“I am sad and slightly pissed off that he didn't live to see it - he deserved to go in decades ago”: Joe Bonamassa on the Hall Of Fame’s treatment of John Mayall

Joe Bonamassa has criticised the Rock N’ Roll Hall Of Fame’s belated acknowledgement of John Mayall.

The so-called godfather of the British blues passed away two weeks ago at the age of 90. But the Hall Of Fame only got around to inducted him just months before he died and only then via the ‘Musical Influence Award’, rather than the main (and more prestigious) ‘Performer’ category.

Tribute to John Mayall: A Conversation with Joe Bonamassa" - YouTube

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In an interview on the Artists On Record podcast, JoBo said that whilst he was glad to see Mayall finally receive recognition for his huge contribution, it was a case of too little, too late."I have been screaming about this for as long as people are willing to listen,” he said. “One of the biggest snubs at the Rock N’ Hall of Fame is that John Mayall is not a member... I am sad and slightly pissed off that he didn't live to see it because he deserved to go in decades ago. Same with Alexis Korner – these are first, second ballot people.”

"There's a lot of omissions that I think they need to start reconciling quickly, because you cannot wait for them all to die to then go, 'Well, we're gonna put you in posthumously.' It means something. It would have meant something to John to get that statue." 

John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers with Gary Moore - So Many Roads - YouTube

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He added that: "There's a lot of people that are now ageing out or becoming in their late '70s and '80s that really should have been in decades ago. They need to get them in because it's the right thing to do for the artist."

It’s not the first time the Hall Of Fame has been criticised in recent months. Back in May Metallica’s James Hetfield called Lemmy’s absence from the Hall a “disrespect to rock”. 

Last year Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden – who have been eligible for 20 years and still haven’t been inducted – said he didn’t want the honour any more: “Because we're not dead yet! Some people feel almost actively threatened by metal. Not by the nature of the music. But by the fact that it doesn't conform to their worldview of what pop music should be, which is: pop music is disposable, darling. Well, we don't make disposable pop music."

It must be said that some of this year’s inductees do somewhat stretch the definition of the word ‘rock’. Yes, there’s Ozzy Osbourne and Peter Frampton. But also on the list are Kool And The Gang, A Tribe Called Quest and, er, Cher.