In a new interview with “The Rock Experience With Mike Brunn”, legendary drummer Vinny Appice was asked if he thinks he should have been inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame along with the original members of BLACK SABBATH when the band finally got the nod in 2006. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “How many bands have changed over the years? And some of [the changes were] important. [Singer] Ronnie [James Dio] took SABBATH to a new level. At that point, they needed it. And we were both in the band, so they should do an extended band thing up to a certain point, I guess.”
He continued: “As far as I’m concerned, it was the original SABBATH and the Dio[-fronted version of] SABBATH together — with Bill [Ward, original drummer] and with me. He played on ‘Heaven And Hell’, and I played on ‘Mob Rules’ and the rest of ’em — the most important [albums]. There was a lot of versions of SABBATH after that that were a little different.”
Appice went on to say that the fact that SABBATH wasn’t inducted into the Rock Hall until 2006 — more than 35 years after the band’s formation — was “the most stupidest thing in the world.” He added: “Then they put people that are not even playing rock in there.”
Back in 2014, Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Foundation president and CEO Joel Peresman defended the selection process for which band lineups actually get inducted, telling Billboard that the decision about who to induct from any band is made by the Rock Hall‘s nominating committee as well as an adjunct group of “scholars and historians” familiar with specific inductees and genres. “This isn’t chemistry or physics; it’s not an exact science,” Peresman acknowledged. “Sometimes there’s an entire body of work up until (the artists) are inducted, other times it’s a specific period of time that established the band as who they are.”
Even though artists are eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single, iconic hard rock and metal bands like JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN and MOTÖRHEAD have yet to be recognized by the institution, which inducted GUNS N’ ROSES in that group’s first year of eligibility.
Rock Hall rules state that artists become eligible a quarter century after their first records were released, but the Hall also claims that other “criteria include the influence and significance of the artists’ contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock ‘n’ roll,” which is, of course, open to interpretation.
