Rock Hall of Fame - Most Egregious Oversights

Back in 2017 I wondered about which artists were likely to be added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the next fifteen years or so. Many of those artists are still very deserving, and some, pleasantly, have been inducted, but there are people who are equally deserving in both the performing and non-performing categories that need a shout-out. So here's my top list of the artists not in the Hall but who definitely, without question, should be.

First, the Artists, in alphabetical order.

Joy Division / New Order. I mean, I'm not a fan of Joy Division, but I totally respect their influence on shaping the post-punk landscape, and their influence on 80s music in general. Tremendously popular (as New Order) as well as impacting so many artists to follow makes them clearly eligible entrants, but they've yet to even be nominated.

Kraftwerk. They have been nominated six times, without getting in. Very few artists have been nominated that often: Chuck Willis and Chic are the only other artists nominated so often (Chic, actually, was nominated a record 11 times, before their great guitarist Nile Rodgers was inducted on his own). Kraftwerk isn't in, as far as I can figure, because they are German. But with bands like Depeche Mode being inducted, Kraftwerk's omission is pretty ridiculous. Perhaps adding them would force them to acknowledge non-English rock artists around the world, from Serge Gainsbourg in France to Os Mutantes in Brazil. Horrors!

The Pixies have never even been nominated, despite their widespread influence on other artists who are in the Hall, like Nirvana and Pearl Jam, and many others. They were integral to the late 80s and 90s rock, and that they've not been recognized is just dumb. Many of their albums are now considered classics (Surfer Rosa, Doolittle), as are their popular singles.

The Smiths are another odd exception. Widely considered one of the most significant indie groups of the 1980s they've only been nominated twice, and still have no presence in the Hall. Heck, all four of their albums made the Rolling Stone's Top 500 - that's a bizarre omission right there. Now that the Hall seems to be on an 80s kick, it would be a good time to consider both the Pixies and The Smiths.

Sugarhill Gang is yet another unusual oversight. Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five get a spot, as do the other early hiphop pioneers like Run DMC and Public Enemy, but not Sugarhill Gang? I can only name one Grandmaster Flash song (The Message) - I can easily name three Sugarhill tracks (Rapper's Delight, 8th Wonder, and Apache - all influential and popualr). I get the Hall not including DJ Kool Herc, since he wasn't a recording artist, but Sugarhill definitely was, and, like Herc, helped invent hiphop, thereby deserving due credit.

Dionne Warwick has never even been nominated, despite being one of the most popular female singers of her time and all-time, with a string of classic tracks. She is, admittedly, on the 'pop' side of rock - but so are many other inductees, likely the recently, rightfully, inducted Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson. Her addition would certainly help address the gender imbalance. (Next year I'm hoping Sleater-Kinney and the other mid-90s girl groups and artists get in: PJ Harvey, Alanis Morissette, Bjork.) Besides, even if she's pop, the Hall is full of inductees from other areas of music, which I'll address now.

Outlying Artists:

John McLaughlin and Joe Zawinul. These two both deserve to be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (separately inducted) because they were two of the three biggest names in jazz fusion. The third name, Miles Davis, gets to be in the Hall, so if he's in there for contributions to rock via fusion, these two, who worked at the same time and with Davis and did lots of innovating on their own, also deserve credit.

Award for Musical Excellence (formerly Sidemen):

Carol Kaye was the bassist of the famous Wrecking Crew - a group of session musicians in LA who played on a bazillion recordings from the Phil Spector era through the psychedelic era and beyond. A couple of the members have been inducted into the Hall - Leon Russell, Earl Palmer, Steve Douglas, and Hal Blaine. But Kaye ("La Bamba", "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling", "These Boots are Made for Walking", "River Deep Mountain High", "Wichita Lineman", "Sloop John B", "California Girls", "In the Heat of the Night", "The Way We Were", Freak Out! and so, so many more) definitely also deserves a spot.

Non-Performing (Producers):

Lee “Scratch” Perry was a reggae producer who helped invent dubbing and scratching. Now, two reggae artists are already in the Hall: Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff. So if we're recognizing reggae's influence on Rock, and if many hiphop artists are included, then surely Perry deserves a spot. He was even included on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Immortals in 2003 - and one of only two artists on that list not to be inducted who is eligible (the other is Gram Parsons, nominated three times, and Eminem who isn't yet eligible).

Rubin, left.

Rick Rubin. Rubin helped get hiphop off the ground, and for that alone should be in there - he produced Run DMC, Public Enemy, and the Beastie Boys, whom are all inductees, as well as plenty of other rock members, notably the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but also Joan Jett, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, AC/DC, Aerosmith, Neil Diamond, Metallica, U2, ZZ Top, Black Sabbath... and more.

Non-Performing (Songwriters):

Taupin, left.

The fact that Bernie Taupin isn't in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is just absurd. Elton John was inducted in 1994, but the man who wrote basically all of his classics, wasn't included at the time, and the error has never been rectified. His is one of the most glaring absences: Rocket Man, Tiny Dancer, Candle in the Wind, Your Song... He made Elton John. It's unfathomable that he's not already in.