Despite the swarm of criticism that is thrown at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame every year for its ridiculous nominations and awardees, fans of the genre seem to be unable to resist arguing about the relative merits of the artists the institution deigns to acknowledge.
This year, Hall of Fame drama seems to come in the form of legendary grunge act Pearl Jam. Amongst the inductees this year were Yes, Journey, Electric Light Orchestra, Joan Baez, Tupac Shakur and, as mentioned, Pearl Jam. The issue, however, comes from the individual musicians that are recognized by the Hall of Fame.
The musicians inducted under the name Pearl Jam include Eddie Vedder, guitarists Stone Gossard and Mike McCready, bassist Jeff Ament, original drummer Dave Krusen, and current drummer Matt Cameron. But not former drummer Dave Abbruzzese, who contributed to the Vs. and Vitalogy, the band’s second and third records.
According to the Rock Hall, its committee selects members based on “who was present and active during the most influential recording years,” but it does not seem to be acknowledging Abbruzzese’s significant contributions to the band following its breakout debut album Ten.
Abbruzzese seems to agree, reposting friend’s Facebook post which said
“So… Rock & Roll Hall of Fucktardia. Ergh.
It makes absolutely zero sense to me…
I’m just gonna shove this statement up someone’s arse:
‘As the original ballot is created, the members of each eligible band are determined by largely who was present and active during the most influential recording years.’
I’m not sure how 275+ live shows and 38% of record sales doesn’t fit their criteria…”
“I may write more about this as time travels on…,” added Abbruzzese. “As for now, I look forward to sharing my first solo album with you all. Thank you for sharing your opinions & for your love & support.”
“The qualifications required for me to have been inducted with my former band mates certainly have been met,” Abbruzzese wrote in a followup post. “I challenge anyone to justify why I am not worthy of a place in the history of Pearl Jam. The official reason given from the RRHOF makes it bullshit. It make my years of hard work appear to be worthless towards the success born of the formative years of Pearl Jam. This is simply not the case. The milestones and the success obtained during my period in the band…
The Grammy, AMA’s, Mtv awards, over 20 plus million albums sold.
Mtv Unplugged performance.
SNL twice, etc. Over 275 shows
For anyone to take a stand for denying my right to be recognized, I deserve to hear how you are possibly justifying such an absolute travesty.
Statistics and the opinions of the Pearl jam fans voiced on social media for the last 20 plus years will attest to that.
Someone need only to pull their head out of their ass and add my name.
‘Nuff said?
Thank you, everyone!!”
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