Todd Rundgren Is Skipping Rock Hall Of Fame Induction To Play In Cincinnati
By Andrew Magnotta @AndrewMagnotta
October 29, 2021
After spending almost 30 years as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's most glaring and inexplicable omissions, one of the '70s preeminent iconoclasts and hitmakers Todd Rundgren will not be attending his long-awaited induction Saturday in Cleveland.
Speaking Thursday with TMZ Live, Rundgren says he doesn't support Rock Hall in general and argued that a lack of transparency regarding the organization's selection process has eroded its credibility.
While he acknowledged that his inclusion in the Rock Hall is important to his fans, he feels like they were hoodwinked when he was nominated a few years back.
"They're not honest with the fans about what power they have," Rundgren said. "The fans have practically no power to influence who gets in to the Hall. As demonstrated by that, the first year that I was nominated, my fans really went to the barricades and they voted me up to No. 3. And when the actual induction list came out [the order was] 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. Conspicuously absent. I think my fans felt pretty burned about it as well, and that really annoyed me."
He added that halls of fame are great for sports where you have statistics and a level playing field with which to compare athletes after they retire from the game, but it's an awkward precedent to set for music. Music isn't a competition, after all, and furthermore his career isn't over!
"I kind of abhor that idea that musicians are kind of meant to compete with each other," Rundgren added. "All of my recent music has been collaborations."
Rather than show face Saturday at the Rock Hall alongside fellow inductees Foo Fighters, Tina Turner, Carole King, The Go-Go's and Jay-Z, Rundgren will be celebrating his career with his fans, playing a concert in Cincinnati.