On December 19th, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation President & CEO, Joel Peresman, sat down with outspoken Rock Hall critic Eddie Trunk for a long radio interview. Here are some (paraphrased) revelations from the chat:

• Joel Peresman is not a member of either the Nominating Committee nor the Voting Committee. When Trunk repeatedly asked about famous Rock Hall snubs Rush, Kiss, and Deep Purple, Peresman agreed they should be in, but there was nothing he could do about it.
• Peresman’s involvement in the induction process is limited to administering the process and counting the votes. He claims he has no power to change the members of the Nominating Committee or change the induction process. Peresman implied the process is controlled exclusively by the Nominating Committee chairman (and Bruce Springsteen’s manager), Jon Landau. Peresman also downplayed Jann Wenner’s role in the process.
• Even if Peresman did have the ability to change the process, he wouldn’t do much. The only changes he mentioned were potentially expanding the 600+ member Voting Committee to include more young voters. When pressed about giving the fans a vote, he thought that was a possibility, but the fan preferences would only be a small part of the voting tally, similar to the Heisman Trophy system, where fans get one vote out of 926. Peresman said there was no way the fans would be able effect the nominating process. Peresman also brushed off the suggestion of term limits for the Nominating Committee members, or the possibility of releasing vote totals.
• Eddie Trunk continually pressed Peresman about the process, asking if there are so many obvious artists who should be inducted, or at least nominated, isn’t that a symptom of a broken system? Peresman admitted there are many deserving artists, but he feels the system is basically fine.
• Eddie Trunk asked Peresman about a rumor that he had heard directly from a Nominating Committee member, that as a condition of a Kiss induction, the band demanded some sort of financial compensation. Peresman flatly denied the rumor. Kiss was nominated in 2010, but did not get inducted.
• Peresman said the reason they don’t make the Nominating Committee members public, is because the members don’t to be hassled by fans. Peresman doesn’t have a problem with members acknowledging they are on the committee if they choose. (Of course, we have listed all of the members on our website now for years.)
• VH1 honcho, and Nominating Committee member, Rick Krim, called into the show to discuss the process. Krim acknowledged that this year was his third on the committee, and that he has pushed for Rush each year. He also has lobbied for Chicago, Yes, and Heart.
• Krim admitted he was unaware of how the nominating process worked the first year he joined. He also claims he had never heard of Wanda Jackson when her name came up at the meeting, but was quickly convinced she was deserving of induction. Jackson was inducted in 2009, and Krim was not listed as being on the Committee that year. (As Tom Lane mentioned on Twitter, “Shouldn't a Rock Hall NomCom member know about all genres of music, from the early days of Rock (and pre-Rock) to today's music? I say yes.” )
• Joel Peresman discussed that an artist’s influence on other artists was the primary criteria for the Rock Hall. He admitted to studying the returned ballots from the Voting Committee to see who past inductees voted for. He used the example of looking at Bono’s ballot to see who was important to him. He implied this could influence who gets nominated again.
• A caller asked Peresman about why the Small Faces and Faces were nominated together when they were two different bands with distinct sounds. Peresman admitted that individually they probably wouldn’t have been nominated, but it “made sense” to put them together on the ballot. (Sorry, Mr. Peresman, but that makes NO sense.)
• Eddie Trunk asked about the status of a potential Guns N’ Roses reunion at the induction ceremony. Peresman said he had heard from representatives of all five original members that they would be there. Slash later issued a denial on Twitter, “For the record, I didn't RSVP, or in any way commit to attending the RRHF. I don't appreciate people putting words in my mouth.”

Freddie King was one of the 15 performer nominees for the 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction class. His name was on the ballot right between Joan Jett and Laura Nyro. His name was occupying one of the spaces on that ballot that dozens of other artists have been trying to be a part of for so many years and have been left out. You don’t think Deep Purple fans might have liked to see their name on the ballot there? They’ve never been nominated. Johnny Burnette & the Rock N Roll Trio? Nope. Stevie Ray Vaughan. Judas Priest. We could go on. The complaining wouldn’t be so loud if these artists ever even had a chance.

