The Freaks Hall is Dead. Long Live The Freaks Hall.

Link Wray, #1 vote getter in the #FreaksHall election, 2014

The Rock 'n' Roll Freaks Hall was established by the Rock 'n' Roll Freaks Facebook group in 2014. The idea was to recognize bands and artists who were not, and in most cases, never would be, members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In our first election, we selected 16 of the most popular artists and groups among the Freaks faithful, as well as perhaps the most influential rock critic and disc jockey in rock 'n roll history. We continued electing new classes through 2022, nine of them in all. All of these years later, not a single one of those original 16 have been invited to Cleveland.

As the de facto director of this imaginary institution, I have overseen each of those elections and as the years have progressed, and we've moved further up the rock 'n' roll history timeline as far as eligible candidates, there's been less and less enthusiasm among the group members at large, which kind of makes sense when our first class, the cream of the crop, is still 100% unrecognized. Who wants to vote for 80s hardcore bands when Lester Bangs and the New York Dolls are still waiting in line?

So, what I'm getting at here is that this year's class, which we voted on in late 2021, is going to be the last class of the Freaks Hall, at least for the time being. I think we've made the statement we set out to make eight years ago. In the meantime, I'm going to consider our original 16 as the REAL Rock 'n' Roll Freaks Hall. Let's put these legends up on the pedestal that they deserve to be standing on, and recognize them for what they are, which is the greatest of all-time. We will re-evaluate if Jann Wenner's lackeys start getting their shit together.

THE "REAL" ROCK 'N ROLL FREAKS HALL: The Original 16

Lester Bangs

Johnny Burnette & the Rock ‘n’ Roll Trio

The Cramps

Dick Dale

Screamin’ Jay Hawkins

Love

MC5

? & the Mysterians

New York Dolls

John Peel

The Pretty Things

The Seeds

The Sonics

Paul Revere & the Raiders

The 13th Floor Elevators

Link Wray

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Link Wray Ascends From Freaks Mountain

By the time I pulled the plug on the Freaks Hall I thought we'd jumped the shark and let in too many while other obvious names were left by the wayside. Instead of fixing it, I just ended it. But, I have always been pretty damn proud of our very first, original class of inductees. It was 2014 and we voted on groups and artists who weren't in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (TM) at the time. We ended up with an inaugural class of 16 that has remained unmatched. When you look at the year by year additions, you see a trend downward. We got it just right the first time. I look at it now less as the first class of a hall of fame and more of a Rock 'n' Roll Freaks Mount Olympus. If you need a refresher, our pantheon was,... Lester Bangs Johnny Burnette & the Rock ‘n’ Roll Trio The Cramps Dick Dale Screamin’ Jay Hawkins Love MC5 ? & the Mysterians New York Dolls John Peel The Pretty Things The Seeds The Sonics Paul Revere & the Raiders The 13th Floor Elevators Lin

Freaks Hall Class of 2020 Election: Oldies and Contributors Ballots

The Clovers I t's Labor Day, and that means that it's time to kick off our Rock 'n' Roll Freaks Hall of Fame election season for the class of 2020! Our first two orders of business are preliminary votes in two categories: the Oldies Ballot , which is made up of artists and groups who made their recording debut prior to 1955; and the Contributors Ballot , made up of people who made their mark behind the scenes - producers, managers, disc jockeys, rock journalists, and others who contributed to rock 'n' roll history. To be eligible for this year's Contributors Ballot, the nominee had to have begun their career in music no later than 1984. HOW TO VOTE: Each ballot contains ten nominees. Select up to FIVE (minimum three) per ballot, and send your votes for each to rocknrollfreaks@gmail.com to be counted. The top vote getter in each category will join our class of 2019. If there is a tie for the top vote total, all nominees with the top amount of

The Polls Are Open, Vote for the Freaks Hall class of 2022!

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Freaks Hall honors artists, groups and contributors who have not been recognized by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Commercial success and/or critical acclaim are not factors in choosing candidates or inductees. Rather, we seek to spotlight those people who embody the true spirit of rock ‘n’ roll in their recordings, performances, and in the lives they’ve lived. In fact, we often strive to recognize those who are not likely to ever be invited to one of the establishment’s made for TV galas – the forgotten heroes, the renegades, and the free spirits who have left a unique imprint on the history of rock ‘n’ roll. Welcome to the ninth annual Rock 'n' Roll Freaks Hall election - THE POLLS ARE OPEN! HOW TO VOTE: Our 2022 election features a total of 15 nominees. In order to be eligible for the Freaks Hall Class of 2022, an artist or group had to have released their debut recording no later than 1986. In order to vote, you must be a member of the Thee Loyal Order of

The Rock 'n' Roll Freaks Hall

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