Asked which band he thinks should join him in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Sammy Hagar says — without hesitation: Journey, the band Steve Perry spurred to chart heights just as Hagar joined Van Halen.
“My criticism is that the Hall of Fame tries to be too politically correct,” Hagar says in this Y108 clip. “They’ve got to have a soul person, and an old blues guy. They have to have a this and a that. C’mon, it’s called the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Certain people do not belong in it, you know what I mean?”
Hagar, who was inducted as a member of Van Halen, has a personal connection to Journey — going back to the 1980s, but continuing through to today.
Long before he took over for David Lee Roth, Hagar was a member of HSAS with Neal Schon, between the guitarist’s work on Journey’s Frontiers and Raised on Radio studio project. (Those two albums went eight-times platinum combined for Schon, Perry and Co.) Schon says he later recommended Hagar for the Van Halen gig.
Hagar recently reunited with Schon for a track on his forthcoming solo effort Sammy Hagar and Friends.
In a way, though, he’s not surprised that Journey — a band that ultimately scored a stunning seven straight multi-platinum records from 1978-87 — hasn’t received recognition from the hall. After all, he says, worthy bands like Rush and AC/DC waited for years.
“AC/DC, five years in a row they were nominated before they got it,” Hagar says, with no small amount of wonder. “C’mon! AC/DC should have been put in a year before they were eligible.”
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Why isn’t Journey in the HOF? I think it’s because Perry is no longer with the band. I wish he was but the music is still good without him…the concerts are really good. This band, along with the Replacements from MN, should be there. BUT…who really cares? The smartest person in the world is probably living in poverty and some of the most talented musicians in the world have never been heard on the radio.
Rock and Roll HOF, the Grammys ,Pro Football HOF and other pop culture awards are really dumb I think. Still, Journey should get into the HOF…and they will.