So why would the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominating Committee waste a space on the ballot for an artist who was going to be inducted as an Early Influence anyway? (More on that in a second.) What does that say to the Voting Committee members who used one of their five precious votes on someone who was already in? Are you kidding? Don’t you think most voters would have liked to use that vote somewhere else? We bet War, the Spinners or Donna Summer would have liked those extra votes.

This really shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. The Rock Hall did the exact same thing three years ago with Wanda Jackson.

The reason the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is so maddening to some of us is not because of who is in and who is out (that’s an entirely different discussion). It’s that the Rock Hall doesn’t even respect a defined process for induction. What other institution makes things up on the fly the way the Rock Hall does? Maybe the People’s Choice awards? Say what you want about the snubs of the Baseball or Football Halls of Fame (or even the Oscars), but you can’t say they don’t follow a set criteria and rules for induction.

Since 2005, the Rock Hall has honored five performer inductees every year. Since voters could choose up to five artists on their ballot, there was a logical symmetry between the ballot and the number of inductees. But this year, even though voters could still choose only five names, the Rock Hall decides to induct six artists. Why? Was it because one of the inductees is deceased (Laura Nyro)? No, they only inducted five in 2006 when Miles Davis was posthumously honored. So why are they inducting six this year? It feels like the system is being manipulated for some unstated reasons. The Rock Hall is certainly at liberty to change the rules, but does it need to be in the middle of the game?

And then there’s the issue of inducting Freddie King as an “Early Influence” -- an issue that came up the last time this happened with Wanda Jackson. The Rock Hall’s definition of the category from their website: “Artists whose music predated rock and roll but had an impact on the evolution of rock and roll and inspired rock’s leading artists.” The key part of that definition is that the music “predates rock and roll.” The rest of the definition applies to all Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. Both Freddie King and Wanda Jackson’s important works did not predate rock and roll by any definition. Wanda Jackson was a contemporary of Elvis. Freddie King had most of his hits in the ’60s. So, again, has the criteria changed?

And while we’re discussing the ballot, why were the Small Faces and the Faces nominated together? Yes, they overlapped band members, but so have many other bands over the years. We joked about this on Twitter when the nominations came out, but are we going to see joint Rage Against the Machine / Audioslave nominations? Pearl Jam / Mother Love Bone? Should Guns N’ Roses have waited to be nominated with Velvet Revolver? These are ridiculous examples, but the Small Faces / Faces has now set a precedent for this kind of thing. Bizarre. (Maybe the Baseball Hall of Fame will combine the stats of all of the Molina brothers and put them in the Hall of Fame together.)

Look, when you call yourself a “Hall of Fame,” that means something. It should be something for artists to aspire to achieve. It should deserve respect from fans. But you can’t continue to erode people’s confidence in the institution by bending the rules and looking the other way when there are obvious conflicts of interest without causing damage to your institution. Take a longer view of things. The Hall of Fame should become even more important as music becomes less of a communal experience.

We’re already looking at artists eligible for the 2037 induction ceremony. Will anyone still care?

Performers:

• Beastie Boys
• Donovan
• Guns N' Roses
• Laura Nyro
• Red Hot Chili Peppers
• The Small Faces / The Faces

Early Influence:

• Freddie King (nominated as a Performer, but inducted as an Early Influence)

Non-Performer:

• Don Kirshner

Musical Excellence:

• Tom Dowd
• Cosimo Matassa
• Glyn Johns

Inductees will be honored at the Induction Ceremony in Cleveland on April 14, 2012. HBO will tape the event and broadcast it in early May.

