EP. 123 We Break Down Who Deserves A Spot In The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame And Why

Three things collided this week: desert heat, a driverless ride that actually worked, and a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ballot that begged for a verdict. After a two-day run at Phoenix’s Extra Innings Music Festival, we came home with sunburned shoulders, a camera roll of Waymo selfies, and a sharper filter for what makes a set soar and a Hall candidate stick. Bret Michaels fired the opener like a pro, Dierks Bentley won over a skeptic with tight musicianship, and Luke Bryan closed with polish. Day two veered into debate territory: Shaboozey’s mash-up energy sparked mixed reactions, Hardy’s metal-leaning blast and gratuitous profanity lost the plot for me, and Kane Brown’s showmanship rallied the crowd. Somewhere between the stages, the real innovation was the commute—Waymo saved the night when rideshares choked, cheaper and calmer than the cab crush.

Then we get to the main event: a full, no-spin look at the Rock Hall nominees and the blurry edges of “rock.” We run the entire list—Mariah Carey, Phil Collins, the Black Crowes, INXS, Iron Maiden, Oasis, Wu-Tang Clan, Shakira, Sade, Lauryn Hill, Billy Idol, Jeff Buckley, Pink, New Edition, Joy Division/New Order, Luther Vandross, and more—and use a simple test: did rock radio ever truly claim them? It’s not perfect, but it grounds a larger story about how the genre evolved from Elvis and Little Richard to the Beatles, Zeppelin, and the arena era without losing its core. With Spaz home sick, he still sends his five: Phil Collins, INXS, Iron Maiden, the Black Crowes, Oasis. I lock in four of those and sub in Billy Idol, making the case for Collins’ towering solo career, INXS’s MTV-era dominance, Maiden’s global influence, the Crowes’ long, soulful run, and Idol’s enduring catalog with Steve Stevens in tow.

We don’t stop there. The snubs are loud: Boston’s studio revolution, Thin Lizzy’s twin-guitar blueprint, Styx and REO’s arena proof, J. Geils’ live fire, Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman’s operatic stamp, and the early rock legacy of Neil Sedaka. Agree? Furious? Tell us. Drop your five inductees and your most criminal omissions in the comments, then set a reminder: The Drunk Show goes live at 6 p.m. on March 13. Subscribe, hit the bell, share with a friend, and leave a five-star review if you dig the show. Your ballot starts now—who’s in and why?

Transcript

Back In Studio And Housekeeping

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Hey there. How's it going, everyone? Welcome back. Welcome back into the Ben Maynard program. Thanks for being here. It's been a couple weeks, and I say back. Back because look, back in studio. Yeah, we had a couple episodes out on the patio. Um, and now back in studio. Isn't that great? I'm loving it. That's that's for sure. Everything's put back together, and here we are. But before we get into things, because we are busy, we we have a busy episode. So before we get into it, let me just remind you that this program is available wherever you get your podcasts, wherever you're wherever you stream them, it doesn't matter. Just search the Ben Maynard

Podcast And YouTube Subscribe Push

SPEAKER_00 1:03

program. Boom, it's right there. Uh go with it, download it, okay? Share it with all your people, and uh give me a five-star rating or five-star review, however you want to phrase it, because I deserve it. Next, um, if you have missed some of this right here, yeah. I'm looking at you, I see you. And if you missed some of it and you're watching on YouTube, then thank you very much. But you have to do a couple of things first, and that's subscribe to the channel, hit the notification bell. Every time there's a new episode, you'll get notified. Then you have to give me a thumbs up, and uh then you have to leave a comment because I dig the comments and I reply to your comments. Um, last but not least, follow me on Instagram, simply Ben Maynard program, all one word. Or you can follow me on the TikTok, and that is at the Ben Maynard program. All right. So there are plenty of ways to take in this show for your dancing and listening pleasure. And with that, here we are.

Guest Recap And First Responder Praise

SPEAKER_00 2:17

It's been two weeks since um since I last talked to you guys. And uh the last episode was uh former sergeant and uh member of SWAT, Jim Baglika. And he was fun. He was fun, good conversations, always nice to be able to have on um, you know, a hero, really. I mean, that's our our our first responders, our police and fire, obviously our military people, all heroes. So um, yeah, just nice to be able to have you know uh have them on the the program from time to time and really uh get into what they're all about. So Jim was great. Um let's

Phoenix Festival Arrival And Heat

SPEAKER_00 3:07

see. Uh oh, so I was I was gone last weekend and I think I did drop a couple of videos on the TikTok. Um Catherine and I were away for the weekend. We had gone to we had gone uh to Phoenix for the Extra Innings Music Festival. It's a two-day two-day event Friday and Saturday. And um it we we got in on Friday, excuse me, and um, you know, we got in on Friday and and settled into the hotel, and then we ventured over to the venue. It's a just a enormous park, um, real close to um Arizona State University. Um really almost like a almost a stone's throw from Sun Devil Stadium. But uh yeah, real big park. We got there um about one in the afternoon, and uh it was a little hot. Not because it was Arizona, because it was what's funny is um I I think that weekend was the hottest weekend in February that they had recorded in like a hundred years. Um, so it was in the upper eighties, uh, but just like the sun was just like beating down on you. It was in the upper eighties, and that was on Friday, Saturday. It was actually in the low 90s, so it was a hot weekend. But um uh we we kind of tried to stay out of the sun a little bit. There wasn't much for music going on. There were multiple stages, and we were hanging out near the main stage. So there wasn't much in the way of music going on until I think like 4:30. And the the other stages were so far away, I didn't even want to walk to them. I mean, they were that far. Literally, I I I guarantee probably a mile. Um but it was a good time. We hung we hung out, uh, like I said, near the main stage and at 4:30. And and you'll have to um you'll have to forgive me because I think I mentioned in in one of my videos that I wasn't sure the entire lineup, and I wasn't, but I

