EP. 130 "FRIDAY NIGHT LIVE!" The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Keeps Getting It Wrong

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame just dropped its latest class and I’m equal parts pumped and irritated. Some picks feel overdue and undeniable, and others make me wonder what the Hall thinks “rock and roll” even is anymore. So I grabbed my notes, went live on the patio, and did what I always do on Friday Night Live: talk music, tell stories, and say the quiet part out loud.

We run through the Rock Hall inductees and I explain why names like Phil Collins, Billy Idol, and Iron Maiden belong in the conversation, plus the strange behind-the-scenes detail most people miss: the Hall doesn’t just honor bands, it decides which members “count.” That leads into Iron Maiden’s lineup history, Blaze Bayley getting added, and why the ceremony can feel disconnected from the artists themselves. Then we hit the other side of the list: who didn’t get in, why the fan vote is way less powerful than people assume, and the snubs that still feel criminal, including INXS.

Along the way, I share a recent concert recap with Steve Augeri’s band and a rare soundcheck experience, plus a little nostalgia detour through National Ford Mustang Day and my first car story. If you care about classic rock, music history, rock hall voting, and the artists that shaped everything we listen to now, this one’s for you.

Subscribe on YouTube or wherever you get podcasts, share the episode with a music fan, and leave a review with your pick for the biggest Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame snub. Who should get in next?

Thanks for listening! Follow me on Instagram: benmaynardprogram 
and subscribe to my YouTube channel: THE BEN MAYNARD PROGRAM
I also welcome your comments. email: pl8blocker@aol.com

Transcript

Patio Setup And Housekeeping

SPEAKER_00 0:12

Hey there. Welcome into the Ben Maynard program. Thanks for being here. Guess what? It is Friday. We are live. That means it's date night with me. Um, yeah, I'm looking around and I'm not in studio. Again, I've been booted from my own studio to to do the podcast out here on my patio. Well, what are you gonna do, right? So um tonight we'll talk a little bit about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees. The Malore Challenge is back. How's that, right? Uh, for those of you who don't know, explain that later on. And um, you know, we'll see what other trouble we get into this evening. Before we do any of that, this program is available wherever you stream your podcasts and it's on YouTube. Of course, right? Tonight, yeah. Just subscribe. Follow me on my socials, Instagram, uh, Ben Maynard Program. I'm trying to remember this. Ben Maynard program, all one word, or on the TikTok. That is at the Ben Maynard program. So there are plenty of ways to take in this show for your dancing and listening pleasure. Away we go. Uh, as I was uh starting to say, and uh maybe be actually no, no, let's back up for a second. All right, no one's watching anyway, so why not? Um, so if you've been a part of this podcast for any stretch of time, you know that in the last couple of episodes, I have kind of a new opening, and I'm also not taking as long to get into the content, the meat of the show. Um a few weeks back, someone had made a comment on one of the episodes. Doesn't matter which one, but someone had commented, and they weren't rude at all. They actually liked the content, but the the person who commented had said something to the effect of um like uh it was like um the Ben Maynard program. I I never heard of this guy or something like that, but before he gets into anything, he's asking me to like and subscribe and this and that and blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. So hey, maybe we should call the episode blah blah blah blah blah. Anyway, so so then he's you know, or he or she, I don't recall if it was a male or female. So they said something like, like I said, they made a nice comment regarding the content. And I sat on that and I was like, okay, you know, I kind of understand where they're coming from. And you'll have to excuse me if uh you're watching this. Um as you know, I'm out on the patio here, okay? You guys know that already because you can see, let me see, you see my trash can over my left shoulder, and you see my grill or flat top over my right shoulder, and the sun is out still, but okay, let me get back to it. So I sat on it for a few days and I was thinking about it. I was going, you know, okay, but what do I do? What do I do? Well, unbeknownst to me, my lovely wife Catherine is working on a new open for the podcast. And uh, that's what you guys saw before we before we went live. And um, she's showing it to me, and yeah, no, oh wow, that's really good, that's cool. And you know, I said I needed it to be this many seconds because I gotta start, hit record, blah, blah, blah. Everything has to catch up, so on and so on. So uh, so we're going through all that, and then I'm talking to Tess. And Tess, like I said, I hadn't had this discussion with anyone, like I said, about the comment. And then Tess had made mention about my opening, and it's, you know, it takes a long time and that kind of stuff. And I said, Wow, it's funny you say that. Now, that opening, it's it's it's it's referred to as a call of action because you're asking your audience to do something. So it's a call to action. So I said, Wow, it's funny you say that, Tess. And I said, I got this comment, blah, blah, blah. She says, You see? Okay, great. So I started kicking some stuff around. I'm trying