METALLICA's James Hetfield Lists Bands That Should Be Joining Them In Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame - "MOTÖRHEAD For Sure, DEEP PURPLE, RUSH, JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN And Even Stuff Before That ... STEPPENWOLF"
March 21, 2009, 15 years ago
James Montgomery MTV.com is reporting:
To hear him tell it, METALLICA's James Hetfield wasn't even aware that his band was eligible for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It took BLACK SABBATH for him to realize it.
"I never thought much about the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame until we were approached to induct Black Sabbath in 2006, and then they asked us to play, which was like, 'OK ... we will!' " Hetfield laughed, talking to MTV News shortly before taking the stage for a "secret" SXSW Metallica set. "So we were there, and then they were saying, 'You know, you guys are up for this in a few years.' And I went, 'Wow, really?' And I started doing the math ... 'OK, 25 years after our first record ... yeah, it's now.' And my first thought was 'Man, it's gone by very quickly.' "And so, when the Hall came calling earlier this year to tell Metallica that they'd made the cut, Hetfield wasn't exactly surprised. But he was humbled.
"It's very cool. I think we've paid our dues, and we've got a few fans who probably think the same thing," he said. "There's a lot of gratitude around it, the fact that we were acknowledged, and that, hopefully, we can help get some heavy music in. [Ideally] we'd kick the door open even further for some friends of ours - we've got a lot of friends that want to come in and be noted and represent a big part of rock and roll history."And to that end, Hetfield's got an entire list of hard-rock acts that he believes should be joining Metallica in the Hall - and he's not afraid to ruffle a few feathers to help their cause.
"MOTÖRHEAD for sure, DEEP PURPLE, RUSH, JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN and even stuff before that ... STEPPENWOLF. It's crazy that TED NUGENT is not there; that dude is about as rock and roll as it gets. ALICE COOPER, KISS ... that's a pretty good list," he said. "These are bands that represent history and mean a lot to so many people. I think that alone means they should be in there too."Read more here.