Stages, Distances, And Brett Michaels

SPEAKER_00 5:40

had said something about Brett Michaels headlining one of the nights, and and then uh I think I said Luke Bryan was headlining one of the other nights. Um I kind of got it semi-right. Brett did not headline at all. Um he came on Friday afternoonslash evening at 4:30, killed it. He was great, the band was great, his performance was great, the crowd was great. Um and then what was what was kind of weird is is I guess because of the multiple stages and they didn't want the they didn't want to have more than one act playing at the same time, once Brett was done, there was no activity on the stage for 90 minutes, maybe almost two hours, I think. And then um so that I guess that way people could could go to one of the other stages and and see another one of the uh the performers. But uh we didn't do that. We chose

Dierks Bentley Surprise And Praise

SPEAKER_00 6:49

to stick around because the the um the next act up was Dirk's Bentley. Now I had heard of Dirk S Bentley, I I'd certainly heard of him, but man, what a great set. What just what a great band, a lot of fun, good country music. Um, yeah, I just can't say enough good stuff about them. I you know, I think I was telling you guys last year when Catherine and I had gone to see um Brooks and Dunn, and I said, I'll I'll be back to see them. I'll be back to see Dirk Spentley too. Definitely, most definitely, really, really good, good stuff. Um and then the night closed with Luke Bryan, and he was really good. Um, really, really good. I honestly I didn't know certainly I know who Luke Bryan is, but um because he's

Luke Bryan Closes Night One

SPEAKER_00 8:02

same with like Dirks Bentley, these guys have come on the scene in the last you know, like 15, 20 years, and so that kind of swings a little more into what I call the modern country, and so I don't pay a lot of attention to it. But um these two acts, Dirks Bentley and um Luke Bryan, yeah, I would go see both of these guys again. Um good show, good uh musicianship, good songs, just good overall performance, good show. That's just I mean, bottom line, just a good show, great, really great show. So I would go see see those guys again anytime. And uh we just had a ton of fun, had a ton of fun. And um when we got done, uh our hotel, our hotel was about um, I think

Post-Show Transit Chaos

SPEAKER_00 9:06

it was like a four or five, four or five mile drive from the venue. And um, you know, we we just took Ubers and that kind of thing. Well, sort of. Um but it was really, it was kind of like a 15 to depending on traffic, even a 20-minute drive. And um so when we got done on Friday night, we went to this hotel that was very close. And I'll be staying back there again if I return to extra innings next year. I will definitely be staying at the AC Hotel. Beautiful hotel, and it's like a hundred yards from uh from the venue. But we'd gone back there and uh we said, okay, well, let's let's get ourselves a uh an Uber to get back. Well, you know, you're dealing with probably 50,000 people, you know, that are there, and uh they all want to do the same thing. So

First Waymo Attempts And Cab Plan B

SPEAKER_00 10:16

I guess maybe the network is busy or whatever it is. We couldn't get we couldn't get a uh an Uber. Then Catherine says, well, let me try Waymo. Now, for those of you who don't know, Waymo is the driverless car. They have Waymo in uh in the Phoenix Mesa area. Uh unfortunately, we could not get a Waymo. Um, it just it couldn't locate us for whatever reason at that time. And I I think some of it had to do with the network being just jam-packed with everyone. So I went into the hotel lobby and I said, Hey, can you call me an Uber? The guy says, No, but uh I give you this card and you can call a cab. All right. So I called a cab and um guy finally picked us up like a half hour later, and we made it back. Made it back to our hotels. Great. We got up the next morning, uh, we hung out a little bit, and we decided we were not gonna go back to the venue at one o'clock in the afternoon. We just weren't gonna do it. We were not gonna go back till about four. So that's what we did.

Saturday Strategy And Waymo Wins

SPEAKER_00 11:28

But that's when Katherine and I grabbed a Waymo. And and I think we rode in it, I think we did the Waymo like three different times over the course of the weekend. That was cool. That was actually really cool. It was different. Um, if uh if you guys saw my my uh TikTok video that I put out, I I I made a little TikTok video of Catherine. I sitting in the backseat of the Waymo. And it's just a trip because there is no, obviously, there is no driver. Um and um it's just it takes a little bit to get used to. Um, but like if I'm you're looking out the the side window or something, and you see out of the corner of your eye, this is what was happening to me. I would I'd kind of look out my side window there in the back, and out of the corner of my eye, I would see the headrest uh of the driver's seat in front, and I kept thinking it was the driver, and then I would have to keep cutting my eyes, and he wasn't there. And and I caught myself a few times like editing myself in conversation because I didn't want to say something in front of the driver, and there's no driver, so it was just it was different, but uh really good. It's um obviously I'm here, so uh Waymo knew exactly what it was doing, so it was kind of cool. Uh, I would definitely do that again. And you know, a bonus too. It's it's really a little less expensive than taking a cab or taking uh an Uber or a Lyft. And there's no one to leave a gratuity

