Steve Stevens is getting inducted into the Rock Hall this fall with his longtime collaborator Billy Idol. The guitarist already has some ideas on who he’d like to see nab a similar spot in the institution in the future.
Legendary late keyboard maestro Keith Emerson, who died in 2016, is high on his list, as he told UCR during a recent interview. “All of this synth technology that we have now, we have Keith Emerson to thank,” the guitarist explains. “He was the first to help develop [using] the Moog synthesizer [in a way] that [it] could be taken on the road. Up until then, Robert Moog never intended for that to come out of the classroom or the studio, as this big monolithic thing — and Keith brought it out on the road.”
“The very first pop song with a synth solo was ‘Lucky Man,'” he continues. “You know, I don’t have any qualms about Emerson Lake and Palmer [being inducted], but Keith Emerson, he invented prog rock with the Nice, they were the first to do it.”
Though ELP have been eligible since 1995, they’ve received zero nominations.
READ MORE: Nominated but Not Inducted: 46 Rock Hall of Fame Close Calls
The Brilliance of Keith Emerson
Stevens saw Emerson, Lake and Palmer in 1973 at Madison Square Garden. The group were touring Brain Salad Surgery, delivering songs from that album and their catalog in the then-revolutionary quadraphonic sound.. Without question, the guitarist was hooked by what he heard and witnessed.
But he’s also happy to help fellow music and prog fans go a bit deeper with Emerson’s work. “If anyone wants to hear how brilliant he was, go get Five Bridges [by] the Nice. He composed this classical piece [for that album],” Stevens shares. “He was a big influence on me. I wasn’t as influenced by guitar players as I was by him, because I wanted to emulate some of those sounds of the Moog on my guitar.
“I think he’s a really important figure in the development of the technology and composition of music. He was [also] an incredible showman,” the guitarist points out. “He made that virtuoso stuff entertaining. And I think a lot of guitar players, you can play all this fast stuff and it’s impressive, but you know you have to present it to people that really don’t care about how technical it is and Keith was really good at doing that.”
READ MORE: How Keith Emerson Changed the World
What Steve Stevens is Up to in 2026
He and Idol are set to receive nearly every award possible this year. Already, the singer was honored on the American Music Awards with a Lifetime Achievement Award and the pair performed on the telecast. Today (June 23), they’re also being inducted into the Guitar Center Rock Walk and they’ll be back on the road starting in August for more dates of the ongoing It’s a Nice Day…to Tour Again outing.
Stevens is particularly excited that Devo will be joining them for some of the shows on this particular round of touring. “I just did a recording session with them,” he shares. “Hopefully that’ll see the light of day. But it was really cool. I really enjoyed working with them.”
He’s also grateful for the upcoming Rock Hall induction and talked about the honor in a typically humble way in a separate interview earlier this month. “It’s great that they’re including me, and I’m really happy for Billy,” he told journalist Lyndsey Parker. “I think that he’s an important figure, certainly for our generation, and the music is held up over time. And to me, that’s all the rewards that I need.”
READ MORE: Billy Idol and Steve Stevens Announce 2026 Tour Dates
It’s a Nice Day…for a New Guitar
Fellow guitarists might want to check out Stevens’ latest creation, a collaboration with Godin Guitars, which grew out of the nylon string guitar solo he’s been playing on the current tour. They recently unveiled the ACS Steve Stevens Signature 25th Anniversary LTD, the newest entry in a long line of instruments they’ve worked on with the guitar legend and a symbolic one marking the 25-year milestone for their relationship.
As he told UCR, it’s a musical friendship that means a lot to him personally. “It opened up a whole world for me,” he shares. “I’m a very bad keyboard player, but now I could track my nylon string guitar, create compositions, and also get my information into the computer. That was over 25 years ago, and I’ve played their guitars ever since.”
131 Artists Not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Many have shared their thoughts on possible induction.
Gallery Credit: Ultimate Classic Rock Staff
