The selection process is based entirely on the quality of an artist's work. Record sales and hits are not a big part of it. So it's entirely subjective. I may think someone is great and someone else may think they stink. It's not like baseball, where they are statistics that can be used to judge someone's performance.
There are also separate committees that decide on the inductees in different categories, such as sidemen, non-performers and early influences (musicians who were not rock and roll artists, per se, but who influenced rock and roll).
EO: Who do you think will get in of this year's nominees?
JH: It's impossible to guess. I'm always as surprised as the general public. You really can't predict with any degree of accuracy.
EO: What are your favorite items on display in the museum?
JH: I like a lot of the items. One of my favorite exhibits is the Sun Records recording studio. It's actually the original equipment from Sun (the stuff at the studio in Memphis is not original), and I think it's a very valuable piece of history. After I was hired here, I made it a point to go down to Memphis and meet with Sam Phillips. I had never met him before, and I knew it was essential that his role in rock and roll be represented in the Hall of Fame. I made about 20 trips down there, and spent hours with Sam. First I had to deal with the issue of why the Hall of Fame is not in Memphis, then I had to convince him that we would be telling the history of rock and roll in an accurate way. Eventually, we not only got the recording equipment, but we got a host of materials on the history of Sun, from their incorporation papers from the state of Tennessee, to their first log books, to telegrams regarding the sale of Elvis' contract to RCA. Along the way, I became good friends with Sam and his family and it's a relationship that I truly value. Sam has been to Cleveland a couple of times and is now a good friend of the Hall of Fame's.
EO: What are your favorites not on display?
JH: There is actually a ton of stuff not on display. We rotate items on exhibit fairly frequently so that the light and other environmental things don't destroy them. One of the odder things we have is one of Bob Marley's dreadlocks. It fell out when he was getting treatment for his cancer, and the family donated it to us when we opened. We hope to do a big Bob Marley exhibit in the future. I am currently talking with his family about that.
Article comments
1 - Sean Hackbarth
What does Mr. Henke think of the many bands who are eligible for induction that haven't made it? The first one off the top of my head is Rush. They've been making quality music and filling arenas for 30 years. They've progressed from heavy metal and prog rock to radio-friendly radio rock. What's prevented them from getting into the Hall of Fame?