The results of our poll, which simulates the actual Rock Hall ballot, show that fans would induct Guns N’ Roses (66% of ballots), Red Hot Chili Peppers (56%), The Cure (51%), Beastie Boys (50%), and Heart (47%). The artists left out this time would theoretically be Joan Jett (39%), Donovan (31%), The Small Faces/The Faces (30%), Donna Summer (25%), The Spinners (25%), Freddie King (24%), War (24%), Laura Nyro (14%), Eric B. & Rakim (9%), and Rufus with Chaka Khan (8%). The Future Rock Legends poll typically predicts three out of the five inductees.

So, taking into account the gray-haired tuxedo crowd, Future Rock Legends predicts the five performer inductees for the 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class:

• The Spinners
• The Small Faces/The Faces
• Heart
• Freddie King
• Guns N’ Roses

The induction ceremony will be held in Cleveland’s Public Auditorium on April 14th, 2012. Follow Future Rock Legends on Twitter and Facebook for the latest Rock Hall news.

• The voting deadline is Monday, December 5, 2011. Inductees should be announced within a couple weeks after that deadline.
• The ballot points you to a “special website just for voters” so you can “refresh your memory of the artists’ music” by listening to 30 second clips of a handful of songs. Ok…
• Voters are no longer asked to rank their choices in order of preference as they did in previous years. You can see the instructions on the 2008 ballot. It was never clear how the rankings were used in counting the ballots, so it makes sense to remove that requirement.
• The ballots are individually numbered. Goldmine’s ballot is #229. Voter Steve Pond’s ballot is #251. There were more than 500 ballots sent out this year.
• It’s a good thing that clip art finger is pointing you in the right direction. You might get lost otherwise.

For reference, the nominees on this year’s ballot, from which the 2012 inductees will be selected by the R&RHoF voters (mostly current inductees and pop critics), are:
Beastie Boys
The Cure
Donovan
Eric B. & Rakim
Guns 'N Roses
Heart
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
Freddie King
Laura Nyro
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Rufus
The Small Faces/The Faces
Spinners
Donna Summer
War

People over the years have claimed that the nominee ballot is calculated to meet certain criteria, such as there has to be dead people (or no dead people), there was to be so many of a certain race, there has to be so many of a certain gender. . .  So, let's break up these nominees and examine them based on all these different criteria, and see what the truth is.

First, by subgenre:

1 blues act
1 folk rock/psychedelic act
1 funk act
1 funk rock act
1 funk metal act
1 goth rock/alternative act
2 hard rock acts
1 hard rock/folk rock act
1 psychedelic/pub rock act
2 rap acts
1 R&B/soul act
1 singer/songwriter act

Next, by members.  Asterisks (*) indicate members specifically named in the press release.  Question marks (?) wonder if these members will be added because they did not appear on what is regarded as an "important" recording or have made only minor contributions to the act’s main recordings.  All others appeared on an important recording but weren't named on the press release.  Any members not listed either have not recorded with the act or have recorded on minor recordings past the act’s heyday.

Based on the membership of this year’s nominees, there are a total of 112 people who could possibly be inducted.  Based on who was included in past inductions, most of them won’t.

Beastie Boys - 3 (*Mike D, *MCA, *Ad-Rock)

The Cure - 12 (*Robert Smith, Michael Dempsey, *Lol Tolhurst, *Simon Gallup, Matthieu Hartley, Andy Anderson, Phil Thornalley, *Porl Thompson, *Boris Williams, *Roger O’Donnell, Perry Bamonte, Jason Cooper)

Donovan - (*himself)

Eric B. & Rakim – 2 (*Eric B., *Rakim)

Guns 'N Roses - 18 (*Axl Rose, *Slash, *Izzy Stradlin, *Duff McKagan, *Steven Adler, Dizzy Reed, Matt Sorum, Gilby Clarke, Buckethead, John Freese, Paul Tobias, Robin Finck, Bryan Mantia, Tommy Stinson, Chris Pitman, Richard Fortus, Bumblefoot, Frank Ferrer)

Heart - 10 (*Ann Wilson, *Nancy Wilson, *Roger Fisher, *Steve Fossen, *Michael DeRosier, *Howard Leese, Mark Andes, Dennis Carmassi, Fernando Saunders (?), Denny Fongheiser (?))

