By Steve Newton
It took them over 30 years, but today the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame finally pulled its head out of its ass long enough to induct Warren Zevon.
The inimitable L.A. singer-songwriter, beloved by rock critics and fans alike, had been eligible for induction since 1994, if you can believe that.
Newt’s Rock Hall had actually inducted Zevon back in 2017, after only three years in existence as the go-to home for deserving artists not yet inducted into the official hall over in Cleveland.
This year the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame actually acquitted itself better than it has previously, also inducting such worthy acts as Soundgarden and Bad Company, although Bad Co. had also been eligible since the previous century, so the honour is a bit late, to say the least.
And those who enjoy slagging the rock hall for its habit of overlooking actual rock ‘n’ rollers shouldn’t be surprised that worthy 2025 nominees like the Black Crowes and Billy Idol lost out to the non-rockin’ likes of Cyndi Lauper and Salt-N-Pepa.
Since the official Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted seven artists into its Performer Category this year, Newt’s Rock Hall will induct seven to its Class of 2025. Actually, we’ll have to add 10 because Newt’s Rock Hall already includes Warren Zevon, Bad Company, and Soundgarden, and they’ll need to be replaced.
The rules of Newt’s Rock Hall explicitly state that there can be no crossover between artists in the two hallowed institutions. The whole reason for the existence of Newt’s Rock Hall is to expose who those dim bulbs over in Cleveland have forgotten about and/or refuse to honour–like Johnny Winter and Rory Gallagher.
So send in your nominees for NRH’s Class of 2025 as soon as you can, ’cause I’ll be announcing the inductees to my Class of 2025 whenever I get around to it.
Newt’s Rock Hall inductees so far:
Class of 2024: Scorpions, NRBQ, Midnight Oil, the Shadows, the Black Crowes, Ronnie James Dio, Danny Gatton, and Emerson, Lake & Palmer.
Class of 2023: Soundgarden, the Guess Who, the Replacements, Bad Company, the Edgar Winter Group, Mahogany Rush, and the Stray Cats.
(Please note: due to health concerns my Hall was shuttered during the pandemic, so there were no Classes of 2021 and 2022.
Class of 2020: Rainbow, BTO, Steve Earle, Mahogany Rush, Little Feat, Boston (replacing Judas Priest, who were finally inducted into the RRHOF in 2022), 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: Jeff Healey (replacing Motörhead, finally inducted in 2020), Free, J.J.Cale (replacing the MC5, finally inducted in 2024), 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, Dick Dale (replacing Link Wray, finally inducted into the RRHOF in 2023), Iron Maiden, and Thin Lizzy (replacing Deep Purple, finally inducted into the RRHOF in 2016).
To hear the full audio of my 1992 interview with Warren Zevon subscribe to my Patreon page, where you can also eavesdrop on uncut, one-on-one interviews with Newt’s Rock Hall inductees J.J. Cale, Gary Moore, Dick Dale, Iron Maiden (Bruce Dickinson, Dave Murray, and Steve Harris), Blue Oyster Cult (Buck Dharma), Albert Collins, Ronnie Montrose, Mountain (Leslie West), the Cramps (Poison Ivy), Roy Buchanan, the Georgia Satellites (Rick Richards), Steve Earle, Little Feat (Bill Payne), and the Tragically Hip (Gord Downie, Rob Baker).
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