Wow. That just about sums up this year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ballot. Clearly, there is a concerted effort to put some corrections in for some grave oversights dating back decades. In fact, 13 of this year’s 16 nominees have appeared on HUH’s Most Inexcusable Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Snubs list. Even further: 3 acts have appeared on every. single. list. Needless to say, this year feels like one giant wildcard, and it begs more questions than almost any other lineup ever:
Could long-tenured ballot-riders like Kraftwerk, MC5 and Rufus feat. Chaka Khan finally get their invite to the ceremony? If so, does that leave room for some even bigger snubs like Thin Lizzy, Doobie Bros, T. Rex, and Motörhead? We’ve got Judas Priest and Todd Rundgren being boomeranged back onto the ballot thanks to enormous fan support in recent years… will newcomers Dave Matthews Band, Pat Benetar, and Soundgarden elicit similar enthusiasm? Where the hell do Depeche Mode and N.I.N. fit into all of this?! With clear headliners Whitney Houston and Biggie Smalls in the mix, the few remaining slots could sincerely go to anyone. This is going to be fun!
PAT BENATAR
YEAR ELIGIBLE: 2004
PREVIOUSLY NOMINATED: 0
HUH’S MOST INEXCUSABLE ROCK AND ROLL SNUBS: 2018
HUH’S THOUGHTS: “Her induction would no-doubt attract immense fan-support and would be a big step in remedying the on-going lack of female presence.” (2018)
DAVE MATTHEWS BAND
YEAR ELIGIBLE: 2018
PREVIOUSLY NOMINATED: 0
HUH’S MOST INEXCUSABLE ROCK AND ROLL SNUBS: 2018
HUH’S THOUGHTS: “With a devout following like they have, Dave Matthews Band will most certainly not be ignored for long.” (2018)
DEPECHE MODE
YEAR ELIGIBLE: 2006
PREVIOUSLY NOMINATED: 2017, 2018
HUH’S MOST INEXCUSABLE ROCK AND ROLL SNUBS: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018
HUH’S THOUGHTS: “These guys delivered one of the most profound balances of synthpop and rock and roll in history, and their induction is long overdue.” (2018)
THE DOOBIE BROTHERS
YEAR ELIGIBLE: 1996
PREVIOUSLY NOMINATED: 0
HUH’S MOST INEXCUSABLE ROCK AND ROLL SNUBS: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
HUH’S THOUGHTS: “One of the absolute biggest names not to find their way into the fold yet is undoubtedly the Doobie Brothers. … The tides are turning for major snubs with mass appeal as of late, so I’d expect to see them on a ballot in the coming years.” (2018)
WHITNEY HOUSTON
YEAR ELIGIBLE: 2009
PREVIOUSLY NOMINATED: 0
HUH’S MOST INEXCUSABLE ROCK AND ROLL SNUBS: 2017, 2018
HUH’S THOUGHTS: “Whitney Houston isn’t as obvious a Hall of Fame candidate as her popularity and success would necessarily lead you to believe, but as her eligibility closes in on a decade, her omission is becoming more and more obvious.” (2017)
JUDAS PRIEST
YEAR ELIGIBLE: 1999
PREVIOUSLY NOMINATED: 2018
HUH’S MOST INEXCUSABLE ROCK AND ROLL SNUBS: 2018
HUH’S THOUGHTS: “Seeing Judas Priest on the ballot in 2017 was an enormous victory for long-time snubs far and wide, but their failure to actually get inducted felt all too familiar.” (2018)
KRAFTWERK
YEAR ELIGIBLE: 1995
PREVIOUSLY NOMINATED: 2003, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019
HUH’S MOST INEXCUSABLE ROCK AND ROLL SNUBS: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017
HUH’S THOUGHTS: “It’s great that the group keeps rebounding back onto the ballot, but before we all know it, acts who wouldn’t have careers without Kraftwerk’s existence will be seeing nominations and possibly inductions.” (2015)
MC5
YEAR ELIGIBLE: 1991
PREVIOUSLY NOMINATED: 2003, 2017, 2018, 2019
HUH’S MOST INEXCUSABLE ROCK AND ROLL SNUBS: 2013, 2014, 2015
HUH’S THOUGHTS: “No one can really say that MC5 isn’t a great, iconic, and wildly important band.” (2013)
MOTÖRHEAD
HERE
YEAR ELIGIBLE: 2002
PREVIOUSLY NOMINATED: 0
HUH’S MOST INEXCUSABLE ROCK AND ROLL SNUBS: 0
HUH’S THOUGHTS: Motörhead, despite never appearing on a Snubs list, absolutely deserves this recognition. Who knows how much a priority they’ll be if they don’t get in this go-around, but I’d expect enormous fan support will keep them in the mix.