to figure out how do I do this? How do I get the message out without taking, you know, two and a half, three minutes to do it. So, anyway, that's what it's all about. And I can do that tonight because Friday Night Live, we don't have anything going on. There's no special like agenda or anything. And but I just thought I would explain that to you guys who are, you know, uh sitting in front of your television watching me or uh sitting at the dinner table watching me, whatever. Um, so what's oh, so so Friday Night Live. If you're not familiar, if you're new to this, it's just loose. We have a little bit of fun. Like I said, it's hey, who doesn't want a date with me? You know? Um one thing I do is the Melort Challenge, and that is for anyone who calls into the program. You can call in at 909-268-5135. And um if you call in, I'll take a drink of this fantastic stuff right here. And I mean when I say fantastic, I'm not meaning it's fantastic, it's absolutely terrible stuff. Um, I brought my Mr. Spock shot glass out here, also, and a fresh batch of bean boozled beans. Those are the nasty beans, and so I get um I put one in the bottom of the shot glass. Take a shot of that, Malore. Ooh, it's rough stuff, and you know, so it's it's kind of my punishment, but it it is uh designed to help you to engage with the program. So there you go. There's kind of the setup. So why don't we just uh oh you know, and I apologize up front, as you guys know, like I said, I'm out on the patio. I got my camera at one level, I got the the the laptop down at this level, so my monitor, I'm I'm looking at it. I'm looking straight at the monitor now, and now I'm looking at the camera. Okay, so it's it's close. I was trying to get it up a little bit higher, and what I was using was way too high. So sorry about that. Sometimes you're gonna catch me looking right at you right there, you beautiful people. And then sometimes you're gonna see me looking right here. Let me yeah, right there at that handsome devil. Uh-huh. Anyway, so let's get into this. What's happening today? On Friday, what's today, the 17th, right? Yeah, I think it is. Uh what is today? There we go. Let's open this thing up. I got everything spread out all over the table here. Well, today, April 17th, is National Ford Mustang Day. What does that mean? Sleek lines and a powerful engine. It's name speaks of wild places and adventurous times. Okay. You know, my very first car was a uh 68 Mustang coupe. I love Mustangs. One of my favorite cars. I thought I would be a Mustang guy for my entire life. And I've had I've had my share of them. Uh, like I said, my first first car was a 68 Mustang, and um it had been in the family for several years uh before I bought it. Yeah, I bought it with my own hard-earned dollars in 1984. I paid$1,500 for it, and uh I started fixing it up. My buddy John, my buddy John and I, we we took out the old motor, we put in a new motor, it had a 289, we dropped in a 302, and um I had some nice tires and rims on it. Um had a nice stereo in it, because stereo, come on. I mean, stereo means everything, right? Um, and then um the paint job was horrible. The body was nice and straight, it was great, no Bondo, none of that stuff. The interior was terrible. Uh, so I needed to, I needed to, you know, have that redone, and the paint job was horrible. But the car ran great, and uh from a distance, it looked sharp too. Uh, so I had it for a stretch of time, and on December 30th, 1985, it was stolen right out from in front of my own home. I got out, went out to to to go to work, and I used to park right across the street from the house. I walk out the front door and I lift my head, and there's no car. It's like, oh, you gotta be kidding me. Hold on a second here. Let me do something. I there we go. My screen was really dark. Okay, now much better. And so needless to say, my first car was stolen. Um with the insurance money, I bought another 68 Mustang, and it kind of ended up, it kind of ended up being a hunk of junk. So, but through the years, I've had I've had several Mustangs from an 83 Mustang GT, an 87 Mustang GT. That was a Foxbody, that was the first year of the Foxbody. I had a 1993 uh Cobra. It was only 5,000 of those produced, so that was nice. That was a oh wow, that was a beauty of a car. Man, that was a great car. And then I had the last Mustang I had a 2000 coupe, and it was a GT. Talk about stereos. The trunk had six amplifiers in it. This stereo was insane, and that was from that was off the lot. All right. Fast car. I the only thing I didn't like about it, I did not like the fact that it was a five-speed. You know, I'm getting I was getting older at the time. I didn't need to drive a five-speed, but what a fast car. It was a beautiful car. Sweet. So, anyway. So, today's National Mustang Day. Wow, what a long row to hoe on that one, right? Let's see what else we got going on. Uh okay, back it up, mister. Back it up. So, all anyway, so for all you Mustang owners out there, good on you. Thumbs up to you. I should yeah, that's what I gotta do. I gotta lift it up because I'm doing it down here. The camera's up here. Um, what else we have today? Um, let me look. Let me because there's a lot, and some of them are just stupid. Oh. National kickball day. Revisit your childhood by gathering some friends, family, or even some co-workers. Get together for a fun, lighthearted game of kickball. Because you know it's not just for kids, but you're gonna pay for it the next day. I'm letting you know that right now. You're gonna pay for it. So now I loved kickball as a kid. Loved it. So, so good. What else? One more, one