Until 2018, if Jon Bon Jovi had wanted to enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, he would have needed an admission ticket just like you and us. Okay, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch. But the band Bon Jovi, who were inducted in the Class of 2018 on April 14, 2018, had to wait years before they were enshrined.
Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after their first commercial recording is released. Since Bon Jovi’s “Runaway” arrived in 1983, the band have been eligible since 2008.
In recent years, many other established classic rock acts that have waited decades for the call have finally gotten in. In 2016, Steve Miller, Deep Purple and Cheap Trick were finally admitted. In 2017, Yes, ELO and Journey—legends all, and overlooked for decades—were inducted.
Other bands joining Bon Jovi in the Class of 2018 were the Cars, Dire Straits and the Moody Blues. It’s become a parlor game for rock fans to identify acts that are still on the outside looking in. These include a varied list of worthy candidates including such giants as Bad Company, Joe Cocker, Jethro Tull, Peter Frampton and Emerson, Lake and Palmer.
Best Classic Bands has identified 100 glaring omissions and another 100 crucial omissions.
At a press conference on April 13, 2018, Jon Bon Jovi let his and his millions of fans’ frustration out. At the podium, JBJ said: “We now join a very elite group as members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and on behalf of my guys I want to say we’re thrilled, we’re honored, and it’s about fucking time.” He wasn’t smiling when he first said it but then broke into a grin.
Watch the clip which was tweeted out by the Rock Hall
Welcome to the Hall of Fame @BonJovi – “it’s about f***ing time”🤘 pic.twitter.com/cDFlRYcMsf
— Rock Hall (@rockhall) April 13, 2018
The Bon Jovi band members included in the induction were David Bryan, Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Alec John Such and Tico Torres. (Hugh McDonald was added after the original announcement.)
Jon Bon Jovi was born March 2, 1962.
Related: Our coverage of Bon Jovi’s induction
3 Comments
I have failed to see what others see, actually hear, that makes them worthy of induction into the rock and roll HOF, especially ahead of such bands as ELP, Tull, and Bad Company. One of the very few bands that actually makes me turn the station when a song comes on the radio
Couldn’t agree with you more, and I’m from New Jersey. What kills me even more is the attitude of expectation. Having a couple of hit songs does not make you worthy of the Hall. Though I will say that so many of the Halls choices,and their lack of choices, make being Hall worthy, not as big of a deal.
This is why the Hall of Fame is a joke.
Before Bad Company is an insult.