Rocker Changes Tune on Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Criticism
One rocker is coming out and changing his tune on the whole Rock and Roll Hall of Fame thing. He no longer thinks it’s so bad. – Author: Charles Ken, Photo via Anne Erickson
When it comes to both the Grammy Awards and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, a lot of rock stars like to say that they don’t have any interest in being a part of those honors. It makes sense, because both the Grammys and Rock Hall are pretty mainstream, and rock and metal music are about being against the grain, so why would they outwardly express wanting to be a part of something so, well, normal? But, it always feels good to be recognized by your peers and the public, and one rocker is coming out and changing his tune on the whole Rock Hall thing.
Tommy Shaw of Styx Changes His Tune on Rock Hall
Tommy Shaw has been with the “Come Sail Away” rockers for decades. He says that even though the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame keeps overlooking Styx, he thinks more highly of them now than he did back in the day.
“At one time, it used to get under my skin,” Shaw told Sirius XM’s Eddie Trunk during an interview. “I at one time was saying, ‘Please don’t give it to me now. Wait until I’m dead.”
He added, “Because I don’t want to have to go to one of those [induction] things that charge me $5,000 to get in the door and go up and play with guys who probably don’t want to play with each other.”
Styx, as a band, has been eligible to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame since 1998. In order to be eligible for nomination, an individual performer or band must have released its first commercial recording at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination.
Lawrence Gowan Talks Rock Hall
Styx vocalist and keyboardist Lawrence Gowan was also part of the interview and talked about why he believes Styx should be part of the Rock Hall.
“To me, I would like to see [induction] for the guys that were in the band long before I was in the band,” Gowan said. He’s been with the band since 1999, so he’s played with them for a long time, but it’s still not quite like being a founding member.
Gowan added that he’s “like to see it for them, because they built the whole foundation that we’ve been able to extend the life of, you know, since the era that I’ve been involved in.”
He also noted that it’s funny how a lot of bands who open for Styx are already in the Rock Hall.
“Bands that get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, we always celebrate that,” Gowan said, “and when I’ve seen them open for Styx, we always make a big deal of the fact that that band or this artist is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.”
He added, “It’s not beyond noticing the irony of the fact that some bands that are in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will be opening the show for Styx. In my mind, that says something.”
Gowan caught up with Audio Ink Radio back in 2018 and talked about the importance of rock music in the world.
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