Of these, I think Pat Benatar, The Doobie Brothers, and Todd Rundgren would be my top picks, but a strong case can be made for several of the others (MC5, Kraftwerk, T. Rex), IMO.
Judas Priest
MC5
Motörhead
T. Rex
Thin Lizzy
Even though Lemmy said he didn’t care to join. He sarcastically quipped that the most prominent display there was the gift shop.
Looks like the Mortorhead nomination is specifically for the Fast Eddie/Philthy lineup. (That sentence makes sense to Motorhead fans.)
“Following the departure of Eddie Clarke in 1982, after six years of service, Motorhead recruited Brian Robertson before eventually landing Phil Campbell in 1984. Campbell remained Motorhead’s guitarist until the death of Lemmy Kilmister in 2015, giving Campbell a 31-year career with the band and cementing him as Motorhead’s second-most longstanding member after Lemmy.
Campbell performed on Motorhead classics such as “Killed by Death,” “Orgasmatron” and “Hellraiser,” with the guitarist’s accolades including a Grammy Award for his performance on “Whiplash.”
Mikkey Dee also won the Grammy for “Whiplash,” and as the drummer for Motorhead since 1992, Dee is the third-most longstanding member of Motorhead’s history, having served 23 years behind the kit.”
I think it’s theoretically possible for none to get in (other than any other inductees named by special committees) – as I understand the rules, the top five vote-getters in the Performers category (which is what this annual nomination list represents) are inducted, but there also appears to be a rule that those performers also have to be named on at least 50% of the ballots. So, if no one hit that 50% threshhold, no one would be inducted.
The list contains several bands who have been nominated repeatedly, and who are regularly cited as being important and influential, even if they never made much of an impact on the US charts, like Kraftwerk and MC5; I suppose that those groups have a better chance to get in when the rest of the nomination list seems to consist of acts that belong in the Hall of Very Good.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Pat Benatar, Depeche Mode, and Todd Rundgren, and while I was never much of a Motorhead fan, I think Lemmy was an extremely interesting dude - but I’m not sure that any of them should be in the Hall (though I could make a case for the Doobie Brothers). But…Dave Matthews Band?
Whitney and Biggie are definites. Hopefully Pat Benatar. Soundgarden will get the sympathy vote. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Rufus/Chaka Khan get in. All the others are maybes, but Priest deserves to get in. Maybe they’ll get the fan vote. Still no “Weird” Al…
I had to look up who MC5 was.
I’m sure Pat Benetar and Doobie Brothers are shoe-ins.
It so happens I saw them both at the same concert!
Rocklahoma, on Sep. 6th, 1980!
Sammy Hagar, Pat Benetar, Van Halen and The Doobie Brothers!
It was glorious 1980s fun.
As far as I can tell, Tull has never even made it to the list of nominees. There had traditionally been a perception (which I held) that the Hall had a bias against progressive rock bands, and that Jann Wenner’s personal dislike for prog rock was a factor in that. But, in the past decade, we’ve seen Yes, Rush, Genesis, Electric Light Orchestra, and the Moody Blues make it in, so I think that the anti-prog perception isn’t valid any more.
Honestly, I’m not sure why Tull hasn’t even gotten a nomination. They were successful and reasonably popular for a long time, which is typically enough to at least get nominated once. One factor that is definitely weighed in the evaluation of performers for induction into the Hall is their enduring influence on later musicians (which is why you see some influential bands in there that weren’t around for very long at all); I don’t know if Tull was seen as being particularly influential (maybe they were; I like Tull, own several albums, but I’m not hugely knowledgeable on them).
Tull made the nomination list last year. In last year’s RnR Hall nominees thread, there were a few comments on who besides Ian Anderson would get inducted.
