Tesla’s founding bassist Brian Wheat pulled no punches when recently discussing the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
“I think it’s a bit of a popularity contest,” Wheat declared during an appearance on The Seth Williams Show. “I saw that the Black Crowes are [nominated this year]. If the Black Crowes are gonna be put in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, then perhaps Tesla should be considered for it purely for the fact of the [1990 live album] Five Man Acoustical Jam.”
Wheat was quick to clarify that his criticism wasn’t directed at the Black Crowes, a band he said he’s “loved since day one.” Instead, the Tesla rocker was searching for exactly what merits deem a band Hall-worthy.
READ MORE: Rock Hall’s 2025 Nominees Roundtable: Snubs, Surprises and More
“The thing that [Tesla] did was we had the first successful acoustic live album — before Rod Stewart, before Eric Clapton, before Nirvana,” Wheat noted, referring to Five Man Acoustical Jam. “And that’s what we did do — that was our contribution. So based on that contribution, do I think that merits us going in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? I don’t know. I mean, you can make that argument for a lot of artists that are in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Did what they do merit them to be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? I don’t know.”
Brian Wheat Won’t Be ‘Heartbroken’ if Tesla Never Gets in the Rock Hall
“How it’s been told to me is that if you do something that is kind of influential or creates a movement or whatever,” Wheat remarked, continuing to ponder the Hall’s methodology. “My question with Bad Company is, why so long? Why have they waited so long? Bad Company should have been in there before a lot of bands.”
“I don’t trip on this Rock & Roll Hall,” Wheat insisted. “Pretty soon it’s not gonna mean shit, because everyone’s gonna be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame… But I mean, just in general, it’s, like, who isn’t in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? There’s gonna be more people in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame than aren’t in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. [They’ll] have to come up with a new one.”
READ MORE: 145 Artists Not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Wheat is far from the only musician to criticize the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Even artists who’ve been inducted – like Judas Priest, Ozzy Osbourne and Def Leppard – have openly questioned the institution’s criteria. Still, the Tesla bassist confessed he’d be open to the Hall’s invitation if it ever came.
“If they called and they wanted to put us in there, would I turn it down? No. No,” he admitted. “But am I gonna be heartbroken if Tesla never gets in the fucking Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? Absolutely not. What matters most to me is that 40 years later, people are still paying their hard-earned dollars to come and see us play by the thousands. And that, to me — you can keep all the fucking awards; that’s the one that I’m most proud of, is that when I look out there and I see 2,500 people, wherever we go in America to play, singing our songs, and there’s three generations of people.”
25 Rock Stars Who Have Criticized the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
HOF execs have been labeled “faceless tuxedo-wearing morons” and “spineless weasels.”
Gallery Credit: Matthew Wilkening
