Judas Priest’s Richie Faulkner says Dolly Parton’s Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame nomination withdrawal was a “classy” move
Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner has weighed in on Dolly Parton’s recent request to be withdrawn from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominee list.
Faulkner shared his thoughts on Parton’s withdrawal on the March 15 episode of the Rock of Nations with Dave Kinchen podcast, calling it “a classy move”. “I think she recognises her brand, and it didn’t necessarily fit into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. And I think it raises questions to what the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame’s brand is as well,” he said.
“To call it the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and not have bands like Judas Priest in it from day one, I think, is a weird thing,” said Faulkner. “I don’t know how you can call it the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame without having bands like that in it as default; they sort of spawned the genre.”
Judas Priest are also in the running to be inducted into the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022. However, Faulkner won’t be inducted along with his bandmates should they get the nod. Faulkner joined the iconic British metal band in 2011, while the band’s nominee slate for the Hall of Fame consists of Les Binks, K. K. Downing, Rob Halford, Ian Hill, Dave Holland, Glenn Tipton and Scott Travis.
“I’m not eligible, so I can sort of say what I want about it,” Faulkner said. “I just think bands like that – [Iron] Maiden, Judas Priest, Motörhead – there’s a few bands that are not in, and a few artists that are, maybe it shouldn’t be called the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. I don’t know.”
Parton, who was nominated for the first time, took herself out of the running in a statement posted to social media earlier this week. “Even though I am extremely flattered to be nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I don’t feel that I have earned that right. I really do not want the votes split because of me, so I must respectfully bow out,” she said.
— Dolly Parton (@DollyParton) March 14, 2022
The country singer went on to say that the nomination has “inspired me to put out a hopefully great rock ‘n’ roll album at some point in the future”, prompting engineer Steve Albini to offer to produce said album.
The other nominees in the running for this year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction include Eminem, Kate Bush, Beck, Eurythmics, Duran Duran, Lionel Richie, Rage Against The Machine, A Tribe Called Quest, Carly Simon, Fela Kuti, New York Dolls, Dionne Warwick, MC5, DEVO and Pat Benatar. Inductees will be announced in May 2022.
