Rock Hall Of Fame Announces 2025 Inductees And For Once, I’m Delighted

I don’t know how many times I’ve sat here, seeing the list of rock artists being inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio and just bitching and moaning about how the Hall got it wrong. I have to say, in this year of our Lord 2025, the Hall just nailed it. I usually post my “fan voting” ballot – I only vote once – to share who I voted for and encourage my readers to go out to the Rock Hall website and vote and this year was no exception. It’s rare that I’ve come back to you guys to say, “Damn, they got it right.” I’m not sure I have ever been completely happy with the inductees list. This year, that has changed.

First and foremost, let me say congratulations to all the new inductees. I know the Rock Hall is no big deal. Most people, most rock fans, don’t give a shit about who is in or who is out. There have been some curious choices over the years. There are a list of artists that still aren’t in the Hall who deserve to be there. They’ve expanded the genres on this thing to include Hip Hop and pop artists and I really have no problem with that. They might change the name to Pop Music Hall, but that doesn’t have the same ring to it that “Rock Hall of Fame” does. I’ve been to the Rock Hall and it was a wonderful experience. I’d advise everyone who can to check it out.

I think my delight today might be easily traced to the fact that AT LAST, they’ve inducted Warren Zevon. I was shocked when I learned this last night. He wasn’t on the Fan Vote ballot or I certainly would have voted for him. It appears they have a catch-all category, “The Musical Influence Award,” that allows the folks on the board to make up for past mistakes and put whoever they want to in the Hall. This year they wisely used that category to include Zevon who not only deserves to be in the Hall, but has been long overlooked… too long overlooked. What a fabulous body of work Zevon has! Maybe now that they’ve moved that tool Jann Wenner off the Board for being an idiot, it opened things up for Zevon. I also saw in this category they included Hip Hop female pioneers Salt N Peppa. Good for them… “Push It” indeed!

In the “Musical Excellence Award” they included Thom Bell (producer) and session man pianist Nicky Hopkins (the Stones, The Jeff Beck Group and so many more) and female bass legend Carol Kaye. I love this selection. Bell worked with Elton John early in his career among so many others. I love Nicky Hopkins and Carol Kaye, they are both exceptional on their instruments.

For once, acts that I voted for actually made it into the Hall. I was delighted to see Soundgarden, the White Stripes and especially 70s rock stalwarts Bad Company get in. I also voted for Cyndi Lauper… lets not forget she was as big as Madonna when they first came out. The Rock Chick would be unhappy with me if I didn’t mention that Oasis got the shaft again this year… Classic rocker Joe Cocker also got in and I’ve always been casual fan of his even though I didn’t vote for him. Chubby Checker of “The Twist” fame got in, good for him. I always thought of him as a one hit wonder. Outkast was a brilliant act, it’s too bad they didn’t stay together longer. I can’t complain about any of these great artists making it into the Hall.

All of these great bands/artists deserve to be in the Hall and I’m surprisingly delighted this year. Now that Zevon is in the Hall, something I’ve been arguing in favor of for years, I won’t have to wake up every morning, face Cleveland and shake my fist in the air out of sheer rock n roll anguish. All is… weirdly… right in my rock n roll world today. And it’s a Monday! Although I’m deeply immersed in a lot of music that’s dropped over the last week or so including the sensational single from the original Alice Cooper lineup, “Black Mamba.” Today has been an unsettling blast of positive vibes…

I can’t wait to see the tape of the Hall Induction Ceremony on HBO this year… there should be some great music… Will Jackson Browne or Springsteen induct Zevon? Who will perform his music? Alas, Linda Ronstadt has retired from the stage or she’d be the perfect vocalist. The possibilities are endless!! Will Outkast reunite? Who will fill the late Chris Cornell’s shoes on vocals with Soundgarden. Most importantly… will Meg White come out of seclusion and join Jack White on stage at the Hall for a spectacular White Stripes reunion? You can’t fault me for dreaming!

Cheers!