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Two former members of hard rock band Heart are suing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for using their likenesses whilst promoting the 2013 induction ceremony, even though they were not inducted. One of the complainants, bassist Mark Andes, is also currently suing Led Zeppelin for plagiarism.
Andes and drummer Dennis Carmassi were members of Heart from 1982-1993, a period in which the band experienced a resurgence, amassing all four of their Grammy nominations and scoring 10 of their 20 Top 40 hits. But the Rock Hall opted to induct only the band’s original 1960s-’70s lineup.
Now, Billboard writes, the two musos have filed a suit, with allegations including “misappropriation of name and likeness invasion of privacy, injurious falsehood, libel, [and] slander.” They insist they are not asking to be inducted, and are merely protecting their “rights, reputations, and likenesses.”
When Andes and Carmassi learnt that they were not being inducted, they penned a letter to the Rock Hall defending their place in the band’s history and requesting an explanation. The suit claims that Hall CEO Joel Peresman responded the next day defending the Hall committee’s decision.
Despite this, images featuring Andes and Carmassi were used by the Rock Hall to promote the 2013 induction class. Their suit claims that when fans and fellow musicians congratulated them on their success, they were “humiliated” to explain that they were not being inducted. The suit also cites comments from core Heart members Ann and Nancy Wilson supporting the pair’s rightful induction.
The two musicians are not the first to criticise the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s induction policies, with recent inductee Paul Stanley of KISS viciously railing against the Rock Hall and its founders after only the original lineup of the hard rock legends was inducted during the 2014 ceremony.
Watch: Heart on the Red Carpet at the 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