more here. Oh, what did I say I should call the episode? I said I should call blah blah blah blah, right? Today is national blah blah blah day. Ha ha great. Uh whether you yourself or someone else is talking, use blah blah blah day to really focus on those things you have otherwise been tuning out. Kind of like you guys, you guys right there. Yeah, tuning this out here. That's okay. It's all right. I still love you, no big deal. All right. What else we have today? What else? We got uh what what happened in this this day in history? Let me put my glasses on. I mean, there's a lot here, but I don't want to get into all that stuff. Come on, we need to move on with some fun stuff. Oh, this one's cool. Oh, wait, oh no, that's tomorrow. Dog on it. Well, you know what? I may as well let you know, but tomorrow Yankee Stadium opened up in the Bronx on April 18th, 1923. Uh it was nicknamed the house that Ruth built for obvious reasons, Babe Ruth, right? And um he marked that occasion by hitting a three-run home run. So, I mean, is that a shocker? We're talking Babe Ruth here, you know? Oh, let's see. You know, you guys can also leave a comment if anyone out there wants to leave a comment. You can do that. Um, yeah. Feel free to leave a comment. And no, I'm serious, I'm not kidding. Really? Really? Yeah, okay. These guys, they think they're funny. What else happened on this day in history? Um there's a good there's a oh yeah, here's here's here's something special. And it just like this podcast, it's music related. Really? Wait a minute. No. Oh, I'm so mad. I'm so mad here. I was looking this stuff up and I picked the right day and it gave me the wrong day. So that's the thing that's that's the thing when whenever you're live. Come on. Ah, whatever. We'll skip this day in history since it doesn't want to cooperate. No, it doesn't want to cooperate. I'm on my iPad too. That's okay. Move along, right? Move along. So I think I told you guys last week that Katherine and I we were going to go see my buddy and former guest on this program, Adam Holland, and we did, and we had a fantastic time. Uh the Steve I Jerry band was great. They put on a really good show. Um I'm not gonna lie, I'm a hardcore. You know I like deep tracks. So Steve didn't go deep enough for me, but I'm I'm you know, I'm not the target audience, okay? The casual, casual fans, those are the target audience. So I I understand. It was funny. We had um we'd gone to soundcheck, and so we get there at two o'clock, and I call Adam and let him know, hey, we're at the back door of the uh we're at the backstage door. So he comes and lets us in. He's like, hey, you guys, whatever you guys want to do, you want to stand on the side of the stage or just go sit in the front of the the stage there. And I was like, no, we'll go sit in the front of the stage, and I want to hear the sound, I want to hear it, hear it all. And we were Catherine and I sat there for two hours. We're the aside from the crew, we're the only ones in the theater there for sound check. So it was great. And it was so so interesting to listen to every you know, everybody in the band just like working through everything. And um, so it was really, really cool. They, you know, sang um two or three songs and running through these songs like two, three times. But it was uh it was really cool. And then towards the end of soundcheck, uh Steve goes. I'm assuming he went back to his dressing room and he comes back out with uh uh a folder, and I'm looking at him and he opens it up, and um he says, um, he it had the uh the set list. So he starts setting down the set list at at each microphone stand. And of course, he has one for himself, and and I said to him, I said, Hey, by the by the way, Steve. Um, and I have been in Catherine and I have been introduced to him prior, so I felt comfortable enough to call him Steve. So uh I said, Hey, by the way, uh, state of grace wouldn't happen to be on that set list, would it? And I knew it wasn't gonna be there. He says, No, not this time, Ben, but you know, maybe next time. So I was hoping that he would appreciate. I said, I I said, I said, what about Riverside? And I'll get to that one in a second. He says, no, not this time. And uh, like I said, I was hoping he would appreciate it. The fact that I was gonna go deep into his catalog, one, his era of journey, and then um post-journey, he did a lot of uh, he released a lot of singles. And uh Riverside is one of those singles. It's a really, really good song. He did such a good job on on these singles. You know, they're they're they're just all really good stuff. But um he did do the band, the band did perform, I think three, I think it was three songs from the from his era of journey. Uh the rest of it was um the Steve Perry era. And you know, everyone's there to listen to that stuff. And who wouldn't? Come on, it's the best, you know what I'm saying? So um I think they did Faith in the Heartland, that's off of Generations, they did Higher Place and All the Way, and those are off of the arrival album. So at least I I at least I got some of that because the one thing with the with with uh with Journey is though they're still out there touring and doing their thing, they completely ignore the Steve Agerry era of the band. And I it confuses me, it puzzles me, it uh it upsets me really because I love that era of the band. Steve A Jerry's era put out two full-length albums and one EP. And it's so good, it is such good stuff. There's no reason why they shouldn't be, the band themselves shouldn't be playing that stuff now, but they don't. Okay, I take it back. They actually play