Shaboozey Impressions And Genre Mix

SPEAKER_00 13:13

for. So double bonus. Um, so it was it was it was a good time. So that that second uh that second day last Saturday, the uh the the act that came on at 4 30 was Shabuzy. Now I've heard that name. I have no idea who that is, who that was, who anything. Don't know anything about uh about the artist. Um I did not we did not go into um uh our area to go to go see the act or the artist. Uh I could kind of hear a little bit. We were we just figured we we'd get there, we'd kind of settle in a little bit, grab some food, that kind of stuff. And so that's what we did. Um some of it sounded pretty good, some of it maybe not so much, not my thing. Uh from what I could gather, it was kind of a mix of some what I would consider country music, and then what I don't care for, and that's hip-hop with a twang. Okay, so that's just me. But seemed like a lot of

Hardy Critique And Profanity Rant

SPEAKER_00 14:25

the other people that were there were getting down with it and loving it. So, like I said, that's just me. Uh, and then in that middle slot, there was an artist I had never, ever heard of. And apparently this dude is like huge. Huge. Okay. And I never heard of the guy before, and that's Hardy. And I will say this if I never see Hardy again, it'll be too soon. Okay. Some of you are probably like thinking, what's the matter with you? Look, uh, first off, Hardy doesn't belong. Well, okay, Hardy doesn't belong on a country uh music bill. Um you could say the same thing about Brett Michaels, but the the great part about the Brett Michaels band is the Brett Michaels band will fit anywhere. They that band will fit any format anywhere. Uh Hardy, I know people were digging him. Um definitely not my thing. It was it was bordering on metal at times, at times. Definitely, definitely hard rock bordering on metal, probably at least half the time. But why is this guy occupying the the country space, the country music space, um, because just just because you talk like this, that don't make you country. And that, yeah, that's how he talks, but that doesn't make you country. Okay, so it wasn't my thing. Um and you know what else? It was really, really a turnoff. I I am not okay. I I'm not a prude. I'm not, but I don't need to listen to somebody before the first

Kane Brown Assessment

SPEAKER_00 16:33

line in the first song as you are as your band is is is opening the set and taking the stage. I don't need to have somebody screaming at me, I'm gonna f you guys up, because that's what he said. And he said it more than once during his set. I don't need to hear that. Um just a lot of profanity, um, a lot of F bombs and stuff, whether it was in the song or songs, uh, or just you know, during stage raps in between songs. I I just I didn't need that. I I don't, yeah, I don't have time for that. And uh it just to me, it's just like being belligerent. So yeah, I no, no thanks. And then to close Saturday night was uh Kane Brown. Now I have heard of Kane Brown, but I was not familiar with his music, and I'll say um he was okay. Uh he was definitely entertaining and engaging

Waymo Takeaways And Cost

SPEAKER_00 17:39

with the crowd and all that kind of stuff, and uh put on a good performance. Um not my thing, not my thing, but I could see why people like him. Um okay, just not for me, that's all. Uh like I said, great band. Uh, really, really, I mean, just yeah, really good band. Um and good performance. And the crowd loved him. Grow crowd was just going bananas. So it's just me. It's just not my thing. So that's that was my weekend. We, you know, Waymo'd back to our hotel that night, and we Waymo'd our way to the airport the following morning, and we'll be Waymoing again in the future. Um wherever we can find one anyway. Here in in Chino Hills, we don't have Waymo. Sorry.

Marissa Fullenkamp Shoutout

SPEAKER_00 18:43

Um last thing before we get into tonight's topic is um I got this, got this in the mail between the last time we were we were together and tonight, and that is Marissa Fullenkamp's debut C D or EP, let's put it that way. Okay. Just titled Marissa, former guest on the show. If you did not see or hear that episode, she was absolutely fabulous. She performed live three songs, uh, three songs that are on this CD here. Uh big difference between what she performed and what's on the CD is it was just her and an acoustic guitar. The CD, she's got full instrumentation, she's got drums, bass, some keyboards, that kind of thing. So she fills out the sound a little bit more. Um, just a beautiful young lady, beautiful voice, very, very talented, incredibly talented. And I'm just I'm a big fan of hers. I'm a big supporter. And if you guys did watch or hear the episode um and you want to go check out her music, you can stream it, yes. But we even talk about this a little bit um in in our conversation. Um, musicians don't make a lot of money, you know, when their music's streamed. But she'll make a little bit of money if you buy this CD. Okay. And look, and I'm I'm wearing my caffeine rush t-shirt. This is Marissa's t-shirt. Um, well, it's my t-shirt, but I got it from Marissa's uh Marissa's website. So if you just go to Marissa Fullen Camp, I think it's Marissa Fullencampmusic.com. Let me let me double check that. Put these

Announcing The Drunk Show Livestream

SPEAKER_00 20:48

glasses on. No, it's just Marissa Fullencamp.com. Yeah, go there and uh pick up a CD, a t-shirt, whatever, support this young lady. She's terrific. Um and if you saw the episode, you know how terrific she is. So, all right. Last note before we get into our subject for today. Next Friday. Next Friday, Friday, March 13th, 6 p.m. Pacific time. That's 9 p.m. if you are uh on the east coast or you you are at Eastern time, okay? You don't have to be on the east coast. Um The Drunk Show returns. Yes, the drunk show comes back. And for those of you who may not be familiar, the drunk show is my public service announcement. Uh, I'm doing this so you don't have to. Uh, I want you guys. This is this really is something very serious. To me. It's a very serious thing, something I take to heart. I am a I am a staunch advocate for responsible drinking and not drinking and driving, that type of stuff, and taking care of yourself. So that's what it's all about. Yeah, I'm gonna get plowed so you can see the effects that alcohol has on someone like me. And then maybe you'll learn from it and you won't go out there and be stupid like me. Um so yeah, that is next Friday, Friday, March 13th at 6 p.m. We're starting an hour early. It's a live stream. Okay, it

