Dee Snider has a problem with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

In your music news for Tuesday, Dee Snider tries to diss the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but gets wrong a very important point.

Dee Snider seems non-plussed that his band, Twisted Sister, hasn't yet been inducted into the Rock Hall. Snider's argument, which he made on the On the Road to Rock podcast is that he feels the people running the Hall are "elitist" and "old mothereffers" and even goes far as to quite crudely say, "And the minute they go and die - the sooner, the better, guys and girls; the sooner, the better - and they bring in some contemporary people (then newer bands can get inducted)."

I agree with Snider to a point. There are lots of bands of value and influence that need to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Smiths, for instance, probably aren't in because of their Englishness and maybe a few people who vote on election don't like Morrissey, but there is little doubt The Smiths musical footprint outweighs some other bands already in the Hall.

Dee Snider gets upset about the Rock Hall but misses the larger point

I also see Snider's point when he says maybe the museum should just be called the "Music Hall of Fame" since it inducts people, like Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson, who are clearly not artists who perform rock music. That said, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has always had a wing of influencers and I can see where Parton and Nelson would be there. But that's simply an out for the museum and it should stick with the real identity of being about rock music.

But where Dee Snider is wrong is that just because a band sells records somewhat well (Twisted Sister has sold a bit more than 12 million records, 17 percent of what Michael Jackson's Thriller sold alone) doesn't mean they should be in a hall of fame of any kind. Halls of fame should be for those that stand out the most, either in terms of the value of their music or incredible influence. Twister Sister simply is no better than a band like Quiet Riot and Quiet Riot doesn't belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame either.

Snider is right that Iron Maiden should be in the Rock Hall. It's a stain on the Hal that Maiden isn't in because they heavily influenced many successful bands that followed. But Twister Sister? If they get in, anybody should be let in.

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