Styx's Dennis DeYoung slams Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for not honoring artists until they're 'incapacitated'
- - Styx's Dennis DeYoung slams Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for not honoring artists until they're 'incapacitated'
Wesley StenzelNovember 16, 2025 at 12:07 AM
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Daniel Boczarski/Getty
Dennis DeYoung thinks the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has major room for improvement.
The Styx singer-keyboardist aired his grievances about the Cleveland-based institution on Thursday, lamenting the recent news that Bad Company's Paul Rodgers had to miss this year's induction ceremony due to health issues.
"It's a shame that Bad Company had to wait so long to get in that it rendered Paul Rodgers unable to perform due to health concerns," DeYoung wrote in a Facebook post. "Bollocks!! I would have liked to have seen him perform years ago to demonstrate how one of rock's premiere singers ACTUALLY ROCKS. You know, like the name on their institution's logo. I have said this repeatedly for decades: Just change the damn name."
A representative for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame did not immediately respond to Entertainment Weekly's request for comment.
Christopher Polk/Variety via Getty
Bad Company's Paul Rodgers performs in 2023
To be eligible for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, an artist or act "must have released their first commercial recording 25 full years prior to the year of Induction," according to the institution's website. That means that in 2025, any potential inductee cannot have put out a record later than 2000.
DeYoung thinks 25 years is too long for some artists to wait, and that it's unjust for them to be inducted long after their first year of eligibility.
"The induction ceremony clearly pointed out the tragic manner in which this joint operates," he wrote. "Making so many musicians wait until they [are] either incapacitated or dead is shameful. [The 2025 inductees] Joe Cocker, Warren Zevon, et al. are suddenly eligible decades after their success? Explain that. What's changed except the Hall's inability to let go of their clear prejudices and induct them?"
Kevin Kane/Getty
(L-R): Todd Ronning, Nancy Wilson, Chris Robinson, Simon Kirke, and Joe Perry perform at the 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Nov. 8
He continued, "They now admit, when it's far too late, that they have erred. Have Joe, Warren, and others recently become more popular? …No."
DeYoung expressed his longstanding frustration with the Rock Hall's process. "The Hall’s initial mission statement about who qualifies was always a ruse and a joke concocted to protect their own personal choices," he wrote. "I'll stop now before I need BP meds. I have said this before — as someone whose band has never been considered, whatever I write ends up sounding like sour grapes."
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The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame held its annual induction ceremony on Nov. 8. This year's class of inductees included Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, Soundgarden, and the White Stripes.
Drummer Simon Kirke was the only founding member of Bad Company in attendance at the event. Before accepting his honor, he took to the stage to perform the group's hit "Feel Like Makin' Love" with Aerosmith's Joe Perry, Heart's Nancy Wilson, and Black Crowes' Chris Robinson. He then gave the mic to Bryan Adams to lead a rendition of their song "Can't Get Enough."
Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood presented the honor, expressing gratitude in his speech for Rodgers naming Fleetwood Mac one of his early inspirations.
"Paul is the voice that every rock singer holds as their north star," Fleetwood said. "To listen to a Bad Company song is to hear a once-in-a-lifetime voice take rock music to new heights … They helped define the musical path ahead for rock music."
on Entertainment Weekly
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