By Steve Newton
Well, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has done it again.
A few days ago the Cleveland-based institution nominated 17 bands and artists to its class of 2022, but once more just plumb forgot the three artists most deserving of immediate induction: Rory Gallagher, Johnny Winter, and Link Wray.
Instead they went with the likes of legendary rockers Lionel Ritchie, Dionne Warwick, and Dolly Parton.
You’ve gotta be f***in’ kidding me.
I’ve been lobbying since 2014 to get Rory, Johnny, and Link into the RRHOF, but, as if to spite me, they refuse.
I mean, what other reason than spite could there be for not having inducted all three of them ages ago?
Have the braindead twats on the nomination board never heard Rory Gallagher rip it up on “Shinkicker”?
Have they never come across Johnny Winter going to town on “Johnny B. Goode”.
Have they not seen the clip of Jimmy Page raving about the sheer rock and roll glory of Link Wray’s “Rumble”?
As you may already know, back in 2015, disgusted by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s glaring omissions, I went ahead and established Newt’s Rock Hall, and for my inaugural class inducted Rory, Johnny, and Link–along with Deep Purple and Iron Maiden. The first rule of Newt’s Rock Hall was that in order to get in you couldn’t already be in that other Rock Hall in Cleveland, the one operated by the braindead twats.
The only other rule of Newt’s Rock Hall was that, if you were already in Newt’s Rock Hall and then got inducted into the other one, you were politely removed from NRH and replaced with someone else. (That’s why, for example, when Deep Purple finally made it into the official RRHOF in 2016, Thin Lizzy justifiably took their place in Newt’s Rock Hall.)
Since, like I said before, the official Rock Hall recently nominated 17 acts for its class of 2022, I have to do the same. Those are the rules. So without future adieu, here are the nominees for Newt’s Rock Hall, class of 2022. (Keep in mind that only artists not already in the “official” Rock Hall can be chosen):
Dick Dale, Soundgarden, the Replacements, the Guess Who, Boston, Bad Company, Scorpions, NRBQ, the Edgar Winter Group, Slade, Midnight Oil, the Stray Cats, the B-52s, Procol Harum, Joe Satriani, the Shadows, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
When the other Rock Hall announces its inductees for 2022 in May, I will choose an equal amount of mine. Get your votes in, although I reserve the right to totally ignore them and just pick my own personal faves, as usual.)
Here’s the list of current inductees in Newt’s Rock Hall (none of which are in the official Rock Hall, if you can believe that):
please note: Newt’s Rock Hall was closed last year due to the pandemic, so there was no Class of 2021.
Class of 2020: Rainbow, BTO, Steve Earle, Judas Priest, Little Feat, and Badfinger (replacing Todd Rundgren, finally inducted into the RRHOF in 2021).
Class of 2019: Mountain, the Cramps, Roy Buchanan, Nazareth, the Georgia Satellites, the New York Dolls, and the Tragically Hip (yes, I’m Canadian).
Class of 2018: Motörhead, Free, the MC5, Humble Pie, the J. Geils Band, and Angel City (replacing T. Rex, finally inducted into the RRHOF in 2020).
Class of 2017: Warren Zevon, Albert Collins, Ronnie Montrose, Rick Derringer, Gary Moore, and Jethro Tull
Class of 2016: Blue Oyster Cult, Mott the Hoople, UFO, Ten Years After, and Robin Trower.
Class of 2015: Rory Gallagher, Johnny Winter, Link Wray, Iron Maiden, and Thin Lizzy (replacing Deep Purple, finally inducted into the RRHOF in 2016).
To hear my audio interviews with the legends of rock since 1982, become a patron of the Newt on Patreon. The raw, unedited interviews posted so far include Newt’s Rock Hall inductees Link Wray, Gary Moore, Warren Zevon, Iron Maiden (Bruce Dickinson, Dave Murray, and Steve Harris), Blue Oyster Cult (Buck Dharma), Albert Collins, Ronnie Montrose, Motorhead (Lemmy Kilmister), Mountain (Leslie West), the Cramps (Poison Ivy), Roy Buchanan, the Georgia Satellites (RIck Richards), Steve Earle, Judas Priest (Rob Halford, Glenn Tipton), Little Feat (Bill Payne), and the Tragically Hip (Gord Downie, Rob Baker).
Joe Cocker?
I was going to say Joe Cocker too! It’s criminal that he’s not in.