Faith in the Heartland, and that's because they they re-recorded that song with Arnell Paneda when he joined the band in whatever 2007 or something. So, so okay, I guess they don't completely ignore the Steve Jerry era, but they do. Anyway but we had a great time. We went backstage after the after the the show, and um, you know, Steve's like, uh, hey, you're Adam's friend, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And uh he says, uh Adam, Adam says, Yeah, no, I I I did his podcast. And Steve says, Oh, yeah, that's right, that's right. And he was kind of pointing at me like, that's right. We gotta do that. We we gotta do that. So At least he remembered that we had been in touch with one another. So that was kind of cool. Very nice man. Very nice guy. Um, and you know, I'll I'll reach out to him, but I don't I don't want to be that guy like, oh, okay, so I just met you, so here we go. Um, but uh great time. Catherine and I, we had a we had a fantastic time. And we uh after sound check, we went to go to uh we went and found a restaurant that was pretty close by. I'm gonna give him a shout out. It it's called Barrel Riot. It's in Powie, Barrel Riot in Powie. So I'm giving you guys a shout out. Uh great place. They've only been open a few months, and uh the food was fantastic. Um I put out a little TikTok video. It was kind of showing our food. Catherine got a a um a brick oven pepperoni pizza that looked great. And I got a uh cheeseburger, a smash burger, double patty smash burger, cheeseburger. It was great, really, really good, and and tallow fries. And that means that they the the fries are fried in beef tallow. So good, just the way it used to be when we were kids. If I don't know, look, there's a lot of you out there that are my age, maybe a little bit older, maybe a little bit younger. But, and if you are, you then you know what I'm gonna say, or you know, you'll understand what it is I'm saying. You'll remember. I think you will. Um, but for all you youngsters out there, many, many years ago, 50 years ago and and and longer, McDonald's used to fry up their french fries in beef tallow. And it comes in a big, giant 50-pound cube. Just like uh kind of looks like like shortening, like um Crisco or something like that. Okay, it's big and white, kind of looks like lard. I I suppose it is, but lard is made from pork and the beef tallow, this is, you know, it's made from obviously beef. But uh the the the fry cooks at McDonald's would take that big chunk of beef tallow and they would set it up on top of the fryer, and they take a big giant knife and just slice off big chunks of this beef tallow into their fryer. But so good the way fries are meant to be made. Yeah. So, yeah, last weekend was a ton of fun. We had we had a great time, and thanks to the people at Barrel Riot for some good food and great service, too. Great service. All right, so look, let's get into this a little bit. During the week, and I'm moving all my stuff around because I'm just discombobulated out here on the patio, and I don't know if you guys can tell, but the sun is starting to set a little bit. The the west is behind me. That's west. And of course, the sun sets in the west. So you can you'll you'll start seeing the sun go down, and it'll start getting a little darker out here. I've got the lights on, we'll see. But um I think it was on was it Monday? One day this week, I don't recall. The new class of rock and roll Hall of Fame inductees was announced. And so since we talked about it a few weeks back when uh the ballot was out, and um, I gave you my selections, um, I have to correct myself on that. I voted for only five, and the instructions were to vote for seven. And I don't know how I screwed that one up because it's been five for many, many years. And last year, they the the hall of fame changed it to seven. And as a matter of fact, I can go back through my through my notes from a year ago and say, oh yeah, well, we voted for seven of them right there. So when I'm selecting five a few weeks back, I just thought that doesn't sound right. It doesn't sound right at all. But no corrections, no corrections here, other than to let you guys know I I screwed that one up. So the the class for this year, uh, if you're unaware, let me see. Let me hang on, let me put this right there. Okay, boom. Let's do this right here. And ah, there we go. Ah, try that. Um, so this year's rock and roll hall of fame class, the inductees, I think the ceremony is sometime in November. They are as follows. Phil Collins. Let me try this. This is gonna be funny. Stupid, right? Um, Billy Idol. All right, all right, I'm not gonna do that. I'm not gonna do that anymore. Um, they just got some new sound effects. So Phil Collins, Billy Idol. I voted for both of those. Iron Maiden, I voted for Iron Maiden. Joy Division New Order. I would have to go look through my notes. I don't think I did. Let me look. I'm almost positive I didn't. Uh, where is it? That was 1976, right there. That was destroyer. And there we go. Oh, yeah. I did not vote for Joy Division New Order. I didn't think so. And let's see. Uh, then Oasis. I did not vote for Oasis, then Shaw Day. I did not vote for Shaw Day. I'll run it down. Luther Vandross and Wu Tang Clan. So out of, and and that's eight. I don't know how that is eight when the voting body got to select seven. So whatever. Um yeah, so Phil Collins, definitely deserving. Billy Idol, it's about time. Uh, Iron Maiden, it's about time. The thing with Iron Maiden, uh, we talked about this before. Those guys couldn't care less about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But