Even after nearly five decades as a cultural mainstay, “Weird Al” Yankovic isn’t losing any sleep over being overlooked by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
In an interview with Vulture, when asked what he’d say to persuade the Hall to induct him, Yankovic shrugged, “They’re going to make their choices regardless.”
“They’ve broadened the definition of rock and roll in recent years,” he noted. “If they ever decide to honor a comedic artist, I hope my name comes up. Otherwise, I’d feel slighted if some other accordion-playing satirist beat me to the punch.”
“I don’t lose any sleep over not being nominated,” he added. “At the moment, nobody’s clamoring, ‘Why isn’t he in the Rock Hall?’ And truthfully, I’d rather not have a crowd complaining, ‘What is this guy doing up there?’”
Although Yankovic first qualified for Hall consideration in 2005, he’s never appeared on a ballot. Still, chairman John Sykes admitted last December that Yankovic has periodically come up in behind-closed-doors discussions.
“He’s brilliant,” Sykes conceded. “His parodies are top-notch. But candidly, he’s never come close to earning a spot on the voting list.”
Earlier this year, comedian John Mulaney weighed in on Yankovic’s omission, pointing out that artists such as Chubby Checker are being honored despite “The Class” being labeled a novelty track.
“I love novelty music,” Mulaney said. “I’m all for getting ‘Weird Al’ into the Hall. It feels like progress, but I’m not sure why we need to measure it in steps. ‘Weird Al’ has introduced countless listeners to music in ways no one acknowledges.”
“I’ll risk sounding uncool, but as a kid, I couldn’t appreciate ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ until ‘Smells Like Nirvana’ disarmed it,” he confessed. “It was intimidating at first. After laughing with ‘Smells Like Nirvana,’ I realized the original was phenomenal.”
This year’s inductees include The White Stripes, Outkast, Soundgarden, Bad Company, Cyndi Lauper, and more.
The 2025 induction ceremony takes place on Saturday, November 8, at the Peacock Theater in L.A. Live. It will stream live on Disney+, air on ABC subsequently, and be available on Hulu the following day.