NINE INCH NAILS
YEAR ELIGIBLE: 2014
PREVIOUSLY NOMINATED: 2015, 2016
HUH’S MOST INEXCUSABLE ROCK AND ROLL SNUBS: 2013*, 2016, 2017, 2018
*HUH’S FUTURE HALL OF FAMERS
HUH’S THOUGHTS: “With so many 90s-centric acts being rushed in, you’d think they would have been a no-brainer on their first or second nod.” (2016)
THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G.
YEAR ELIGIBLE: 2019
PREVIOUSLY NOMINATED: N/A
HUH’S FUTURE HALL OF FAMERS: 2013, 2015
HUH’S THOUGHTS: “What gets him in: He is one of hip hop’s most important figures with an already-cemented legacy. What holds him back: Nothing.” (2015)
RUFUS FEATURING CHAKA KHAN
YEAR ELIGIBLE: 1999
PREVIOUSLY NOMINATED: 2012, 2018, 2019
HUH’S MOST INEXCUSABLE ROCK AND ROLL SNUBS: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
HUH’S THOUGHTS: “Funk and soul wouldn’t be what it is without Rufus and their frontwoman, Chaka Khan, one of the greatest voices you’ll ever hear.” (2014)
TODD RUNDGREN
YEAR ELIGIBLE: 1995
PREVIOUSLY NOMINATED: 2019
HUH’S MOST INEXCUSABLE ROCK AND ROLL SNUBS: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017
HUH’S THOUGHTS: ‘Very few artists are as accomplished and versatile as Todd Rundgren.” (2014)
SOUNDGARDEN
YEAR ELIGIBLE: 2011
PREVIOUSLY NOMINATED: 0
HUH’S MOST INEXCUSABLE ROCK AND ROLL SNUBS: 0
HUH’S THOUGHTS: This is completely true: Soundgarden were going on my Snubs list this year. I think that only speaks to the timing of their first nomination. They’ll find their way in sooner than later.
T. REX
YEAR ELIGIBLE: 1993
PREVIOUSLY NOMINATED: 0
HUH’S MOST INEXCUSABLE ROCK AND ROLL SNUBS: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
HUH’S THOUGHTS: “They are trailblazers, inspiring countless artists, some of whom have been inducted, but their success in the US was limited, and that’s undoubtedly why they haven’t seen even a nomination yet. It’s a crime.” (2018)
THIN LIZZY
YEAR ELIGIBLE: 1996
PREVIOUSLY NOMINATED: N/A
HUH’S MOST INEXCUSABLE ROCK AND ROLL SNUBS: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
HUH’S THOUGHTS: “Widely considered one of the most underrated acts in rock history, Thin Lizzy are bonafide trailblazers and helped lay the groundwork for metal as we know it.” (2015)
WHO SHOULD BE INDUCTED?
Nope. They truly all deserve being inducted; this is splitting hairs, people! I’m just going to have to single out some of the ones who’ve had a long wait.
- Depeche Mode
- Kraftwerk
- MC5
- Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
- Todd Rundgren
- T. Rex
- Thin Lizzy
WHO WILL BE INDUCTED?
- Pat Benatar
- Whitney Houston
- Judas Priest
- Nine Inch Nails
- The Notorious B.I.G.
- Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
- Todd Rundgren
HIDDEN UNDER HEADPHONES 