the the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame selects who they want from a band or um yeah, who who they want from a band to be on the ballot or to be inducted if they are in fact inducted. So with Iron Maiden, there was an original guitarist named Dennis Stratton. There was two guitarists, and he was one. Dennis Stratton played on the first album, and that was it. Left the band after that. This is 46 years ago, 47 years ago, but he was a part of the he was a part of what the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame committee put together as part of the induction group. Well, so every member of the band that's ever been in the band, including Dennis Stratton, who was on one album, um, was was part of that group, minus a guy by the name of Blaise Bailey. Now, listen, I'm gonna talk about him for a second, but I I don't go deep into Iron Maiden. So I I'm I'm talking uh from an outside perspective. I not from someone who is a huge fan of Iron Maiden and goes deep because I don't. But Blaze Bailey, there was a he was one of the vocalists, one of the lead vocalists in the band. He actually was the third lead vocalist. Bruce Dickinson had left the band. This was sometime in the 90s, and Blaise Bailey had come in to take over those duties. Recorded two albums. They didn't do great because this is the 90s, and the the music climate had changed, radio had changed, and Iron Maid never got radio play anyhow. But but he kept the band afloat until I believe it was the year 2000, Bruce Dickinson came back into the band. So Blaise Bailey was excluded, but about two weeks ago, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame made a change and they added Blaise Bailey. So that's a great thing. That was probably your clue right there that Iron Maiden was going to get in. Otherwise, why would they even bother to make the change? But they did, and so now Blaise Bailey will get to um claim he's a rock and roll Hall of Famer. Now, Iron Maiden, like I said, the band themselves, they do not care about this uh the ceremony. They don't care about the um notoriety, they don't care about any of this, they couldn't care less. Um I know they're not going to be at the induction ceremony in November because they will actually be in Australia on tour. So the same day. So it's not gonna happen. Um, but there are three former members who just might show up. Former members, guys not currently in the band who may just show up to accept their uh their award. And that would be Dennis Stratton, the aforementioned Dennis Stratton, the aforementioned Blaze Bailey, and former drummer who just retired from the band uh like two years ago, and that's Nico McBrain. So you have three guys show up uh who are no longer in the band, but that's okay. All right. So Iron Maiden's getting in. Good on them. Joy Division getting in. Good for Joy Division. I like I said, I did not vote for them, but you know, they're they are an influential uh Joy Division New Order, okay? It's the same band, two different names, uh, two different eras, so to speak. And uh, but good on them. They were very influential. So um, yeah. Oasis. I well, anyway. Uh the the last three, Sha Day, Luther Vandross, and Wu Tang Klan, I've said it before. This is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I know the nominating committee, they and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame themselves, they have long time ago, the ship sailed on rock and roll and they opened it up to every. I mean, if if you played harmonica and recorded one album, you're eligible for the rock and roll hall of fame, provided that it's 25 years past that album's debut or release date. So whatever. Um, but in my estimation, they're not rock and roll, so they're not going to get my vote. Tremendous artists, great artists, great artists, all three. Well, Wu Tang Klan, maybe not, maybe not so much, but definitely Shade and Luther Vandros. I I really like them. But um, let's go over the artists who didn't get in. And I'll just in no, it's in no particular order. I just jotted them down. The Black Crows. I voted for the Black Crows. They are deserving, they should have gotten in. I don't know how they didn't uh I thought for sure they were getting in this year, but what do I know, right? Jeff Buckley, I he did not get my vote, and I didn't think he was worthy of it anyway. Uh Mariah Carey, never gonna get my vote for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because she's not rock and roll. I don't care how popular she is, I don't care how many millions upon millions albums she sold. Not gonna get my vote. She's not rock and roll. Melissa Etheridge, I don't recall if I voted for her or not. I'd have to go back and look in my notes. Um, because I got one, two, three that I did vote for. I voted for the Black Crows. No, no, no, nope. I did not vote for Melissa Etheridge because I see who else I voted for. Lauren Hill, nope, didn't get my vote, not rock and roll. Sorry. Uh new edition. Did not get in. And this is what's this is interesting. At least it could be interesting. All right. So if you guys are aware, there is a fan vote where you can go on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website and you can vote for uh the artists that you want to, you want to see get in. Well, the winner of the fan vote gets one vote. It doesn't matter, you know, and they had they show the numbers, you know, they show the number of votes each each of these artists or uh uh acts are getting. And for probably half of that period of time, new edition topped that list. I don't know what the final numbers were, but