Of all the hall of fames, the Rock & Roll Hall has done a fairly good job of honoring many of the legends over the years, and even expanding what many would consider "rock."
As if that's an easy thing to define.
But any place where you've got Madonna, Aretha, Whitney, Janet, Dolly, Tupac, and Biggie, being shown love alongside Angus, Axl, Bo, Bono, Duff, Elvis, Fats, Flea, Geddy, Iggy, Lars, Levon, Ozzy, Prince, Slash, and Jimi, you're doing something right.
The Rock Hall is missing some important names, though.
Could it be because they're too rock n' roll?
Motörhead
Hate to break this to you, but the Rock Hall has something against umlauts. Without straight up calling them lautists, the writing is right there on the wall. None of the 150+ bands have an umlaut.
Blue Öyster Cult, Hüsker Dü, Mötley Crüe, Queensrÿche, Spın̈al Tap?
Nö thank you.
But that all has to change with Motörhead, a band so rock n' roll it could have been a creation from The Simpsons.
A band whose lead singer / bassist is so badass that when they "performed" on Top of the Pops in 1980, the guitarist rocked out in the back.
With his long hair, rings, fu manchu, leather, patches, cowboy hat and warts is almost too on-the-nose as a rocker, but God don't make mistakes, and when Lemmy was created, it was clear He loves rock music.
The Replacements
Forget the heartbreaking originals like "If Only You Were Lonely," "Unsatisfied," "Nowhere Is My Home," and "Sixteen Blue;" the mystery bag of surprises from their drunken master live shows; or early gems of "Fuck School" to "I Hate Music" to "Shutup."
The Replacements should be in the rock hall simply for making the best music video for the first single of their major label debut: the single shot black and white MTV middle finger "Bastards of Young."
But they should also be in for all those other reasons, plus "Love Lines," and also for making the greatest live album of all, sorry, cassette, which was a bootleg they confiscated after the show and later realized it wasn't half bad, and released it.
When inaugurated they should be joined on stage by Keith Richards, Tom Waits, and Ringo to cover a few of the songs off that tape.
Devo
How do you leave this blessing from above out of your party? Their existence alone is almost more punk rock than new wave which makes you appreciate them that much more because even now, four decades after they began blowing minds, they successfully avoid definition.
Like a poem by ee cummings, you instantly know when you are listening to a Devo song: no one sounds like them while their influences are not of this time or dimension.
And yet it's their take on the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" which should get them in the Hall all on its own.
Like how is it still, to this day, more modern than anything else, despite now being vintage?
Los Lobos
You shouldn't be punished for being so laid back and so casually kickass that you fly under the radar despite making the most beautiful sounds.
Los Lobos has long been one of the most quietly solid bands Los Angeles has produced, a primo Chicano outfit, whose reliability and ability to pivot in many directions, even appealing to Deadheads, should be rewarded.
The two-time Grammy winners did the unexpected in the heart of the '80s when their cover of “La Bamba" for the Ritchie Valens biopic became a #1 hit. It's one of the rare Spanish language hits to ever top the singles chart. Only the "Macarena" in 1996 and “Despacito” in 2017 achieved that feat since the band from East LA.
Los Lobos are on the road with stops at Pappy & Harriets, The Coach House, and a trip to Europe in February, maybe the Pope will request a command performance? Get your tix on their website.
Los Lobos 99 Years Of Rock N Roll Tour 2025-2026
11/24-11/25 SPACE, Evanston, IL
12/3 Belly Up Tavern, Solana Beach, CA
12/4 Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA
12/6 Pappy + Harriet's, Pioneertown, CA
12/7 The Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, CA
12/31 Rio Theater, Santa Cruz, CA
1/10 Ponte Vedra Concert Hall, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL
1/11 Rose and Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center, Fort Lauderdale, FL
1/13 Key West Theater, Key West, FL
1/29 Stone Mountain Arts Center, Brownfield, ME
1/30 Colonial Theatre, Keene, NH
1/31 Wolf Den at Mohegan Sun, Montville, CT
2/1 Universal Preservation Hall, Saratoga Springs, NY
2/4 Sala Capitol, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
2/5 Sala Apolo, Barcelona, Spain
2/6 Sala Wagon, Madrid, Spain
2/7 Rockin' Race Jamboree, Torremolinos, Spain
2/11 Teatro Superga, Turin, Italy
2/12 Palasport, Chiari, Italy
2/13 ADMR Headquarters, Chiari, Italy
2/14 Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome, Italy
2/26-3/6 The 80s Cruise, Cape Canaveral, FL
3/11-3/12 Dakota, Minneapolis, MN
3/13-3/14 Stoughton Opera House, Stoughton, WI
4/10 Tampa Bay Blues Festival, St. Petersburg, FL
4/11 Seminole Casino Hotel Immokalee, Immokalee, FL
5/13-5/16 Latin Legends Cruise, Los Angeles, CA
