5 Notorious Rock Hall Induction No-Shows

Jerry Garcia would’ve turned 77 today (August 1), and he’s among a unique group of musicians that have no-showed their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.

In the over three-decade history of Rock Hall inductions, there have been a number of no-shows by inductees. Some of them were due to health or other personal reasons. Garcia’s reason for no-showing? Well, it was a little different. Here is Garcia’s and four other notorious examples of no-shows in the history of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

• Jerry Garcia

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  When the Grateful Dead was inducted in 1994, Garcia apparently wasn’t too fond of the entire concept of the Hall of Fame, which is why he sat out the induction ceremony.  The rest of the band attended. Why is this notorious? The band brought a cardboard cut-out of Garcia to stand in his place. Hilarious!

• Ike & Tina Turner

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  Tina Turner sat out the 1991 induction ceremony because she no longer wanted to be associated with abusive ex-husband, Ike Turner.  This is completely understandable and one of many reasons Tina should be inducted as a solo artist, but that’s another rant for another day.  Ike’s reason for not attending? He was in jail serving a four-year sentence for cocaine possession, which admittedly is a great excuse for not showing up somewhere.

• Grace Slick

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  So, what was Slick’s reason for skipping out on Jefferson Airplane’s induction in 1996?  She said, “All rock and rollers over age 50 look stupid and should retire.”  Whether you agree with her or not, you have to give the woman props for sticking to her words, because Slick has maintained a very low profile for many years now.
• Three out of Five Members of Van Halen

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  This one was just a hot mess! Van Halen was part of the Rock Hall’s 2007 class, and around that time there was a whole slew of drama going on in the band. (Surprise!) For starters, David Lee Roth was back in, but Michael Anthony was kicked out and replaced with Eddie Van Halen’s then 15-year-old son, Wolfgang. Oh, and Eddie needed to go to rehab. Once the dust settled, all who showed up to the ceremony were Anthony and Sammy Hagar.

• Sex Pistols

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  The punk icons refused to attend their induction in 2006 in protest of the exorbitant cost for acts to attend, which can be upwards of tens of thousands of dollars per table.  They did, however, send a note, which contained the intro, "Next to the Sex Pistols, rock and roll and that Hall of Fame is a piss stain." It was read out loud by 'Rolling Stone' founder/Rock Hall Board Member Jann Wenner to the delight of the crowd in attendance.