Rock Hall Nominee List Overview

SPEAKER_00 22:49

will be a live stream starting at 6 instead of 7 when we would normally uh start our Friday night live. So uh you want to check that out? Tell all your friends, tell all your friends this idiot's gonna get hammered on the air. We will be checking blood alcohol levels. Um I'm hoping to be able to make it out to the patio for a field sobriety test. We'll see how that all plays out. And uh yeah, so there you go. Tell all your family and friends, tune in right here at 6 p.m. on March the 13th. It is um Friday night live slash the drunk show. How's that? I don't know. We'll figure it out. We'll figure it out next week, anyhow. So let's get right into this, okay? Because we're, I mean, I already took up like 20 minutes. Let's get right into this. Um I think I told you guys also before um uh it might have been last week. I uh put out a little video, told you guys uh that it was right after the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame had um released this year's um nominees, and they released them two days prior to

What Counts As Rock On Rock Radio

SPEAKER_00 24:16

me leaving to go to Phoenix. So I couldn't do an episode and discuss uh the nominees. So here we are to discuss this year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees. All right. And it goes a little something like this. What I'm gonna do first is I'm just gonna run them down. And then uh now you can see the chair right next to me. I think in my video I told everyone that Spaz was gonna be here in studio. Uh we've done that in the past, where you know we we uh break down the list of nominees and we each uh treat it as though we're voters. We're not, but we treat it as though we are uh voters and we select our five uh that we feel should uh be going into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Well, Spass texted me very early this morning, I think it was around five, and he says, dude, I'm sorry, I'm not gonna be able to make it. I am so sick. So uh I told him, Well, I will let everybody know. I certainly hope you feel better and everyone's gonna be cheering for you to get better. And then I thought about it, and this afternoon I sent him a text and I said, Hey, if you're feeling up to it, can you just send me your selections? So he did. He was feeling well enough to give me his five selections. So I'm gonna share his with you um after I run down all the nominees for um for this year. So uh here we go. And then they're in no particular order, but uh starting at the top, and I what'd I say? I think that I think I already told you there's 17 of these. So starting at the top, uh the Black Crows, they are returning. They were nominated last year. Jeff Buckley, Mariah Carey, they're running her up the flagpole again, Phil Collins, Melissa Etheridge, Lauren Hill, Billy Idle, once again, in excess, Iron Maiden. I don't think they were on the ballot last year, but they Iron Maiden have returned to the ballot this year. I think this is their it's their second time for sure, could possibly be their third. Uh Joy Division slash New Order. They're running that one out there again as well. New edition, Oasis returning to the ballot again this year, Pink, Sha Day, Shakira, Luther Vandross, and Wu Tang Clan. All right. Now do you guys see a pattern here with this list? First off, uh, let me see what I would actually be uh what I would actually consider rock and roll. One, two, three, four, five, six. I guess seven. So seven out of seventeen acts on this list are actually what I would consider rock and roll. Now, um, meaning that you have you well, you out there and me here have heard this particular artist or these particular artists played on rock

Artist-By-Artist Radio Litmus Test

SPEAKER_00 28:24

radio, not top 40 radio, rock radio, like uh in nowadays most rock stations are considered classic rock, unless it's like um um I don't know, alternative or something like that, but um so what you would consider classic rock, okay? Um so that means if seven can be considered rock acts, that means ten of them are not. And we know that in the last 20 years or so, the rock and roll hall of fame has really opened this up to anybody and everybody, um, which is is kind of ridiculous because well let's take let's take Foreigner who got in uh or no, I'm sorry, well Foreigner got in two years ago. Let's take but we can take Foreigner, they got in two years ago. Um, would you ever in a million years think that Foreigner would be eligible for the Country Music Hall of Fame or the RB Hall of Fame or the Disco Hall of Fame? I don't think there is one of those, but if there was, or the hip hop hall of fame. No, never in a million years. But for whatever reason, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame thinks it's necessary to open this thing up to anyone and everyone, all genres, um, all makes and models. Let's let's put it that way. Um, and it's just it it it kind of waters down the name rock and roll or the genre rock and roll. Now, you know, here we go. Now, I I think I mentioned this last year. Uh because Chubby Checker, Chubby Checker was on the ballot last year, and I was surprised, I was shocked that Chubby was not already in. And here's the thing, you know, I'm making myself a note here because I forgot to put it down. But um okay, there's a reason why Elvis Presley was called the king of rock and roll. I mean, basically it started with him. Yes, there were blues players before him. Um, but Elvis took all of that blues, gospel, um, and really ramped it up, not just in his performance, um, in his his vocal performance, but also in his stage performance. And that's kind of where we say, okay, rock and roll started with Elvis. And then in that class, there were other artists such as Chubby Checker for one, um Fats Domino, Little Richard, Chuck Barry, et al. Okay. And that was a particular sound. Certainly Fats Domino sounds nothing like Billy Idol. Okay, because what happens is music evolves, all right. And that first sort of big giant evolution, um, it was turning a little bit, especially when you had um Buddy Hawley, who kind of started to add strings um into his music. Um but it really, really started to change with the arrival of the Beatles. And even at that, it evolved, it changed. Uh, the Beatles themselves changed. They were more on the poppy side, closer to what Elvis or Chuck Berry or you know, that first wave or class of rock and rollers was. That's what the Beatles were when they first hit.

