Rock Hall Defends Induction Process Following Band Member Snubs

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has recently been facing a raft of online criticism from fans perturbed by their inconsistent induction policies. Controversies regarding Nirvana drummer Chad Channing and which members of KISS ought to be inducted has put the Rock Hall on the defensive.

It was recently revealed that Chad Channing, Nirvana’s Bleach-era drummer, would not be inducted into the HoF alongside the “classic” lineup of Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and Dave Grohl, with Channing reportedly informed via text message from the HoF to Nirvana’s management.

This comes despite Dave Grohl’s status as a “replacement,” which should render him ineligible. The Channing snub has lead to many music fans to accuse the Rock Hall of Fame of playing favourites and for bearing inconsistencies in their selection process, particularly when it comes to KISS.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation CEO Joel Peresman told Billboard the decision of who to induct from any band is made by the Rock Hall’s nominating committee in conjunction with an adjunct group of “scholars and historians” who are familiar with specific inductees and genres.

However, he stressed, “This isn’t chemistry or physics. It’s not an exact science.” The less than scientific methods of the Rock Hall have upset KISS’ Paul Stanley, who posted a missive to KISS’ official website asking why members Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer are not being inducted.

As Stanley writes, drummer Singer and guitarist Thayer have “been in the band for decades and played on multi-platinum albums and toured the world.” Their omission, he says, is an explicit example of what he regards as the Rock Hall’s “preferential treatment towards artists they like.”

However, while Peresman acknowledged Singer and Thayer’s talents, he says they “basically have the same makeup and are the same characters that Ace [Frehley] and Peter [Criss] started. It’s not like they created these other characters with different makeup and playing different songs.”

But that explanation is unlikely to satisfy the irate Stanley, who continues in his missive, “The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame continues to attempt to restore its questionable credibility and glimpses behind the facade with nonsense and half truths… Let’s just accept the truth as it is and move on.”

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