for the ceremony.

B5Erik

Man, those voters sure hate Heavy Metal.

Iron Maiden is a no-brainer. One of the greatest bands of all time, musical excellence, huge influence, and massive success worldwide - even 40 years later, selling out arenas, amphitheaters, and even stadiums.

What a joke.

Paff

They're definitely biased against it, that's for sure.

I mean, I'm a punk fan, and remember many arguments in high school with the mostly metal-loving kids about which genre is "better", and I do chuckle that the HoF has definitely embraced punk far more than it has metal. But even a person who dislikes heavy metal like myself can tell that it was an influential genre that still has a large following and absolutely belongs in any "Hall of Fame".

Decker

Todd Rundgren inducted as a performer? He's had, what, one hit in his life?

I understood he was very influential as a producer and assumed he'd get inducted for his influence in that regard ... but as a performer, I just don't see it.

And let's be honest, Tina Turner only needed to be inducted once. Sure it's unfortunate it was with Ike, but she (much like Stevie Nicks last year) really doesn't have such a huge body of solo success that would warrant a second induction. Keep those for people like Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Eric Clapton or Sting (still not inducted as a solo artist). People with massive solo careers separate from their previous successes.

Paff

^ I thought Ringo Starr as a solo artist was pushing it a bit too...

windom

Rundgren has basically said he doesn't really care about the HOF and probably wouldn't show up. Guess we'll see what happens.

I know more of Tina Turner's solo music than with Ike. I think her solo career is worthy of getting in. Maybe Beyond Thunderdome puts her over the top. This could possibly end up being her last performance ever if she does perform.

I'd rank her solo career well above Stevie Nicks. I think some other worthy solo careers that I'd rank above Stevie Nicks are Sting, Phil Collins, and Don Henley (they're probably not as iconic as Stevie though). George Michael too, but Wham's not even in there.

I'm still waiting for Meat Loaf.

inri222

Who would have thought that a member of the Germs would be in the RNR Hall of Fame.

Paff

Three members of the Germs.

Josh-da-man

Yeah... I think that solo acts who are already in as a part of a band, for the most part, just seem to be eating up precious slots for other acts who deserve to be there.

I'd say that they should probably only induct solo acts who are already in as part of a group if their solo career overshadowed the contributions to the group.

Which would include people like Eric Clapton and Ozzy Osbourne, and exclude others like Stevie Nicks and Paul McCartney whose solo work just seemed like they were riding the coattails of their famous band, or were just extensions of those bands.

Some, like Phil Collins and Don Henley, are kind of borderline, though I don't think Don Henley's solo career is anywhere near his contribution with The Eagles.

I look at the solo careers of Nicks and McCartney and Collins, and their solo stuff is generally indistinguishable from what they did with Fleetwood Mac or the Beatles or Genesis.

Daytripper

JAY-Z had the lowest of the fan votes btw.

The Antipodean

Inducting the Foo Fighters is a joke. Generic mock rock at its best. So many other far more influential acts deserved a spot first.

Toddarino

Every year when I get pissed about these bullshit inductees, I tell myself to just stop caring. It works until the next year comes and I get angry again.

Daytripper

I like the Foo Fighters. Who are they mocking btw? But I agree others deserve being there before they do. Pat Benatar being one of them.

Josh-da-man

Of course Foo Fighters are going to get right in.

Dave Grohl has been at, like, every single ceremony for the past ten years, hasn't he?

Paff

You know, at the end of the day, who cares? I don't plan on visiting the RnRHoF anytime soon, and it's not like the name "Rock n Roll Hall of Fame Inductee xxxxxx" makes me any more or less likely to see a band or buy their music.

There will be artists overlooked, and artists who don't deserve it.

But what we DO get is an HBO special with live performances, and I'll be tuning in. Foo Fighters? No biggie, they're still touring and gigging regularly, that won't be very interesting. But I'll damn sure be watching the Go-Go's live performance, several times. A few years ago we got a live show with the remaining members of The Cars, and Ric Ocasek wouldn't be alive much longer. That performance was the last time we got to see him, and I was glad for it (even if it wasn't the most animated). So for all the controversy, enjoy it for what it is.

Daytripper

Agree with everything you say here. BTW, I saw that same Cars tour back in 2011. It was fantastic. My third time seeing them live. The other two times were in 1979 and sometime in the 80's. They never were the most animated band. Also, Ocasek did live another 8 years after this last tour. I don't think most knew he was 75 years old when he passed. I know I didn't. Thought he was late 60's. Here's that last show at the Electric Factory in Philadelphia.

dex14

He's on the nominating committee.

Decker

In all seriousness, in what reality would The Foo Fighters not get right in? They are the last huge arena act, commercially successful, critically acclaimed Classic Rock band in existence.
To complain about them getting inducted into the HoF would be like complaining about Greg Maddox, Derek Jeter or Clayton Kershaw getting inducted into the Baseball HoF on the first ballot. They check every single box. Whether they were the greatest ever at their position is irrelevant. They're getting right in.