Jeff Buckley Eligibility Debate

SPEAKER_00 33:25

They had that similar sound. They fell in love with all those artists and they took their music and uh sometimes they recorded their music, sometimes they wrote in that fashion. But even the Beatles evolved. The Beatles from 1963 didn't sound anything like the Beatles of 1969. So the sound changed, they got a little bit louder, and you saw with that British invasion the Who, the Stones, uh, the Moody Blues, oh geez, Louise, don't lose track. But in the late 60s, you had bands like Deep Purple, Uriah Heap, Led Zeppelin all coming on the scene. And so things started to change, got louder, got heavier, stuff like that. So that's kind of how rock and roll has evolved over the years, but it's all been rock and roll. Where now the rock and roll hall of fame wants to consider, like I said, anything and everything rock and roll.

Spaz’s Five Picks

SPEAKER_00 34:40

Um, so I'm gonna run these down. Mariah Carey, they're running her out again. They're gonna do anything and everything they can to get her in the rock and roll hall of fame. And she's not rock and roll. Other than I told I've told you guys plenty of times in the past that my radio heroes are Mark and Brian, and that was a morning show here on our local rock station for like 25 years. You know, they played, they didn't play any music in the morning. They were pretty much a talk show. Uh, they would play some bumpers here and there, in and out of commercial breaks, and uh sometimes an artist would release something and they might um they might track it a little bit to see how it sounds. And it and and those guys were genre less. Okay. They, you know, there was no there was no format for those guys. So yeah, I might hear something from Mariah Carey on their show because they might, oh yeah, Mariah Carey did this, and then they'll play a little something and whatever. But once their show was over, during the rest of the you know, the 24-hour period,

Host’s Five Picks Explained

SPEAKER_00 35:54

I wasn't gonna hear Mariah Carey on KLOS, just wasn't gonna happen. So she belongs nowhere near this, but according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, rock and roll is open to anybody and everybody. Um, let's see. Uh Melissa Etheridge. Yes, actually, I have heard Melissa Etheridge on rock radio, especially her debut album. Uh came out in 1988. It was uh self-titled. The title it wasn't the title track, I'm sorry, but the the single on it, the lead single was Um Bring Me Some Water. That is a great song. Great song, and I used to just love hearing that song. Uh and subsequently, later on, I would hear her on rock radio. I think there was a time that she probably went a little bit more, I don't want to say maybe maybe adult contemporary or light rock, soft rock, something like that. But early on, yeah, you did hear her on rock radio. Lauren Hill, nope, nope, not rock and roll. Um, I never heard Lauren Hill on rock radio. Uh Billy Idol, yes. Phil Collins. Now, Phil Collins is funny because yes, most people know uh well not most people know Phil Collins as a drummer in in Genesis. But um Phil Collins also, of course, had a solo career. A lot of people know that. His debut solo album, uh, the big song on it. In the air tonight. Still a big song to this day. So yeah, you hear that and that those thunderous drums towards the end of the song. Um, so yeah, definitely Phil Collins, you would hear on rock radio. Jeff Buckley. Um I'm gonna leave that one aside for now. Um, in excess, yes, of course. Of course, you heard on rock radio. Absolutely. Iron Maiden, uh, that one's funny because they're a metal band. You really they're really not known for having any radio hits, very, very little radio play unless you hear them on um like a specialty show that comes on at midnight on a your local rock station, something like that. Um from time to time. If if they had if if they had anything close to a hit, it would probably be like run to the hills. Um so, but yes, rock and roll. All the way. Joy Division, New Order, no, no, it's like a new wave band. New edition, no, pop, RB, uh Oasis, yes, uh, especially early on in their career. Yes, you would hear uh them on rock radio. Pink, no, I never heard pink on rock radio. Come on. Uh Shaw Day. Now, look, I'm a smooth operator, but I still never heard Sade on rock radio. And uh, you know, she might be sweet as taboo, but I've never heard Sade on rock radio. Shakira, no, and whatever her hips don't lie, but not on rock radio. Uh Luther, I love Luther. I love Luther Vandross. Uh, like his first single was um the first single he released in 1981, um, Never Too Much. Oh, it's a tremendous song. Love that song. And like the two the two big songs that I know from Luther is Never Too Much from '81, and then uh in '86, Stop to Love. Those songs are awesome, but not played on rock radio. See, see where I'm going with this. Wu-Tang Clan. No, not on rock radio. So um, I'm not gonna lose my stuff here. I'm just trying to explain something to you guys. Um where this, you know, where I'm coming from, where this is coming from. So we ran down the the nominees. Okay, let me get back to Jeff, Jeff Buckley. Uh Jeff Buckley, why he's on

