John Sykes, the chairman of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, just sat down for an interview with Vulture to peel back some of the mystery behind the organization’s selection processes. When writer Devon Ivie asks if the process bears any resemblance to Conclave, Sykes likens it more to “a cross between an intellectual conversation and WWE.” “It’s not a beautifully organized or wonderful meeting,” he explains. “It goes on for hours. It all just depends when people decide to stop fighting for their artists they want to get in. There are about 30 people. The nominating committee is very passionate about who they want.”
At least one of those people is Alfred “Weird Al” Yankovic, who Sykes admits “has come up in conversations” when asked about the artist specifically. “He’s a genius,” Sykes says. “He has made brilliant versions of the songs, but I’ll be honest: He’s never made it close to the ballot.” Which, of course, is fair and makes sense, given how few slots there are and how many people would probably like one. For example, The B-52s (“[T]hey just haven’t made it onto the ballot yet, but I think they will one day.”), The Pixies (“There’s been a group of” passionate nominees.) and Phil Collins (Genesis is already in, but “We have such a backlog of people that need to get in that sometimes great solo artists like Phil can’t get on the ballot.”) are some notable contenders that Sykes has considered.
Part of Sykes' mission, at least as far as what’s highlighted in Vulture, is expanding what the understanding of Rock And Roll is, so that rappers like Missy Elliot and Jay-Z have been inducted. While some people have pushed to rename the institution the “Music Hall Of Fame,” Sykes is adamant that Rock And Roll is a wide enough term to include more or less the whole spectrum of popular music. “We’ve got to do a better job explaining it. Little Richard, Otis Redding, Chuck Berry — these artists were the cornerstones of rock and roll,” Sykes recalls telling Jay-Z. “If you look at the sounds over the years, those artists ended up influencing hip-hop.” You can check out all of his thoughts over at Vulture.
