It is easy to disagree with Ted Nugent. Or, if you love what the Nuge has to say, agree with everything he espouses. His political opinions are ripe for debate, but he does have some valid points about other subjects. One is how he thinks the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame should go about its business.
The issue with the Rock Hall is that it seems bent on inducting musical artists who might be worthy of a Hall of Fame in their own genre but do not truly belong in a rock and roll one. For instance, Dolly Parton is great, but she is not a rock star. Even she was surprised when she was inducted into the Cleveland museum in 2022.
The same could be said of Jay-Z, a 2021 inductee. He has certainly been influential in hip-hop, but does that make him a rock and roller? Not really. That is also not a judgment of his musical worth, which is high, just not in rock music.
Ted Nugent has the correct opinion about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
On a recent episode of the Eddie Trunk Podcast, Nugent spoke about his views on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and he was correct. He also did not go out of his way to insult those musical greats who are not rock acts but are in the Hall. Nugent rightfully thinks the Hall should belong to, well...rock music.
He said, "It says Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And they basically pissed on Chuck Berry's grave, the way I look at it. Chubby Checker, if he's not in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, but Grandmaster Flash [is]... I'm not knocking Grandmaster Flash. Maybe I am. But there's a bunch of people that are in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame that is just sacrilege. It's just rude. It's dishonest. It's pissing in the face of Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley and Little Richard and all these magnificent, real rock and roll masters."
Checker is one of the acts that is up for nomination this year, though one might wonder why he has not already been inducted. The same could be said of Bad Company, which is also up for induction. Part of this year's ballot, however, is that Outkast and Mariah Carey are part of the voting, too.
Again, no offense to Outkast or Carey, but they do not perform rock music, and that is what this specific Hall of Fame is supposed to be. If there were a Hip-Hop Hall of Fame, Outkast should be in it, but bands such as Nirvana should not be. It goes both ways.