Billy Idol’s Case And Steve Stevens

SPEAKER_00 41:03

well, he's on the the the ballot this year because he made it through the nominating committee. But he released one album in his career, one album. Uh, that was like in 1994, and and got a lot of critical acclaim for it, okay. But while he was working on his second album, which was I think that came about three years later, he died tragically, and that's unfortunate. He drowned in swimming in a river. Um, so where is the material? Where is the now could he have had some influence on some artists at that time? Sure. I'm sure he could have. But but where's the I I say this from time to time, the staying power, you know, where's that that that that breadth of a career um uh catalog as well? It's not there. So I don't I don't get why Jeff Buckley is on the ballot at all. So what I'm gonna do now that I've run down the the 17 nominees is uh I'm gonna tell I'm gonna read what Spaz sent to me. Now he didn't expound, and I didn't expect him to since he was under the weather, is under the weather. So if you want to send a get well to Spaz, just leave it in the comments. But uh but he did send me his his five picks as if he were uh part of the voting body um moving these artists into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And his picks are Phil Collins, and I agree. In Excess, I agree with that one, Iron Maiden, I agree with that one. Black Crows, I agree with that one, and Oasis. Um I don't have a problem with that, I just don't think now is their time. That's all. So I'll run down my picks and then I'll expound a little bit on each one. Uh starting with the Black Crows. The Black Crows debuted back in what 1989, I believe it was. And um, you know, yes, there was a period of time when they had they had broken up. The Robinson brothers

INXS Legacy And Lineup Question

SPEAKER_00 43:48

went their own ways, but their music has always been so good. It's it kind of has a not a southern rock flair, but a it definitely a southern flair. Um bordering on sometimes bluesy, uh sometimes jambandy, but just really good. Tremendously good stuff. Let me take a sip. And uh and in the last, well, I don't know, it's been like five years or so, the Robinson brothers, um, Chris and Rich come back together, put put the band back together, and they have been touring every year. They have put out new music and it's killer stuff. Um, but see, there's a band with a sustaining career, uh great music, great songs, and um yeah, so I definitely think that the Black Crows should be in. Now, I think last year was the first time they were on the ballot. Um, so yeah, I kind of understand maybe why they didn't get in. I I voted for them last year. Uh let's see. I brought up Jeff Buckley. No, it's not, no, that that's a no for me. I said uh no to Mariah Carey. Phil Collins. Yes, Phil Collins should be in. Definitely. Here's because here check this out. Now, you guys know that Genesis was a huge band, and Phil Collins was not the original lead singer in the band. That was uh Peter Gabriel. Phil Collins is always in the band, always the drummer. Um, and then Peter Gabriel left, and honestly, I I don't remember what year, it was 77, 78, something like that. And instead of going out and recruiting another lead singer for the band, Phil took over on vocals. So Phil was gonna pull double duty, play drums, and be the lead singer in Genesis. And like it or not, they had a much bigger career

Iron Maiden And The Hall’s Indifference

SPEAKER_00 46:13

post-Peter Gabriel than they did with Peter. I think the music was vastly different, it was way more progressive early on, but once Peter Gabriel had left, the band became more radio friendly and they had an enormous career. However, Phil Collins, now Genesis is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Phil Collins has had a bigger solo career than Genesis. Way bigger, way bigger, you know? So um I definitely think that um that Phil Collins should should be in the rock and roll hall of fame as a solo artist, which would put him in twice. Uh, let's see. Next. I I you know I I see Melissa Etheridge right here, and I told you I've she I heard her on rock radio early on, and uh I had no idea. I think she's I looked up her catalog. She's released like 19 or 20 albums. I was blown away by that. I was like, whoa, I had no clue. If if I had seen 10 albums, I'd have been like, yeah, okay, that sounds about right. No, no, way more. But um, this uh this is her first time on the ballot, to my knowledge. Um yeah, I it I think she can wait. I'm okay with her getting in, but not I she doesn't get my vote this year. Billy Idol, second time on the ballot.

Legendary Snubs And Why It’s Criminal

SPEAKER_00 48:06

Billy needs to be there. Billy gets my vote. So that's uh Billy's number three for me. Billy gets my vote. Um just go and listen to his catalog through and through. Uh if you want, you can go back to Generation X if you want to, but but you don't need to. So good, and he's still putting out music to this day. Putting out new music, good music. Um the thing like with Billy Idol, well, the the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, um when they nominate an artist or a band, you know, they kind of tell you, okay, well, it's these members. If the band maybe had uh a lineup change or two or whatever, that kind of thing. So they kind of tell you, well, okay, uh, it's you know a band and it's these four members. Well, I haven't heard, but I'm certainly hoping that with Billy they include Steve Stevens. Because first off, Steve Stevens is a monster on the guitar, and those two guys together, songwriting, just killer stuff. I think my favorite Billy Idol album was released in I think oh six, I think it was. It's called The Devil's Playground. If you guys are unfamiliar with that one, it is so good. Just like it says right here on my hat, it is so good. Um absolutely killer stuff. Um, so yeah, but just so good. And Billy is still so good to this day, looks good, sounds good, just man, great stuff. So, yeah, Billy gets my vote. In excess, yes, I think this is their first time on the ballot. Um, yes, they get my vote. In excess broke onto the scene back in uh 1982, I think it was somewhere around there, 82, 83, and um they really um took off with um trying to remember the album. Uh oh shoot, 1985, I think it was. What's the album with uh uh What You Need? Shoot. Can't remember the name of the album, doggone it. But uh that was obviously during the MTV days, and they had some some videos and um yeah, so uh that certainly helped. And then their big, big album might be the biggest one in the catalog. I'm not sure I have to check on that one, is Kick with I need you tonight, the title track Kick, Devil Inside. Oh uh, I think New Sensation is on that one. Great album. Um and and I'd be interested to see who they want to, who the the meaning the rock and roll hall of fame, who they're gonna put uh who they're putting up from in excess. Um the band is all original except for lead singer. And if you're not familiar, in 1997 Michael Hutchins died. Uh, apparently it was a suicide. But um, you know, and then a few years later, they had a reality show on CBS called Rockstar in Excess. And the winner of that was JD Fortune, and he took over and he was in the band for a little while, but I think he had some personal problems. I don't remember exactly, and he didn't last for very long. But they did record one album with JD Fortune that I'm aware of. I don't think there was a second, but he was good. No Michael Hutchins, Michael Hutchins was something else, so I'd be interested to see who uh what members of the band um they put up. Um and then my last one is Iron Maiden. And here's the thing. Now this is Iron Maiden's, I believe it's their second time on the ballot. Like I said, they weren't on it last year, and I but I think they were on the year before, but they're back on. Iron Maiden couldn't care less about this. They could not care less. If they were to get in, I doubt they'll even show up. Because they don't care about this. They have been very vocal about it, almost, almost um defiant. Like, do not even waste the ink to elect us, you know, that kind of thing. Um, they just don't care. But so it so we'll it'll be interesting to see if that turns off the um the voting body, or because the voting, the the the voting body is separate from the nominating committee. The nominating committee is like 20 people, 30 people, and the voting body is probably over a thousand. Um, so we'll see if that turns off some people, and they just say, well, they're gonna you know cuss at us and you know not even be appreciative, then we're not even gonna vote for them. I have no idea. So we'll see. We'll see what happens. So those are my five Black Crows, Phil Collins, Billy Idol, in excess, and Iron Maiden. And I want to bring something up, if I could, before I cut you guys loose. Every year, and sorry, I gotta scratch my head here. As you guys know, I I I a couple, I guess it's been like three weeks, I had some skin cancer cut out of my head, and so now it itches. It's in the healing process and it starts to itch. But uh, so I'm sure it looks great on camera. But um every year there are snubs, there are bands, artists that get snubbed, don't make it onto a ballot, some never even been on a ballot, and I think it's just a travesty. And the first one I'm going to bring up, and I wasn't even aware of it, but a week ago, we lost a legend, a legend in music, a legend in rock, and that was Neil Sadaka. Now,

