Joe Elliott Reveals Jon Bon Jovi’s Hall of Fame Advice
Def Leppard singer Joe Elliott said he wasn’t concerned it had taken his band 13 years to be nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and revealed the advice Jon Bon Jovi had given him about the experience.
The British band was named among the prospective 2019 list yesterday, after having been notified a few days in advance. Also listed were Stevie Nicks, Janet Jackson, Rage Against the Machine, Radiohead, Devo, John Prine, Roxy Music, Todd Rundgren, Kraftwerk, LL Cool J, the MC5, the Cure, Rufus & Chaka Kahn and the Zombies.
“I'm on vapors 'cause we've just done 60 shows all over the U.S.,” Elliott told Billboard, recalling how the group's managers told them of the nomination. “I’ve got a glass of chardonnay and I'm thinking, 'As one door closes, another one opens. … I mean, it's not really gonna change my life, really, one way or the other -- but Jon Bon Jovi has been telling me for at least 12 months that yes, it will."
Acts become eligible 25 years after the release of their first album, meaning Def Leppard could have been nominated since 2005. “You're looking at the likes of Todd Rundgren" -- who's been eligible for 23 years but just secured his first nomination -- "and Roxy Music [21 years] and Devo [15 years], and it took them long enough to get a nomination," Elliott said. "So I don't feel so bad now that we got overlooked when you see people like them, people I was out buying their records when I was 12 years old. So it's all right. It's kinda cool."
He said he was pleased that original guitarist Pete Willis was included in the nomination. “Pete is very important in the very early embryonic version of this band," he stated. “Would we welcome his company? Well, why not? If he's nominated, he's rightly nominated. He does deserve to be on the list.”
Meanwhile, Rod Argent of the Zombies said it “really feels like such an honor to be nominated for a fourth time in five years.” “You have to think that after this number of times, it would be great – it would be a dream," he noted. "We've had a terrific journey, and the previous three nominations are not something we counted on. We thought it's just brilliant people have seen fit to nominate us.”