‘Weird Al’ Yankovic’s name has “come up in conversations” for Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction

‘Weird Al’ Yankovic‘s name has often “come up in conversations” over inductions into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

Chairman John Sykes recently spoke about the process around selecting and vetting candidates and confirmed that Yankovic’s name had come up.

He told Vulture: “He’s a genius. He has made brilliant versions of the songs, but I’ll be honest, he’s never made it close to the ballot.”

Sykes also said Phil Collins, The B-52s, Pixies and Joe Cocker have also been discussed.

Speaking about Collins he added: “He’s come up in meetings so much. What happens to great artists like Phil Collins, and I could name about four or five more, is that the committee will sometimes say, ‘He’s already in with Genesis.’

“We have such a backlog of people that need to get in that sometimes great solo artists like Phil can’t get on the ballot because there’s someone who’s not on in any configuration. I’ll say right now that’s no excuse for not putting Phil Collins in because he’s a great artist.”

In the same interview, Sykes also said the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame institution will not be renamed, despite pressure from artists including Eminem, A Tribe Called Quest, Mary J. Blige, Dolly Parton and Missy Elliott.

“I think it’s because some people don’t understand the meaning of rock and roll,” Sykes explained. “If you go back to the original sound in the ’50s, it was everything. As Missy Elliott calls it, it was a gumbo. It just became known as rock and roll. So when I hear people say, ‘You should just change it to the Music Hall of Fame,’ rock and roll has pretty much covered all of that territory.”

“Rather than throwing the name out, it’s doing a better job of communicating to people where rock and roll came from and what it’s truly about. Once they hear it that way, they understand.”

Ozzy Osbourne, Cher and Mary J. Blige were among those who were inducted into last year’s Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

Elsewhere, Yankovic and Will Forte recently played a faithful rendition of Chappell Roan’s ‘Hot To Go!’ at a benefit concert in Kansas City.