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - 6 (*Joan Jett, Ricky Byrd, Gary Ryan, Lee Crystal, Kasim Sulton, Thommy Price)

Freddie King (*himself)

Laura Nyro (*herself)

Red Hot Chili Peppers - 15 (*Anthony Kleidis, *Hillel Slovak, *Flea, *Jack Irons, Jack Sherman, Cliff Martinez, Blackbyrd McKnight (?), D.H. Peligro (?), *John Frusciante, *Chad Smith, Zander Schloss (?), Arik Marshall, Jesse Tobias (?), Dave Navarro, Josh Klinghoffer)

Rufus With Chaka Khan - 14 (Kevin Murphy, Al Ciner, Dennis Belfield, Lee Graziano (?), Paulette McWilliams (?), Ron Stockert, *Chaka Khan, Tony Maiden, Nate Morgan, Bobby Watson, Andre Fischer, Hawk Wolinski, Moon Calhoun, J.R. Robinson)

The Small Faces/The Faces - 7 (*Steve Marriott, *Ronnie Lane, *Ian McLagan, *Kenney Jones, *Rod Stewart, *Ron Wood, Tetsu Yamauchi (?))

The Spinners - 9 (*Bobbie Smith, *Pervis Jackson, *Henry Fambrough, *Billy Henderson, George Dixon, Edgar "Chico" Edwards, G.C. Cameron, *Phillip Wynne, John Edwards)

Donna Summer (*herself)

War - 12 (*Lonnie Jordan, *Howard Scott, *Charles Miller, *B.B. Dickerson, *Harold Brown, *Papa Dee Allen, *Lee Oskar, *Eric Burdon, Alice Tweed Smyth aka Tweed Smith (?), Luther Rabb (?), Pat Rizzo (?), Ronnie Hammon (?))

Next, by previous inductions. Clyde McPhatter was the first person to be inducted more than once into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, as a soloist and as a member of the first incarnation of the Drifters. So, when someone is inducted more than once, we say he has joined the Clyde McPhatter Club. So, notice the name in bold above? Poised to join the Clyde McPhatter Club this year is:

Rod Stewart of the Faces, previously inducted solo (94).
Ron Wood of the Faces, previously inducted with the Rolling Stones (89).
Eric Burdon of War, previously inducted with the Animals (94).

Next, by race, depending on who is and who is not inducted:

White: 6
Beastie Boys, The Cure, Donovan, Heart, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Laura Nyro

Black: 4
Eric B. & Rakim, Freddie King, Donna Summer, The Spinners

Mixed: possibly 5
Guns ‘N Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers*, Rufus, The Small Faces/The Faces**, War

*This depends on whether Cliff Martinez, Blackbyrd McKnight, Paul Tobias or Dave Navarro are inducted with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  Otherwise, this act would count towards white.
**This depends on whether Tetsu Yamauchi is inducted with the Faces, which isn’t likely.  Otherwise, this act would count towards white.

Next, by gender, depending on which members are inducted:

Male: 104

Female: 8

It seems, despite what has been written to the contrary, there is no appreciable increase in the actual number of females that could be inducted this year over the last few years.

Next, by nationality based on place of birth:

Seven I cannot identify where they're from, but all seven are probably from the United States (Dennis Belfield of Rufus, Steve Fossen of Heart, Ronnie Hammon of War, Pat Rizzo of War, Gary Ryan of the Blackhearts, Alice Tweed Smyth from War, and Ron Stockert of Rufus)
One from Australia (Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers).
One from Denmark (Lee Oskar of War).
One born in France, raised in England (Boris Williams of the Cure).
One from Israel (Hillel Slovak of the Red Hot Chili Peppers).
One from Japan (Tetsu Yamauchi of the Faces).
One from Mexico (Paul Tobias of the Red Hot Chili Peppers).
One born in Southern Rhodesia (present day Zimbabwe), raised in England (Michael Dempsey of the Cure).
Nineteen from the United Kingdom (18 from England, 1 from Scotland).
The rest were from the United States of America:
20 from California, 1 from Delaware, 2 from Florida, 1 from Georgia, 6 from Illinois, 4 from Indiana, 1 from Iowa, 1 from Kansas, 2 from Louisiana, 1 from Massachusetts, 6 from Michigan, 3 from Minnesota, 1 from Mississippi, 5 from Missouri, 14 from New York, 2 from Ohio, 1 from Oklahoma, 2 from Pennsylvania, 1 from Tennessee, 1 from Texas, 4 from Washington

Next, by the number of top 40 hits on the Billboard 100:

Beastie Boys - 3
The Cure - 3
Donovan- 12
Eric B. & Rakim - 0
Guns 'N Roses - 9
Heart - 20
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts – 8 (including “Light Of Day” by the Barbusters)
Freddie King - 1
Laura Nyro - 0
Red Hot Chili Peppers - 9
Rufus - 10
The Small Faces/The Faces – 3 (1 as the Small Faces, 2 as the Faces)
The Spinners - 17
Donna Summer - 20
War - 12

Next, by dead members, depending on who is inducted.  Currently, there are 11:

Freddie King
Laura Nyro
Hillel Slovak of the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Steve Marriott of the Small Faces
Ronnie Lane of the Small Faces and the Faces
Pervis Jackson of the Spinners
Billy Henderson of the Spinners
Phillipé Wynne of the Spinners
Papa Dee Allen of War
Charles Miller of War
Luther Rabb of War

Next, by number of years eligible, with first national release.  An act is eligible 25 years after its first national release:

Beastie Boys 
First national release: 1982’s "Polly Wog Stew" ep
First year eligible: 2007
Number of years eligible: 5

The Cure 
First national release: 1978’s "Killing An Arab" single
First year eligible: 2004
Number of years eligible: 8

Donovan
First national release: 1965’s "Catch The Wind" album
First year eligible: 1990
Number of years eligible: 22

Eric B. & Rakim
First national release: 1986’s "Eric B. Is President" single 
First year eligible: 2011
Number of years eligible: 1

Guns 'N Roses 
First national release: 1986’s "Live ?!*@ Like A Suicide" ep
First year eligible: 2011
Number of years eligible: 1

Heart 
First national release: 1975’s "Dreamboat Annie" album 
First year eligible: 2000
Number of years eligible: 12

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
First national release:  1981’s "I Love Rock-N-Roll" album
Excludes 1980’s Bad Reputation which was credited solely to Joan Jett.
First year eligible:  2006
Number of years eligible: 6

Freddie King
First national release: 1960’s "You've Got To Love Her With Feeling" single
Excludes 1957’s "Country Boy" single, which was a regional release
First year eligible:  1985
Number of years eligible: 27

Laura Nyro
First national release: 1967’s "More Than A New Discovery" album
First year eligible:  1992
Number of years eligible: 20

Red Hot Chili Peppers
First national release:  1984’s "Red Hot Chili Peppers" album
First year eligible:  2009
Number of years eligible: 3

Rufus With Chaka Khan 
First national release:  1974’s “Rags To Rufus” album
Excludes 1973’s "Rufus"  album, which was credited solely to Rufus even though Chaka Khan was present
First year eligible:  1999
Number of years eligible:  13

The Small Faces/The Faces
First national release:  1965’s "What'cha Gonna Do About It" single
First year eligible:  1990
Number of years eligible: 22
For the record, the first national release for The Faces was 1969’s "Flying” single

The Spinners
First national release:  1961’s "That's What Girls Are Made For" single
First year eligible:  1986
Number of years eligible:  26

