Rob Halford on Who Should Be Inducted into the Rock Hall from the 2020 Nominees
Judas Priest is among 16 artists nominated for the 2020 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class, and if Rob Halford had his way, the 2020 class would provide a heavy dose of hard rock and metal to the Rock Hall.
Halford recently appeared on Talkin’ Rock with Meltdown and when asked about who he thought deserved to be inducted from this year’s nominees, he said, “Everyone that’s nominated, especially from the British side, we’ve got a great slew of British metal acts this year. Everyone deserves a place in the Hall. That’s sort of the bummer of it because not everyone gets in. All of the great talent listed as nominees this year are all incredibly worthy if that’s the right word to use. They’re esteemed, talented artists from their genres of music, but definitely [Thin] Lizzy, Motorhead…They all need to be in there.”
The Metal God, who’s said in multiple interviews that 2020 nominee Whitney Houston should be inducted, double-downed on his stance about non-rock acts going into the Rock Hall saying, “You kick the doors down. That’s what I like about the way the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame embraces everybody. Rock and roll means a lot of things; it’s just this great statement, and I think for them to be so welcoming and unconditional and just say, ‘Hey, music is music. You do what you do. You pay your dues’…Yeah, it’s for everybody.”
Halford also made it clear that being inducted into the Rock Hall, however, by no means equals the end of a career.
“It would certainly be a tremendous honor and recognition for all of the work we’ve done, and because what the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame represents in amplifying those feelings,” said Halford. “It’s no different to get into the Baseball Hall of Fame or the NFL Hall of Fame or the Basketball Hall of Fame…when you’re in that place with all of those other incredibly beautiful people, it’s great recognition. And it’s motivational. It’s not the end-game. It’s not the end [of someone’s career] for a lot of us…It gives you a boost. It makes you look ahead, which is what we’re doing right now with planning and making a new Priest album.”
While Priest is in the process of following up 2018’s Firepower, Halford said fans will have to wait a bit for new music and doesn’t expect any sort of release in 2020.
Judas Priest currently sits in fifth place in the Rock Hall fan vote behind Soundgarden, The Doobie Brothers, Pat Benatar and Dave Matthews Band. The Rock Hall fan vote lasts through January 10, 2020 at 11:59 PM EST. The top five artists from the fan vote will make up the “fans’ ballot” and be counted among the other ballots from the Rock Hall voting committee. Fans can vote for artists in three different ways:
-By searching “Vote Rock Hall 2020” or any nominee name plus “vote” on Google to cast a vote
-By voting at RockHall.com
-By voting in person at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland
2020 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees
