I have been a very big rock and roll fan my entire life, probably listening to its various types 90-95% of my music listening. Occasionally I will drift into jazz or classical, but rarely. However, I am not a big fan of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at all, since I do not feel it is truly representative of the best that rock and roll has to offer.

Consider some of its members: Madonna, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Miles Davis, The O'Jays, Righteous Brothers, Isaac Hayes, Earth, Wind & Fire, Curtis Mayfield, Parliament-Funkadelic, The Jackson Five, Al Green.

Now consider some artists who are not members: The Moody Blues, Yes, Rush, Jethro Tull, Stevie Ray Vaughan.

I am not questioning the talent of the members listed above, but are any of them really representative of rock and roll? Most of them are either jazz greats (such as Miles Davis who is one of the giants of jazz in the past 50 years) or r&b artists. And while I am not doubting that jazz and r&b are related to rock and roll, they are still definitely not rock and roll.

So what is the reason for such strange inclusions and exclusions? Nearly all the real rock artists who are members are “mainstream” rock artists, rather than anybody out on the fringes of progressive rock. Pink Floyd is one of the few progressive members. And if the list of members above mean that being a giant in any field related to rock and roll is sufficient for membership, then why the heck isn’t Louis Armstrong a member? He was probably the greatest jazz artist of the 20th century, and an influence on all music that followed, surely moreso than Grandmaster Flash or the O’Jays!

I guess it all goes back to the old adage, that the only worthwhile awards are those that a person proclaims themself. With that in mind, here are the first inductees into my personal Rock and Roll Hall of Honor:

Classic Rock Artists
1 The Kinks
2 The Beatles
3 Chris De Burgh
4 Bruce Springsteen
5 Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
6 U2
7 Van Morrison
8 Creedence Clearwater Revival / John Fogarty
9 John Hiatt
10 Dion DiMucci
11 The Waterboys
12 R.E.M.

Progressive Rock Artists
1 Pink Floyd
2 The Moody Blues
3 The Strawbs
4 Yes
5 Emerson, Lake & Palmer
6 Renaissance
7 Supertramp
8 Electric Light Orchestra
9 King Crimson
10 Frank Zappa
11 Dream Theater
12 Flower Kings

Folk Rock Artists
1 Richard Thompson
2 Simon and Garfunkel
3 Jethro Tull
4 Bob Dylan
5 The Band
6 Steve Forbert
7 John Sebastian / Lovin’ Spoonful

Hard Rock Artists
1 Led Zeppelin
2 Iron Maiden
3 Metallica
4 Slade
5 Smashing Pumpkins
6 The Offspring
7 Alice in Chains