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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

Link Wray


It's now been ten years and finally, in 2023, one of our inaugural Freaks Hall inductees, Link Wray, was elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (TM). So, the way I see it, he ascends and we draft another denizen to Freaks Mountain. I will put fourth four nominees from the actual Freaks Hall class of 2015 election to select who gets to take Link Wray's place. Stay tuned. 

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