When it comes to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it is inevitable for controversies to arise. After Rock Hall declared this year’s nominees, people started to discuss the fairness of the list. Twisted Sister’s Jay Jay French also joined the discussions via his Twitter account. French criticized the Rock Hall’s approach to heavy metal music.
People have questioned the Rock Hall’s choice of nominees and inductees for years as they include artists from genres other than rock and metal. For example, when Dolly Parton was inducted last year, some musicians like Joan Jett defended her by stating that rock n’ roll was about the influence of a musician. However, most artists like Ann Wilson blamed the Rock Hall for being ‘less and less about rock.’
In addition, many people, including Jay Jay French of Twisted Sister, are bothered by the absence of heavy metal bands and vocalists from the inductees despite their prominence in the music industry. As a response to Mitch Lafon’s tweet questioning Iron Maiden‘s influence on the music industry, French claimed that Patti Smith was not impactful or ‘rock and roll enough’ to be an inductee. He stated that Iron Maiden influenced thousands of people around the world, implying that they deserved to be in the Rock Hall.
His tweet on the matter read:
“Is Patti Smith impactful? Why is she in? Good poet, good author, a mediocre singer at best, and ‘ain’t rock roll to me.‘ She is a ‘political inductee’ thanks to Seymour Stein. @IronMaiden has affected hundreds of thousands of fans around the world… for decades.”
The guitarist also added that he finds the Rock Hall’s approach to heavy metal insulting and dismissive. French indicated that the NY punk is unfairly held in a higher place. He wrote that metal ‘never the gets credit’ for its contribution to the music industry.
Jay Jay French added:
“It’s not a matter of either/or. It’s that the R&RHoF has always been dismissive of Heavy Metal, and that insult bothers me, but the NY punk scene has always been held in higher regard. Metal kept the music business alive from the 70s thru the late 80s and never gets the credit!“
The topic of whether the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is fair with their nominees and inductees is still up for discussion. However, Jay Jay French blames the Rock Hall for being unjust and dismissive toward heavy metal, which he thinks deserves credit for impacting the music industry and people worldwide.
Is Patti Smith impactful? Why is she in? Good poet, good author, mediocre singer at best and ‘ain’t rock roll to me’, She is a ‘political inductee’ thanks to Seymour Stein. @IronMaiden has affected hundreds of thousands of fans around the world.. for decades.
— Jay Jay French (@jayjayfrench) February 10, 2023
It’s not a matter of either/or.it’s that the R&RHoF has always been dismissive of Heavy Metal and that insult bothers me but the NY punk scene has always been held in higher regard. Metal kept the music business alive from the 70’ thru the late 80’s and never gets the credit!
— Jay Jay French (@jayjayfrench) February 10, 2023