Donna Summer 
First national release: 1971’s "Sally Go 'Round The Roses" single
First year eligible:  1996
Number of years eligible:  16

War
First national release:  1970 - "Eric Burdon Declares War" album
First year eligible:  1995
Number of years eligible:  17

Next, number of times nominated, including years nominated:

Beastie Boys – 3 (2007, 2010, 2011)
The Cure – 1 (2011)
Donovan – 2 (2010, 2011)
Eric B. & Rakim – 1 (2011)
Guns 'N Roses – 1 (2011)
Heart – 1 (2011)
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts 1 – (2011)
Freddie King – 1 (2011)
Laura Nyro – 3 (2009, 2010, 2011)
Red Hot Chili Peppers – 2 (2009, 2011)
Rufus – 1 (2011)
The Small Faces/The Faces – 1 (2011)
Spinners – 1 (2011)
Donna Summer - 4 (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011)
War – 2 (2008, 2011)

There are six previously nominated acts this year, while the other nine have been nominated for their first time. The nominators favored acts that have never been nominated over those who have.  Going by the inductees from the last six years, so do the voters.   

**The Chili Peppers were also nominated two years ago (prior to Burnstein’s involvement with the Rock Hall) and are clearly strong Hall of Fame candidates, and it’s unknown if Burnstein was directly involved in getting the band on the ballot this year.

This is not a new problem for the Rock Hall Foundation, and they likely don’t see it as an issue. They have been facing accusations of bias since the Rock Hall’s birth and have never taken any steps to remove that perception.

If the Rock Hall wants to get serious about improving its perception with the public, we have some suggestions to improve the induction process:

1. Term limits for Nominating Committee members (5-7 years). The prospect of new voices on the Committee would give hope for neglected artists.
2. Allow the Nominating Committee members to speak about the process publicly.
3. Publish rules for the nominating process and include something to address conflicts of interest.
4. Make the list of Voting Committee members public.
5. Hire an independent accounting firm to handle the vote counting like every other reputable awards show does.
6. Publish complete voting statistics. We understand you don’t want to hurt artists’ feelings, but they will survive. It should be an honor just to be in the discussion for the Hall of Fame.
7. Find a way to engage the fans. There are lots of ways to do this, but a simple way would be to create a fan vote for the last ballot position from four choices you provide. We don’t want the Rock Hall to turn into the Hard Rock Café anymore than you do.
8. Stop being so secretive. You should have publicized the fact that Cliff Burnstein is now on the Nominating Committee. Be proud of who you are and what you are creating.

Meet Cliff Burnstein, the newest Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominating Committee member. [Although the Rock Hall doesn’t publicize the members of the committee, Tom Lane recently learned from Dave Marsh that Burnstein had become a member this year.]

A few facts about Mr. Burnstein:

• He was born in ~1948.
• He co-founded Q Prime Management with Peter Mensch in 1982.
• He is most well known for being the longtime manager of Metallica. [Lars Ulrich tells the story of meeting Cliff Burnstein here.]
• One of his current clients are the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who happen to be a 2012 nominee. [Don’t forget it was Flea who inducted Metallica in 2009.]
• Others on his current client list include Muse, Silversun Pickups, The Mars Volta, Gillian Welch, Josh Groban and Cage The Elephant.
• He used to manage snubbed artists Rush and Def Leppard (among many others).
• Q Prime is associated with Mom + Pop Records, an independent label with artists such as Metric, Neon Indian and Sleigh Bells.
• He is a generous philanthropist.
• According to Dave Marsh, Burnstein nominated The Spinners for the Rock Hall this year.
• He is allegedly being impersonated by criminals who scam female escorts out of thousands of dollars (?!!?!)

Cliff Burnstein is unquestionably qualified to help shape the Rock Hall and he should be a positive addition to the Nominating Committee.

