Coming up on March 13 is this years Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Inductions. The 2006 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame class is certainly one of the most controversial we have seen yet. Many of the bands making it into the hall this year have...

been passed over in previous years. There were complaints in the past that Lynyrd Skynyrd, Black Sabbath and The Sex Pistols had not made it as members.

It can not be said that their previous exclusion from the hall had anything to do with a specific genre. These bands represent quite diverse musical styles: Southern Rock, Hard Rock/Heavy Metal and Punk. Not only that but many bands with respected careers have often mentioned these bands as influential to what they themselves do today. This would it seem, appear to be what a musical hall of fame should represent. I will point out though that the hall has inducted other groups representative of each of these styles in the past (The Allman Brothers Band, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, The Ramones and The Clash). So to all the people with complaints let me say that inductions need to begin and end somewhere and not everyone can get in at the same time so let this young establishment catch up a little before we begin raising a stink that our personal favorites aren't in yet.

Now to make things amusing, in the past when Black Sabbath was passed over the bands singer Ozzy Osbourne said he didn't need the hall and wouldn't want to be inducted. Now that they have made the cut though, Ozzy will show and accept his award with not a negative word. The Sex Pistols who never made mention of acceptance or non acceptance have stated that they are refusing this award. They will not be in attendance and they just don't want to be included in the hall. Lynyrd Skynyrd will get the award with all the remaining members of the band in attendance and we can only hope that there will be no fist fights from the very embattled band.

There are other people being inducted into the hall on the same night who I don't want to overlook. Blondie who were one of the leaders of the New wave movement in the 80's is getting inducted as well. I am glad to see this and not just because I have a soft spot for Debbie Harry (The same as any guy who is my age must have) but because they are a very talented group of musicians especially drummer Clem Burke. Miles Davis is being inducted as well. If you think he doesn't belong in The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame just pick up his "Bitches Brew" CD and hear the fusion of Jazz and Rock and I hope you will understand. The final inductees for the night will be Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss in the non performers category. They started A&M records that signed so many artists like Procol Harum, Supertramp, Peter Frampton, Free, The Police, Joe Jackson, the Neville Brothers, Captain Beefheart, John Hiatt, The Flying Burrito Brothers, Cat Stevens and Alperts own group the Tijuana Brass.

I just hope that this years performances are without unfortunate incident. Lynyrd Skynyrd playing should be tough with many members of the current line up who are in no way responsible for the bands achievement. I can only hope that these newcomers are not even in attendance that night. I truly feel that the band as it is today should at least change its name out of respect for those members who have passed on. I have heard that Black Sabbath will not be performing with Ozzy because they are afraid his vocals will not hold up through the short set.

I guess we will just have to see what the 2006 induction ceremonies will turn out to be. Lets hope that many of these "B" team bands do their inclusion justice !!