Eric Clapton says Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame is a “frat boys club” and “not a place for rebels”
He might have been inducted into it three times now, but Eric Clapton has some choice words to say about the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
The veteran singer-songwriter was speaking in an interview with The Real Music Observer when he made the comments, in which he criticised the exclusion of some influential artists, like the late guitarist J.J. Cale.
Clapton said, of his own inductions into the Hall, “I came to that thing, whatever it is. I think of it as a frat boys club that happened to lure [me] in.
“I think the fact that they had [former Atlantic Records president and Hall Of Fame chairman] Ahmet Ertegun was the ticket for me. He was doing it for people like Ruth Brown and The Drifters, all those early Atlantic artists that were being forgotten. And then, it just kind of started to snowball.”
He explained that he had his suspicions due to the involvement of Rolling Stone magazine, but that his friend Robbie Robertson was involved with it too, and persuaded him to do it.
However, he made it clear that he wasn’t happy with many of the Hall Of Fame’s decisions, saying, “The fact that someone like J.J. has never even been suggested is proof of what that thing is or proof of what it isn’t. It’s not like he’ll ever come up. It’s not their thing. I don’t know what their thing is. But he’s too anonymous for those guys.”
When it was mentioned that Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers hasn’t been inducted – he’s turned it down in the past, Clapton said, “He’s a rebel. It’s not a place for rebels. It’s establishment stuff.” Watch the video here:
Clapton is just one of a number of people who’ve criticised the Hall in the past. There have been complaints that inductees are chosen for being big names over their actual influence, like Sister Rosetta Tharpe, often known as the Godmother of Rock and Roll, who wasn’t chosen for induction until 2017.
And per author Brett Milano, whole genres get ignored. He claimed in 2007 (via OffBeat) that progressive rock, New Orleans funk and 1960s chart music were all overlooked, while music writer Steven Hyden wrote in Uproxx in 2022 that he felt the Hall was ignoring indie and alternative rock artists.
A perceived bias towards American and British acts has also been noted by some critics, particularly when compared to the relative lack of Canadian pop and rock acts included.
In 2006, members of the Sex Pistols refused to attend the ceremony when inducted, calling the museum “a piss stain” and “urine in wine”. 12 years later, when Dire Straits were inducted, frontman Mark Knopfler didn’t attend, with bassist John Illsley saying, “He just didn’t feel like coming, it’s as simple as that. It just didn’t appeal to him, and I appealed to him on several occasions.”
When Oasis were nominated for the Class of 2024, Liam Gallagher wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that “there’s something very fishy about those awards,” called them “a load of bollox [sic],” and called the Hall’s members “bumbaclarts”.
And, in July, guitarist Joe Bonamassa criticised the induction policy, suggesting that the Hall waits too long to induct older musicians. He said, “There’s a lot of omissions that I think they need to start reconciling quickly, because you cannot wait for them all to die to then go, ‘Well, we’re gonna put you in posthumously.’ It means something.”
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Adam England
NME
