Eric Clapton has some biting words for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame certainly has its issues. Not having any would be nearly impossible for the kind of institution it is. Music fans will rightfully always find fault in those musical artists not inducted into the Hall. One of those people happens to be a pretty great musician too: Eric Clapton.

Still, Clapton has a unique distinction in the Rock Hall. He is the only performer to be inducted three different times. He has been due to his solo career, as well as his time with Yardbirds and with Cream. That might allow him to be a bit more vocal about how the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame handles its business.

In a recent discussion on The Real Music Observer podcast, Clapton spoke about how he was iffy about ever becoming a part of the Hall because he was not sure whether the people who ran the museum would run it as fans of music or whether the Hall would be run as a business and only including artists who might get people to visit the Cleveland, Ohio museum.

Eric Clapton has some real issues with how the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame does its business

Clapton was made to feel better about induction after speaking with people such as the late Robbie Robertson. Having the former head of Atlantic Records, Ahmet Ertegun, involved also helped ease Clapton into the Hall. He felt Atlantic had a number of artists that other record companies might not have taken a chance on.

To be clear, though, Clapton does not care for the Rock Hall. He sees the institution as a "frat boys club" that doesn't even care to think about inducting worthy artists such as J.J. Cale. Clapton also thinks former Free and Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers will never be inducted because he is too much of a "rebel."

The issue the Hall has is that it represents a genre of music based on being rebellious. Rock is supposed to feel dangerous. Leaving out people like Rodgers is ironic and shallow.

Clapton said on the podcast, "The fact that someone like J.J. has never even been suggested is proof of what that thing is, or proof of what it isn’t. It’s not likely he’ll ever come up. It’s not their thing. I don’t know what their thing is. But he’s too anonymous for those guys...(Rodgers is) a rebel. It’s not a place for rebels. It’s establishment stuff."

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