Musicians have previously scorned the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for various reasons, including inducting artists who are not deemed "rock." Despite this, they will not be changing their name anytime soon.
Speaking to Vulture, the chairman of the institute, John Sykes, shared that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will stand strong in its name.
"I think it's because some people don't understand the meaning of rock and roll. If you go back to the original sound in the '50s, it was everything. As [2023 inductee] Missy Elliott calls it, it was a gumbo. It just became known as rock and roll," he told the outlet.
"So when I hear people say, 'You should just change it to the Music Hall of Fame,' rock and roll has pretty much covered all of that territory. Rather than throwing the name out, it's doing a better job of communicating to people where rock and roll came from and what it's truly about. Once they hear it that way, they understand," Sykes continued.
"The best story to convey this was when a great friend of mine, Jay-Z, got inducted a few years ago. I was so excited. But he told me, 'Rock is dead. It should be called the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame.' And I said, 'Well, hip-hop is rock and roll.' He goes, 'No, it isn't.' And I said, 'We've got to do a better job explaining it. Little Richard, Otis Redding, Chuck Berry — these artists were the cornerstones of rock and roll. If you look at the sounds over the years, those artists ended up influencing hip-hop,'" Sykes added.
Past critics of the Rock and Roll Hall of fame include Oasis member Liam Gallagher and KISS member Gene Simmons.
"As much as I love Mariah Carey and all that, I want to say: do me a favor and (expletive) off," he told The Sunday Times in 2024.
"It's like putting me in the rap hall of fame, and I don't want to be part of anything that mentally disturbed. Besides, I've done more for rock'n'roll than half of them clowns on that board, so it's all a load of bollocks," Gallagher added.
Another critic of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and its genre-less boundaries was KISS member, Gene Simmons who spoke to CBS about it.
"You've got Grandmaster Flash in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Run-D.M.C. in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? You're killing me! That doesn't mean those aren't good artists. But they don't play guitar. They sample and they talk. Not even sing," he said.
Dolly Parton was inducted in 2022 and previously tried to have herself removed from the ballot.
"Even though I am extremely flattered and grateful to be nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I don't feel that I have earned that right. I really do not want votes to be split because of me, so I must respectfully bow out," she said at the time, according to People.
However, she would ultimately go on to accept her nomination and created a rock album called Rockstar as a result of it.
Notable nominees at the 2024 ceremony include Mariah Carey, Sade and Jane's Addiction.
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