they topped the list of the fan vote. I think that band management or whatever, I think that they went out, maybe the record company went out and they were like, you know, really pushing for it, really trying to get the fan base fired up to go and vote for them. And that's that's great, and you should. But the winner of that only counts as one vote. So if you get half a million fan votes and you you lead the pack, it still only counts as one vote. So anybody on the voting body, and like I said in uh in the past, there's uh it's roughly a thousand uh voters. So your that one vote from the fan vote counts equally as any one person from the voting body, just one vote. That is it. So you can see though new edition won the fan vote, they didn't get the vote of the uh the voting body. Uh let's see, pink did not get in, Shakira did not get in. I wouldn't have voted for either of them anyway, not rock and roll. But there's one band that did not get in, and I think it's criminal. That was in excess. I voted for them, they got my vote. Um they were a great band out of Australia, lots of great songs, huge tours. Um yeah, there's no and they were different. They were different. They they went a lot of different directions, but kept everything in the rock space because they um you know they had uh they even had like some I don't want to say dance music, but they were like new wave. They had uh they touched on new wave, they touched on rock. Um just it's it's hard to describe, but just tremendous. I saw them live one time, fantastic, fantastic. So I think it's a shame that they did not get in. This is the I believe the first time on the ballot for NXS. So we'll see what happens next year. Maybe they'll get back on the ballot, but nonetheless, I think it's criminal because it's a band that is very deserving and was around for many, many years. So they've been eligible. Um they've probably been eligible for at least 15 years as I take a sip. And thank you so much, everybody out there, because so far no malort. I love it. Um that being said, there are I I covered it um a few weeks back, the some of the snubs. And um I I saw this list here of snubs for the rock and roll hall of fame. So I wanted to go over it a little bit, and you guys can interject whether you interject through the comments or you want to call in. Oh, if you call in, you can you know what? I'm gonna even let you text me. You can text me. I'm not taking a shot of my lord if you text, but um, you have to call in for that. But if you want to leave a comment as to some of the bands, whether you agree or disagree with anything that I might say here, that's great. Uh but um yeah, text or comment, call in, it's gotta be call in for them, Lord. Sorry, just the way it is. Those are the rules. But yeah, I think here's some deserving ones, and I've mentioned some of these uh in the past, mentioned some of these a few times, but sticks, Boston. Come on, really, Kansas, and if you're getting into some hard rock, I mean had uh Judas Priest a couple years ago, Iron Maiden now, Motley Crew. Now, this band I think is deserving. I don't think they'll ever have a shot at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and they're one of my favorite bands, and that's Toto. Why do I think they're deserving? First off, it's longevity, but longevity doesn't always mean it's not always an end-all be all. Uh great songs, absolutely tremendous musicianship, some of the best musicianship in rock and roll. Um you guys, if if you're unaware, the original lineup of the band, they were all studio musicians, they were all kids. Steve Lukather, when they released their debut album in what it was it, 78, was 17 years old. But these guys were studio musicians at the time. So, you know, Steve being the youngest one at 17, and they're probably ranging up to their mid-20s, early to mid-20s, because these guys all lived in basically the same neighborhood, went to school together, all that kind of thing. Um, but these guys were so good that they have played on hundreds, maybe more, maybe thousands collectively of other artists' albums written, recorded with other artists. Um, I probably overshot it a little bit, but I have said in the past that all the members of Toto together collectively have probably played on a half a billion albums sold, but that might be a little bit too high. I would I definitely would not be shocked if it was a quarter of a billion. Yeah, billion with a B. Uh, because you had half of the band playing on, I've said it before, so sorry for repeating, but half of the band playing on one of the biggest albums of all time, and that was Michael Jackson's thriller. So that right there is I think that sold like 67 million worldwide. Um so that's a huge jump right there. And then you count all the hundreds, maybe thousands of other albums that they played on. But um yeah, so it's all um I just think that they're so deserving of this, but I don't they'll never get a sniff. Uh Super Tramp, yeah, I think so. They had a shorter window, though. So I don't know. I gotta think about that one. Jay Gal's band definitely. Definitely. The J Gal's band, I would say most definitely. Hold on. I got a text, and it wasn't somebody who's voting for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It's my beautiful wife. So let me answer right now. Uh yes. There we go. How great is that? Um, I think scorpions, yeah. Scorpions should. Um Brian Adams. Oh, come on. Brian Adams has never even been on a ballot. That's insane. You know, I see the New York dolls here, and I'm like, oh they have been on a ballot in the past. They had such a short