Why Phish Was This Year’s Biggest Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Snub

The
fans
of
perennially-shunned

Rock
and
Roll
Hall
of
Fame
candidates
such
as

Warren
Zevon
and

Bad
Company
got
great
news
last
night,
as
their
favorite
artists

were
finally
inducted
into
the
class
of
2025.

Phish
fans
weren’t
so
lucky.
The
jam-rock
kings
were
the
most
surprising
snub
from
this
year’s
field
of
contenders.

The
Vermont
band,
founded
in
1983,
is
known
for
its
unique
sound
influenced
by
prog
rock,
jazz,
and
funk.
It
is
characterized
by
twenty-minute,
mind-bending
improvisational
cuts
and
their
maniacal
following
and
counter
culture.
The
group
consists
of
Trey
Anastasio
(guitar
and
lead
vocals),
Page
McConnell
(keyboards
and
vocals),
Mike
Gordon
(bass
and
vocals),
and
Jon
Fishman
(drums
and
vocals).
Phish
certainly
meets
the
criteria
for
induction,
with
their
high-demand
tours
year
after
year
and
a
sound
that
is
a
niche
of
its
own.
Phish
never
plays
the
same
set
twice,
including
thirteen
consecutive
sellouts
at
Madison
Square
Garden
with
no
songs
repeated,
known
as “The
Baker’s
Dozen.”

Watch
Phish
Perform ‘Blaze
On’

As
the
Rock
Hall
states, “There
is
nothing
like
the
pure
freedom
and
joy
of
a
Phish
concert—a
powerful
communal
moment
often
likened
to
a
religious
experience,
a
transcendent
moment.”

Phish
topped
the
fan
votes
for
this
year’s
nominees
by
more
than
50,000
votes
but
was
left
out
of
the
party.
How
could
that
be?

Surprisingly,

Billy
Idol,
who
ranked
#3
in
total
fan
voting,
was
also
snubbed,
receiving
more
than
260,000
votes
yet
not
making
the
cut.
As
you
can
see
from
the
list
below,
bands
like
the
White
Stripes
made
the
list
despite
being
near
the
bottom
for
fan
votes,
yet
The
Black
Crowes
also
missed
the
mark:

Phish:
329,281
votes
Bad
Company:
280,725
votes
Billy
Idol:
260,416
votes
Cyndi
Lauper:
236,960
votes
Joe
Cocker:
233,495
votes
Soundgarden:
233,205
votes
Chubby
Checker:
203,092
votes
The
Black
Crowes:
165,249
votes
Mariah
Carey:
137,993
votes
Joy
Division
+
New
Order:
120,346
votes
The
White
Stripes:
110,511
votes
Outkast:
108,073
votes
Oasis:
99,381
votes
Maná:
34,506
votes

Read
More:

When
Phish
Staged ‘The
Great
Went’

How
are
the
fan
votes
measured?
Rather
than
having
a
ballot
for
each
fan
vote,
the
Rock
and
Roll
Hall
of
Fame
places
the
top
five
on
one
ballot,
thus
representing
only
one
of
1200
ballots,
amid
a
field
of
artists,
writers
and
industry
executives.
This
has
a
minimal
impact
on
the
overall
results,
hence
why
Billy
Idol,
The
Black
Crowes,
and
Phish
missed
the
mark.

Similarly,
in
2020,
despite
winning
the
fan
vote,
The
Dave
Matthews
Band
was
not
inducted
into
the
Rock
Hall.
However,
DMB
would
later
be
crowned
four
years
later,
in
2024.
This
is
not
the
end
of
the
road
for
Phish,
who,
despite
being
snubbed,
are
carving
a
path
of
their
own.
Maybe
it’s
time
to
consider
new
metrics
for
voting.