It really grinds my gears when those who are more deserving than others get left out simply because the guy in charge doesn’t want said person to be a part of that club. It happens all the time among writers. One example happened in 2003 when Stephen King was awarded an award for his distinguished contribution to American letters. Despite the anger among many of those who felt the need to dismiss him as a commercial author (literary author Shirley Hazard actually interrupted his acceptance speech), Uncle Steve did eventually get the respect that he rightfully deserved among critics in the years that followed. But it took years of constant snobbery among the literary elites before that even happened. This kind of thing happens in music as well, most recently with the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame class of 2016 announcement.
One year ago, a popular punk rock band named Green Day was inducted into the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame. Despite my personal hatred for the band and their lead singer, Billie Joe Armstrong, they do deserve to be inducted. My problem with their induction last year was not that they were inducted, but everything else that didn’t happen. 2015 was the first year that Green Day was eligible. They got nominated and were inducted in without a second thought. Meanwhile, there are many other bands that have yet to be inducted, and they have been eligible for much longer. One of these bands is Bon Jovi. That’s right. The band whose albums "Slippery When Wet" and "New Jersey" dominated the charts in the 1980s. The band that has had countless hits such as “Livin’ on a Prayer,” “It’s My Life,” “Runaway” and “I’ll Be There For You,” has yet to be inducted into the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame. Bon Jovi has became eligible in 2011, and has been snubbed every year since. The question I want to ask here is: why?
Is it possible that Bon Jovi just didn’t have as much commercial success as other bands? Well, let's break that theory down. During their 32-year career, Bon Jovi has hit the top of the charts five times, and has charted in the Billboard Hot 100 chart 26 times. Five of their albums have hit number one on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart, and eight of them have gone platinum ("Slippery When Wet" is even a certified diamond record). To compare them to another classic rock group, Aerosmith (who was inducted in 2001) has two albums that have hit number one on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart and only one of their singles has sat on top of the Billboard Hot 100 (the 1998 hit “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing”). So it can’t really be argued that they didn’t have commercial success.
Is it a touring thing? A lot of bands (especially classic rock bands) are struggling to sell tickets for tours (the Guns & Roses reunion tour is one of the latest added to that list). Bon Jovi isn’t really having that problem. Their 2013 Because We Can World Tour (to promote their arguably worst album to date, "What About Now") was the largest concert tour of the year, and even won Top Tour of 2014 at the Billboard Music Awards. Last August, they reunited to play Abu Dhabi and sold out. They sold out the desert. That is something most bands and artists can’t do (unless you are Taylor Swift), especially not bands that were supposed to have hit their prime in the 1980s.
Obviously, Bon Jovi has the credentials to be in the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame. So why aren’t they? Honestly, I don’t have a clear answer because I don’t know of any good reason. Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Ratt and Poison are others yet to be inducted. All of them are deserving, but Bon Jovi even more so because they have been able to remain relevant throughout their entire 32-year career. The Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame would rather induct acts like John Mellencamp, Run DNC and NWA instead of acts that have revolutionized the rock ‘n roll genre, and then continued to remain relevant. Go figure.