run. Yes, they were very influential, influential in the New York market. Um wow, they were kind of at the forefront of the glam slash punk era. Um wow. But I I kind of just uh I don't know. I'm up in the air on that one. Uh let me save that one for last because I'm gonna go off a little bit. Ario Speedwagon mentioned that one before, absolutely. Huey Lewis in the news, yes, yes, definitely think so. Um right here. Meatloaf. I have mentioned meat before, never been on a ballot. Never. And if and when the nominating committee gets their heads out of their rear ends and nominates meatloaf, Jim Steinman also has to be there as well. Um wow. Jethro Tull, yes, most definitely Jethro Tull should be there. They were at the at the forefront of progressive rock, um, very influential, huge band, especially in the late 60s and the entire decade of the 70s into the 80s as well. Huge, huge band. I see I see Eddie Money on here, and my heart says 100% because I love the money man, love Eddie. Seen him live so many times, always so entertaining, always did a great job, love his songs. Um, just uh he was a wonderful performer, and he really made you feel like you could be buddies, you know. Um, but I don't think the nominating committee would ever consider Eddie Money. Um another one that in my heart needs to be there as well. That's Loverboy. I don't think they'll ever get a sniff because I think that the nominating committee probably would not consider Loverboy like serious band, you know, that kind of thing. I'm not sure. Uh, but you're talking about a lot of records sold, big songs, long uh longevity, a trem, you know, tremendous career over 40 years, 46 years since their debut album was released. Still touring to this day, still sounding great. Four out of the five members of the band, original, and the only reason why it's four out of five is because Scott Smith died in I think 2000. So that's the only reason. Um, yeah, that's the only reason that it's four out of five original members, but great band. I love that band, love that band, they're so good. Um but here's one, here's one, and I I saved this one for last because probably go off a little bit. I don't know, try not to, but I I thought about this The Runaways. All right, the Runaways was an all-female group from the 70s, late 70s. I think they put out one album, maybe two, I think, and they broke up. Um Joan Jett. Um out of the ashes of the runaways. Joan Jett um uh goes solo had a has had a great solo career with Joan Jett and the Black Hearts, Lita Ford, the other guitarist in the band, she has gone off and had herself a wonderful solo career as well. Um, the Go Go's were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame a few years back, and it was supposed to be oh uh based on their influence, they were uh they're an all-girl rock and roll band, and you know, so they need to be there because they influenced so many girls to pick up a guitar and a pair of drumsticks and start playing and form their own band. And I'm saying, well, really? Like they were the first ones to do that? I don't think so. Now, the runaways, to my knowledge, I could be wrong, was the first all female group. You had heart that preceded the runaways, but that was just Ann and Nancy, and then the rest of the band were guys. Um, but but the runaways, all females, talk about influence, all right. All the things that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame looks for, and the runaways are not in, but the go-go's are in. Now, not only the is is are are are the the similarities all girl bands, also very short careers. They really were. The go-go's, yes, they were playing, they got together initially in the the late 70s, okay? And uh they were playing clubs and they were playing over in in uh the UK and that type of stuff, but commercially didn't have a record deal at the time, okay. So they didn't have a record deal until their debut album, which was um what's the what's it uh Beauty and the Beat. And they only had, I think, two more albums after that. They had a very short window. The runaways, very short window. The runaways had more influence on all female bands than the go-go's did. Yet the runaways are not in, and the go-go's are. Joan Jett, who came out of the runaways, had a nice solo career, is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Well, if Joan Jett's nice solo career is good enough for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, then why wouldn't the other guitarist, Lita Ford, who's had a very nice solo career, and is still doing it to this day, just like Joan is. Joan is out there still touring, still still getting it done. Lita Ford still out there getting it done, making new music. She still makes new music. I'm just saying, I mean, if you you guys kind of see where I'm going with this stuff here. So it, you know, obviously, look, it's it's their it's it's their haul. Okay, they can do whatever they want, but they're cherry-picking stuff. And you know, they could say, oh, well, Joan Joan Jett, she had some huge songs. She's had some big songs. She had one huge song. Okay, that's I Love Rock and Roll, spent seven weeks at number one in 1982. Um her debut album is I'm sure it's the biggest album of her uh of her catalog. All right. And but if unless you're unless you're aware of this, I love rock and roll. Her biggest song is a cover. It's a cover of um uh an English band, The Arrows. Okay, and Joan actually introduced that song to the Runaways, and the Runaways did not want to record it. So when Joan left and pursued a solo career, then she ended up recording that song. But then her