In a recent episode of Artist On Record, Joe Bonamassa slammed the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame for not inducting people earlier.
The rocker paid tribute to John Mayall, who passed away on July 22 this year. He also shared his disappointment about Mayall’s death months from his induction into the Hall Of Fame. He said:
“I’m glad he was aware that he was going into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I am sad and slightly pissed off that he didn’t live to see it because he deserved to go in decades ago.”
He also named a few other musicians and said the Hall Of Fame was waiting for musicians to die to induct them:
“Same thing with Alexis Korner, he deserved to go and these are first second ballot people. There’s a lot of omissions that I think they need to start reconciling quickly because you cannot wait for them all to die to then go, ‘Well, we’re gonna put you in.’ It means something. It would have meant something to John to get that statue. It would have meant something to people like my friend Chris Squire from Yes. Yes goes in the year after he dies, it would have meant something.”
Bonamassa Thinks Paul Rodgers Deserved To Be Inducted
Later in the same interview, Bonamassa admired the Rock Hall people and mentioned the Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers:
“You’re in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it means something. They need to get others, a lot of people that are now aging out or becoming in their late 70s and 80s that really should have been in decades ago. They need to get them in because it’s the right thing to do for the artist. I like the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, they’re very nice people, always had a great relationship with them. Just for their own organization the credibility, something with Paul Rodgers needs to go in the f*cking Hall. You mean to tell me Free is not a Hall of Famer? Come on.”
Other Rockers Agree With Bonamassa
Bonamassa is among other rockers who think the Rock Hall should have inducted musicians earlier. Names like Tommy Shaw and Rick Wills have also voiced their concerns about the matter.
Styx rocker Shaw said when he was asked why Styx hasn’t been inducted into the Rock Hall yet:
“That’s the ‘living in the future’ we talked about. I hope we all live long enough to find the answer to that question. But that’s not for me to decide.”
Similarly, the Foreigner bassist Wills said it took too long for Rock Hall to induct them. He explained:
“We’ve waited basically 21 years for this to happen. So when it did happen, it was a surprise in a sense. But it was also a relief that we finally could join our peers in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because I think we’ve definitely earned our place with the singles and the songs we’ve written and performed over the years. You know, what did we do wrong? I don’t know.”
You can see the interview below.