Rod Stewart’s publicist issued the following press release:

ROD STEWART COMMENTS ON HIS RECENT NOMINATION WITH 'THE FACES' FOR INDUCTION INTO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME IN 2012

Rod Stewart: "I'm thrilled to be nominated again.  Being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 1994 was a huge honor for me.  If the Faces make it in, I can't think of a more befitting opportunity for the band to finally reunite and perform. I know I'd definitely be up for it.”

This appears to be just the kickoff of Stewart’s campaign to become a two-time Rock Hall inductee. We’ll see if it works.

• Beastie Boys: Third nomination (second consecutive); eligible since 2007
  It’s mystifying why they haven’t been inducted yet. They have some of the strongest credentials of any eligible artist. Could this be the year, or will they wait a year and go in with Public Enemy (back in New York)?
  
• The Cure: First nomination; eligible since 2003
  Interesting nomination. Certainly fills a void on recent ballots, but it seems highly unlikely they’ll be inducted this year. Also in line for this ballot slot, The Smiths and Joy Division / New Order.
  
• Donovan: Second nomination (second consecutive); eligible since 1990
  Not sure there is much momentum behind him, but perhaps he fared well on last year’s ballot.
  
• Eric B. & Rakim: First nomination; FIRST-YEAR ELIGIBILITY
  Huge in hip-hop circles, but to get inducted into the Rock Hall, you generally have to transcend your genre.
  
• Guns N’ Roses: First nomination; FIRST-YEAR ELIGIBILITY
  See you in Cleveland.
  
• Heart: First nomination; eligible since 2001
  Great to see Heart make the ballot after waiting 10 years. They recently made an appearance at the Rock Hall Museum as part of the “Women Who Rock” exhibit.
  
• Joan Jett and the Blackhearts: First nomination; eligible since 2005
  Another focus of the “Women Who Rock” exhibit. Many people wanted the Runaways to get in first, but the Rock Hall went with the more popular band.
  
• Freddie King: First nomination; eligible since 1986 (first year of inductions)
  This year’s left field nomination. Never count these guys out of the voting.
  
• Laura Nyro: Third nomination (third consecutive); eligible since 1992
  Laura Nyro must have some strong advocates on the Nominating Committee.
  
• Red Hot Chili Peppers: Second nomination; eligible since 2009
  Another band like the Beastie Boys that will inevitably be inducted. It’s just a matter of when. They will be coming off a huge tour in support of their new album.
  
• Rufus with Chaka Khan: First nomination; eligible since 1999
  Chaka Khan’s name has been on the “Previously Considered” list for years, but here she gets the nomination with her 70’s band Rufus.
  
• The Small Faces/The Faces: First nomination; eligible since 1991
  This could fit into the category of Jeff Beck’s induction three years ago. Don’t count them out.
  
• The Spinners: First nomination; eligible since 1986 (first year of inductions)
  It seems likely that they will be ushered in quickly by the Voting Committee, who has probably been waiting for a chance to vote for them for years.
  
• Donna Summer: Fourth nomination (third consecutive); eligible since 1999
  Another year, another Donna Summer nomination. She likely be nominated again next year, because she won’t make it again.
  
• War: Second nomination; eligible since 1996
  Not a lot of traction the last time they were on the ballot. With heavy competition this year, they won’t get in.
  

** The first place the nominees were listed was on a Cure fan site (found by a FRL reader DC), from a scan of the print edition of Rolling Stone. Oddly, only 12 of the nominees are listed (no Donna Summer, War or Laura Nyro) and Freddie King’s name is misspelled.

Stephen Colbert: Why aren't you guys in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Is it because you used steroids? Did you juice?

Ric Ocasek: You know I really don't know. I don't know if I want to be in it.

Stephen: Really?

Ric: But if I did want to be in it, I don't know why we're not in it.

Stephen: There's no award I wouldn't accept. Can I have it if they give it to you? Can I have yours?

Ric: Well, yeah. I'll bring it in and you can put it up there.

The Cars (and Rush) are included on our list of the Rock Hall's Biggest Snubs.