next big song off of her debut album, that was Crimson and Clover, also a cover. And if if that stuff is big enough to get her into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I'm looking at my list right here. Tommy James and the Shondells, who had a lot of big songs, including Crimson and Clover. So Tommy James should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as well, too. I don't know if I don't know if he's ever been on a ballot. I'm not sure. But you guys kind of see where I'm going with this? Okay. So pull your heads out of your rear ends, rock and roll hall of fame and the nominating committee. Let's get let's start getting this stuff straight. All right, let's start straightening the stuff out. Let's get some some some more of the rock acts in and get these classic artists and bands into the rock hall before they die. Okay. So many of these bands are are up there in age. It's a good thing that Phil Collins was elected this year. Phil's not doing great health-wise, hasn't for like the last 10 years. And the last Genesis tour that they did, the guy sat in a in a in a in an office chair on stage and sang. He cannot play drums anymore. Who knows how much longer he has? So good that somebody got that right. But even if they hadn't got that right, Phil's already in with Genesis, anyhow. But you see what I'm saying. Foreigner, who was kept out for many, many, many years, and it was intentional. It was intentional. Lou Graham has stated that many times. Mick Jones has stated that in the past. It was intentional. But as soon as Jan Winner, who was um kind of ran the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as soon as he was out, then within a year or two, Forner finally got on the ballot. But it took that long, and you've got past members of the band who are in the hall that have died. You have a founding member of the band, Mick Jones, who hasn't toured with the band in almost 20 years. Couldn't even attend the ceremony last a couple years ago when they were inducted because he is in poor health. So it's those kind of things. These guys are waiting around so long that our favorite artists, our favorite band members are dying. Meatloaf, never been on a ballot, dead. Jim Steinman, who should be there with meat, dead. So if someone gets gets a clue and gets these artists on a ballot and they make it, they make it in, who's gonna accept the award for them? Who's gonna perform? It's not gonna get done. And it's a shame. It's an absolute shame. Maybe that's why they should change the name to the Rock and Roll Hall of Shame, right? I don't know. Anyway. Um, so sorry. Didn't mean to do that, but it this is fun stuff. This is fun stuff, and um I'm not the look, I'm not the only one out there that that thinks like this. If I was, there'd be so many people that said, who cares what you think? You know, and I don't have like I don't have uh uh big influence, if any at all. That's not the point. The point is is this stuff needs to be addressed. I'm happy for the class that got in. Well, half the class that got in, uh, because they're they're deserving. But um there's some that were that are not getting in this year. Let's get them in and then let's start going through these snubs from many years past, many years past. And let's get these people in. And just like last year with Chubby Checker, I I I think I told you, I thought Chubby was in. I thought he was gonna be part of that first wave of rock and rollers from the 50s that got in. He didn't get until last year. You know, thank goodness he's still alive. But some of these artists aren't. Let's get it done. Let's get them in. Rock and roll hall of fame, rock and roll not Hall of Fame nominating committee. You guys know who these artists are. All right. Get them in before it's too late. All right. Uh, yeah, I think that's it. You know, I got some other, I have some other content here, but nah, it's all right. Um, we covered some good stuff. But uh I'll finish up with this. Looking forward to tomorrow. Gonna take in another concert tomorrow. Gonna go see another friend of the program, country artist, Olivia Harms. If you're unfamiliar with Olivia, uh just check out past episodes. She was on uh, well, she's been on twice. She was on the Christmas show, but um, that was just, you know, for like 10 minutes or so just to say hey and that kind of thing. But uh I believe she was on last November. And Olivia has the distinction and the honor, yes, honor, right? To say that she is the first um artist to perform live on the Ben Maynard program. So go back and check that out. She's fantastic. I say that a lot too, but I say tremendous a lot as well. But we're gonna go see her tomorrow. We're gonna go see her perform, gonna go meet her. Uh we were texting earlier in the week, and she's like, Yeah, no, get up here, you know, can't wait to see you. So we're gonna go get that done. I'll report on it next week. Um, just looking forward to it. So um, you know, with that, I'll just remind you guys that this program is available wherever you get your podcast and on YouTube because you're watching it right now. So uh just subscribe to it, okay? Wherever it is, just subscribe. Uh, and then follow me on my socials, on Instagram, Ben Maynard program, all one word, or on the TikTok at the Ben Maynard program. All right, so we're done. Appreciate you guys being here. I hope uh you guys have a great weekend, and um I look forward to the next time, all right? Peace out, boys and girl scouts, right? That was lame. That was so lame. All right, I'll see you guys, all right. This is the Ben Maynard program. Tell a friend.