Five bands the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame continues to disrespect

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame held their 2024 induction ceremony this past weekend. The ceremony was entertaining as one of the best things the Rock Hall does is put on a show. At least, the museum is good at that.

This isn't about the performers the Rock Hall has let in, though. It is about who the museum has so far left out. This includes the many hard rock and metal bands the Hall appears to forget are one. One is listed below.

Maybe the museum inducts all of the performers below in some future year. The problem is that each year, new artists will be available to induct, and these five might become more and more forgotten. That shouldn't happen.

Five bands (with one solo performer) the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame needs find room to induct

Devo

The problem for Devo is they had one ridiculously great hit song ("Whip It," of course) that overshadows literally everything else they do. That's not their fault, but the fault with them not being in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame lies with the museum's inability to see depth instead of hits, at times. The band produced other excellent songs such as "Freedom of Choice."

More importantly, the band was influential on a host of post-punk, not quite New Wave bands in both the UK and the US. The Hall seemingly prides itself on liking bands that sold well and/or influenced others. Devo did both.

Phil Collins

Collins' lack of enshrinement is most confusing. He has a poppier sound as the Hall eschews most heavy rock, and Collins sold a ton of records as a solo artist. He had four top-ten albums in the US, and two reached number one. He also had seven number-one singles.

He was a well-respected drummer with Genesis (who was inducted in 2010), but he didn't stop playing drums as a solo performer. His influence on that instrument is extremely underrated. Bands such as XTC have cited they changed the way they recorded drums for albums because they wanted to mimic Collins who was able to get a bigger sound from his kit. (And OK. I cheated on Collins since he is a solo performer instead of a band.)

Iggy Pop

Few vocalists have had a greater impact on alternative rock than Pop. His former band, the Stooges, was inducted in 2010, but Pop has yet to get the call. Besides the inspiration he gave others, he had a number of albums that charted somewhat well globally. He wouldn't be inducted based on his record sales alone, but they weren't nothing either.

The biggest reason Pop needs to be inducted, though, is the important vocalists who gleaned how to be great from him. Kurt Cobain and Layne Staley are two of many who have spoken about Pop's influence. If he doesn't get inducted as a performer, he should as an influencer.

Iron Maiden

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has issues with hard rock and metal, which is ironic because those subgenres are pretty much the extreme epitome of what rock is supposed to be about. Damn the man, right! And Iron Maiden is one of the best metal bands ever.

Perhaps they are a bit too British for the American museum. Sure, the Rock Hall is supposed to be a global institution and it has inducted many non-Americans, but if the artist is deemed by the Rock Hall to be a bit fringe (even when the artist isn't), they have a better shot at being inducted if they are American (see: Foreigner instead of the Scorpions).

Billy Idol

Idol doesn't seemingly care if he ever gets inducted, but others do. 2024 inductee Ozzy Osbourne said he believes one of the bigger snubs by the Hall is for Idol. That Osbourne, whose music is quite different from Idol's, would speak out on his behalf speaks volumes.

But Idol has sold a bunch of records as well, more than 40 million units. He had five top-ten singles in the US alone, but that was the case even though his brand of punk was well ahead of its time. Plus, Idol's induction performance would likely be legendary.

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