Joe Bonamassa Gives Advice to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Joe Bonamassa implored the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to come to terms with its many aging eligible artists, saying the institution “can’t wait until they’re all dead” before inducting them.

Bonamassa expressed his views during a recent episode of Artists on Record, reflecting on the death of the British blues guitarist John Mayall at the age of 90 (Read here). Mayall, whose 1966 album “Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton” has become a milestone of blues-rock, will enter the Rock Hall posthumously this year as the recipient of the “Musical Excellence Award”.

“I’m glad he knew he was going into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” Bonamassa told host Stefan Adika. “I’m sad and a little pissed off that he didn’t live to see it, because he deserved to be in there decades ago.”

This problem, Bonamassa added, is not unique to Mayall. “The same goes for Alexis Korner (who died in 1984, who will also receive the Musical Excellence Award this year), deserved to be in. There are a lot of omissions – continued the young 47-year-old blues guitarist – that I think we need to start reconciling quickly, because you can’t wait for everyone to die and then say, ‘Well, we’ll put you in posthumously.’ To be inducted means something. That statue would have meant a lot to John Mayall. It would have meant something to people like my friend Chris Squire of Yes. Yes were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, two years after his death.”

Mayall isn’t the only rock icon to die shortly after receiving news of his impending Rock Hall induction. Also Dennis Thompsonthe drummer and last remaining member of the MC5died in May, just months after the proto-punk legends’ long-awaited induction into the Rock Hall. When he learned of the induction, Thompson reportedly said, “It’s about damn time!”

Bonamassa said the Rock Hall needs to work to avoid this problem with other older artists. “There’s a lot of people who are aging or who are in their 70s and 80s who should have been inducted decades ago,” he explained. “They need to be inducted because it’s the right thing to do for the artist. I like the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. They’re very nice people, I’ve always had a great relationship with them, but just to validate their organization and credibility, someone like Paul Rodgers he has to go to that fucking Hall. You mean to tell me that Free He’s not a Hall of Famer? Come on!”.

The guitarist offered a suggestion for how to give more artists exposure. “I understand that they have to reconcile the TV show, the arguments of, ‘Well, this is a TV show, so we have to have big names,’ are good points,” he said. “You do the TV show, fine. But what if the day before you have a ceremony, a dinner, and you bring in 10 people who are maybe not hip or not active and therefore can’t play? A Mayall, someone like Los Lobos? Let’s start there. Anything with Paul Rogers. Pick one: The Firm, Free, Bad Company.”

This year’s awards ceremony will take place on October 19, 2024 at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. The lineup has not yet been announced, but Stevie Nicks has been announced as a performer, though it is unknown in what capacity.