Listener Challenge And Voting Thoughts

SPEAKER_00 55:38

again, I said early on, rock and roll had a much different sound than you know, in the in the the the mid to late 50s when it was ramping up than of course it does now or even 20, 30, 40 years ago. So but Neil was all you know, he was a part of that that that early class of rock and roll. Um, had some big hits in the 60s, um, kind of had sort of gone away a little bit. Um wrote a huge song for uh he was pri I shouldn't say primarily, but he was a big song writer, not just a uh not just a performer. He wrote a lot of songs for a lot of artists, and like I was started to say, one was Love Will Keep Us Together from Captain and to Neil, which was kind of a uh it was a huge song for them. But um so much so it's they kind of name check Neil Sadaka at the end, uh towards the end of the song, towards the fade. You know, um, if you listen closely, you can hear um

Final Reminder: The Drunk Show

SPEAKER_00 57:06

Sadaka is back, is is the words that that are said that are sung. But in 1975, Elton John signed Neil Sadaka to his record label. I don't even remember the name of the record label. I had the 45. And so 75, this is what five, four or five years into Elton John's career, and he's enormous already at this time, so now he's got his own record label. Um but but he signs Neil Sadaka to his record label, and Neil puts out some music, and a single that he puts out is Bad Blood. And Elton John does some vocals on there. I don't want to exactly call it a duet, but but you can hear Elton on there. And uh it's such a good song. It is such a good song, it's just very catchy. It's it's got flute in it, and it doesn't even have to be Jethro Tull, and it sounds really good. It's like a little I don't want to call it a flute solo, kind of sort of, but oh it is so so good right there. Right there, it's so good. So check that one out. Neil Sadaka is not in the rock and roll hall of fame. That is criminal.

