By Steve Newton
If you’re a fan of real rock ‘n’ roll you’ve probably already heard the bad news: Link Wray has been snubbed yet again by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
And to put the poo-flavoured icing on the cake, Bon Jovi got in instead.
Yeah, that’s right. The eighties hair-metal band was inducted into the Rock Hall before the musical maverick who invented the raunchy riff and caused the original “Rumble”.
What the hell is wrong with people?
I’ve been advocating for Link Wray’s long-overdue induction for years now, along with that of Rory Gallagher and Johnny Winter–who have never even been nominated!
Can you freakin’ believe that?
Let me use capital letters to make sure you understand things: RORY GALLAGHER AND JOHNNY WINTER HAVE NEVER BEEN NOMINATED FOR THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME!
Meanwhile, decidedly non-rocking acts like Madonna, Donna Summer, ABBA and a bunch of rappers waltz right in, no problem.
The other acts inducted today, besides Bon Jovi, were the Cars, Dire Straits, Moody Blues, and Nina Simone, with Sister Rosetta Tharpe included in the Early Influences category. Tharpe definitely deserved inclusion, but I’m not sure how much of a rocker Nina Simone is. And the Moody Blues have some great tunes, but how often do they rock out? Somebody should definitely establish a Pop Music Hall of Fame for groups that don’t really fit the “Rock and Roll” mold.
What I do know for certain is that Link, Johnny, and Rory definitely did rock–and they did so for decades, at a level few others will ever achieve. That’s why I inducted all three–along with Deep Purple and Iron Maiden–into the debut class of Newt’s Rock Hall back in 2015. (Because there can be no crossover between inductees in Newt’s Rock Hall and the other one, I had to kick Deep Purple out of mine when they finally got chosen for Cleveland’s in 2016, filling the spot with the most worthy Thin Lizzy.)
Other inductees into Newt’s Rock Hall include Blue Oyster Cult, Mott the Hoople, UFO, Ten Years After, and Robin Trower (Class of 2016); and Warren Zevon, Albert Collins, Jethro Tull, Ronnie Montrose, Rick Derringer, and Gary Moore (Class of 2017).
Can you believe that none of the above are in the “official” Rock Hall yet?
Tomorrow I plan on inducting six more acts into Newt’s Rock Hall, the Class of 2018, to keep up with that other, more bogus institution in Cleveland.
Stay tuned.
Bon Jovi??Not to disparage, I’m sure Jon is a nice guy, but he really doesn’t deserve an influential place in rock history. Have you ever heard anyone say, “The reason I got into music was because of Bon Jovi.” ??? The RnR HOF is just about money.