BOB Listeners' Message to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: "Let Us Pick 'Em"

The nominees for the new class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were just announced and they include an Oklahoman, rockabilly star, Wanda Jackson. Others making the cut were: Metallica, Jeff Beck, Chic, the Stooges, Bobby Womack, Little Anthony and the Imperials, War and RUN-DMC. The nine finalists will be whittled down to five new members in January. However, the list still DOES NOT include Heart, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Alice Cooper and many other great rockers!

So, we posed the question: Which rocker is missing from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? The response was tremendous. Here’s a sampling:

Mike Tautkus from Kingfisher writes:

I suggest we make a grass roots hall of fame as an independent authority by YOUR listeners AND YOUR WEBSITE!!! YEAH!!! THE PEOPLE’S ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME

1. Jefferson Starship (Airplane)?
2. Steppenwolf?

(NOTE: Jefferson Airplane were inducted in 1996.)

Dana Bilyeu from Stillwater asks:

Who are these voters?
Did they spend every waking hour at concerts or spending their hard earned money on these bands? I doubt it. If Madonna goes in then the Moody Blues should be considered too. Where is Alice Cooper, Deep Purple, Bad Company, Yes, Heart, Nazareth, Thin Lizzy, KISS, RUSH, Genesis and I could keep going on and on? These people have paved the road for others to have the freedom to do what they do best in this business.

Spending the late sixties, seventies and eighties in the San Francisco Bay Area, I've seen tons and tons of concerts. We the people should be the voters of the Hall of Fame.

The ones who have invested in the business quite heavily !!!! Stood in line for days, hours, at concerts, record stores, beer lines, bathroom lines, tons of endless traffic, and stood at freeway on ramps hitching tons of rides from countless people to get there.

(EDIT: Dana has taken the fight to get YES into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame into her own hands. She wrote a letter to the Hall back in 2004 trying to talk them into putting the band on their ballot.

Here's the response she got from the RRHOF. Just click on the letter and it will open in a new window, large enough to read the fine print.)

REO Fan Forever was upset that the Speedwagon wasn’t getting any love:

As a lifelong fan of REO, their early stuff is rockin’, and even though I’m from Kevin Cronin’s home town (now planted in Oklahoma) that is not why I love their music.

They contributed so much to touring, they were always out there nonstop, and it’s unfortunate that most people think of REO as a pop band. Their “You Get What You Play For” is one of the better live albums ever put out. (IMO) It’s all preference and my preference is “REO SPEEDWAGON FOR LIFE”

It's an REO Speedwagon thing and you wouldn’t understand.

Tina Piro from Oklahoma City weighs in with:

I fully agree with all the rock bands you and your listeners are listening to – especially Heart, KISS, Pat Benatar and Stevie Ray Vaughn. But if you’re also talking influential bands, I have to add Duran Duran to the list.

They were the first band who pioneered video screens at a concert, they were the one of the first bands to truly create memorable music videos, they were the first band to have a song digitally downloaded, and even though they’re known as a pop band, these guys can truly rock. Listen to “Careless Memories” if you’ve never heard the song. Okay, that’s my $.02 worth.

So, who do YOU think should be in the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame? Partridge Family, anyone???????