Closing And Social CTAs

SPEAKER_00 58:38

That's criminal. Some other snubs, and I just mentioned one that I forgot to write, or I didn't forget, I just did it didn't hit me. But Jethro Tull, huge band, huge influence um throughout the 70s and the 80s. Ario Speedwagon, once again, never even a sniff of a ballot. Big band, got even bigger in the 80s. Um yeah, great, great songs. Uh, don't know what's don't know the status of the band right now. They might be done, who knows? But nonetheless, Aryo Speedwagon, snub, sticks, again, snub. But when you talk to the members of Styx, they're kind of like Iron Maiden. They don't care. They don't care. It's that it's not a big deal to them, it's not going to validate their career at all. So we'll see if Styx can ever get on, you know, can ever get the sniff of a ballot. Uh Boston, you gotta be kidding me. Okay. Never been on a ballot. And the the the uh artists and the bands that I'm bringing up, some of them have never been on a ballot, and some of them have and still haven't gotten in. Um but you are you kidding me? Boston, so innovative, changed, I mean, I mean created a new sound, Tom Scholes did uh in his basement. Um, that first album, that debut album. We've talked about it before. I'll probably talk about it again when I do albums turning 50. But Tom Scholes uh or that that Boston debut album sold like 16 million copies. And then the follow-up, don't look back, I think it sold another six million. Something like that. Are you kidding? I mean, just the the the debut album alone is like a greatest hits album. It's insane, insane, and it's criminal. Brian Adams, seriously, Brian Adams, not been on a ballot, not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, not been on a ballot. The hits hit after hit after hit after hit, and wrote a lot of songs for other artists as well. And and hit songs for other artists, not just writing a song and oh, here you go. No, hit songs for other artists. Thin Lizzie, I think I brought him up last year. In America, basically kind of known for two songs: Jailbreak and Boys Are Back in Town. But across the pond, huge. Like can't walk the streets, huge. And it's criminal. They they have been on a ballot, I believe, once. I think that was two, three years ago. Not in Meatloaf. Are you kidding me? Meatloaf, all those big songs. And if Meatloaf were to get on a ballot, which he never has been, Jim Steinman has to go as well. Has to be on that ballot, too, right alongside Meatloaf. Because Jim Steinman wrote all those songs. I've talked about Jim Steinman right here on this podcast. I've talked about him, and I'm sure I'll do it again. Meatloaf and Jim Steinman. Criminal. Criminal. The Jay Giles band. Seriously? Those guys were known as one of the greatest, especially in the 70s, one of the greatest live bands out there. You had to see Jay. You could you could listen to their music, great party music and all that kind of stuff, but you could listen to their music and enjoy it, but you had to see them live to really understand it. That's criminal. Jay Giles. Never even, I don't even think they've been on a ballot. Um guy who has never been on a ballot and probably will never be on a ballot, Uncle Ted Nugent. Ted was a stadium act in the 70s. And the first off, the music knowledge that Ted has, oh my goodness. Ted could talk for hours upon hours about the musicians that came before him, the ones that influenced him and go in depth. He's just like a music encyclopedia. He's a historian when it comes to music. Um, but yeah, Ted Ted Ted's never gonna get a sniff, unfortunately, because he should. Just because he's outspoken about his hunting, which so what? Are you gonna tell me that nobody hunts? It's just ridiculous. And of course, he's you know, he's a conservative guy when it comes to politics. So we're gonna hold that against him. Okay. So I guess you have to be as far left as you can be like Bruce Springsteen to get on a ballot and get in the rock and roll hall of fame, right? Okay. Um this one I just thought of, too. You know, Paul McCartney is is in the rock and roll hall of fame, of course, with the Beatles, and he's in as a solo artist. But the members of Wings are not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and they should be. They should be. That that's an oversight. Uh well, no, I'm not even gonna call it an oversight. I I I'm not saying it's deliberate, but nobody's even thinking about it. And I added two more that I don't think ever stand a chance. Um just because I don't think it's what the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is looking for, but I believe they deserve every bit of it. And the first one is Rick Springfield. Most people think Rick Springfield is Jesse's girl. That's his biggest song. He is so much more than Jesse's girl. He's very prolific, has been for years and years. I don't know how many albums Rick has out, but the last album I bought was in 2017, the The Snake King, which is an all blues album, a lot of slide guitar on it. Really, really, just really good. But I think since 2017, I think he's released another three albums. Which in nine years, that's one every you know three years. Obviously, he really released a lot of stuff prior to that. Very prolific, still out there killing it. This guy's like 75, 76 years old, looks great. The the chicks still dig him. You know, Rick's just awesome. I've seen him live many times. So good. He is a rock and roll guy through and through. He's so much more than Jesse's girl. Um, and then you know, one of my all-time favorite bands, Loverboy. Uh, still out there doing it, still performing live every year, still sound great. Um, and uh so many hits in the early 80s, uh, you know, first half of the decade. Actually, first seven years, eight years of the 80s, you know, just hit after hit after hit. And uh, you guys know them all, you know all the songs. I don't think they'll ever get a sniff, but you know, in my heart and in my mind, they're a snub. So anyway, you know, that's just that's my opinion on this stuff. If you guys want to comment on anything that I have mentioned so far, please leave it in the comments and uh I you know I'll reply to it. Um leave your list of five that you know, if you were a member of the voting body, you would be selecting to go into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Leave your list of snubs if you want to. And if you if you do leave your list of snubs, I will sort of handicap them, in my opinion. I'll give you, I'll handicap them and tell you, yeah, that's a great one, or no, they don't stand a chance. And and not, and it won't have it, it has nothing to do with whether a band is talented or not. It's has nothing to do with that, especially when I go and handicap them if you do that for me. Uh, it won't have anything to do with that at all. It's just a percentage as to how or as to them getting in, you know, based on what the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame uh I think is what they're looking for. So anyway, uh so that's it. Programming note, last reminder. Next Friday, Friday, March 13th, 6 p.m., right here in this studio. We got some special stuff. A couple of things fell through, unfortunately. Gosh, it was, it would have been, it's gonna be great. It would have been even better had a couple of these things really come to, you know, come to pass and happened. But Friday, March 13th, 6 p.m., right here, live in this studio. The drunk show. Okay. Um, it's gonna be a great message and it's gonna be a fun show, and you're gonna want to be there. Tell your friends, tell your family, tell everybody to tune in at 6 p.m. right here on YouTube for the drunk show. All right. So, with that, I'm gonna cut you guys loose and let you know that this program is available wherever you get your podcast. Just search the Ben Maynard program. Boom, it's right there. Go with it, download it. Yes, download it. Um, share it with all your people. Okay, just share it with all your people and uh leave me a five-star review. But if you've enjoyed watching and uh you're on YouTube, then thank you for doing that. But please subscribe to the channel, leave a comment. Oh, give me a thumbs up first, and then you can leave a comment. And there's a lot of stuff to comment on, so get that done. All right, I will reply to them. Last but not least, follow me on Instagram, simply Ben Maynard program, all one word. Or you can follow me on the TikTok at the Ben Maynard program. All right, so that is it. We're done, we're out of here. You guys enjoy. All right. I will see you next week, Friday the 13th, for the drunk show. Until then, this is the Ben Maynard program. Tell a friend.