The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will welcome 17 new inductees on April 14th, a class that will include such bands as Guns N’ Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Beastie Boys, and The Miracles. However, not everyone agrees with the Hall of Fame’s choices.
KISS has been eligible for induction since 1999, but has yet to be voted into the famed museum, despite earning 28 gold albums, more than any other American rock band to date. The exclusion is something KISS lead singer Gene Simmons is not too happy about.
"It's become a joke," Simmons recently told Rolling Stone. "We've been thinking about it and the answer is simply, 'We'll just buy it and fire everybody.'"
KISS guitarist Paul Stanley agrees. "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has reached a point where they're really scrounging and scratching to find someone left that they consider viable. With all due respect, when you get to Patti Smith you're about two steps away from Pete Seeger."
Some might write off KISS’s objections as sour grapes, but Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash also has mixed feelings about this year’s inductees. The legendary guitarist will attend Guns N’ Roses' induction ceremony next month, but he says the honor is bittersweet.
"It's sort of a bittersweet thing too because there's so many artists that aren't inducted, that came way before Guns did, that really actually almost deserve more to be in there,” Slash said in an interview. "So it's really hard to sort of feel victorious ... that to me just doesn't seem right.
The guitarist listed Rush, Deep Purple, Cheap Trick, and KISS as examples.
Artists become eligible for nomination 25 years after the release of their first single or album, and more than 500 music professionals determine who is worthy of inclusion in the Hall of Fame. The voting panel includes academics, journalists, producers, and other professionals with music industry experience.
The 27th annual induction ceremony will be held in Cleveland on April 14, 2012. Other inductees in the performers category include Donovan, Laura Nyro, The Small Faces, The Crickets, The Famous Flames, The Midnighters, The Comets, and The Blue Caps.
Do you think Slash and Gene Simmons have a point about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees or do you think they’re just being too picky?
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