Beloved jam band Phish recently won a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame fan vote last week, coming out on top ahead of potential nominees like Bad Company, Billy Idol, and Cyndi Lauper. Phish won a whopping 330,000 votes from fans, about 50,000 more votes than any other artist in the poll.
Videos by American Songwriter
Sadly, it looks like the fan vote didn’t matter much to the Hall of Fame. Phish will not be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year, and neither will runner-ups like Billy Idol. Rather, nominees including Chubby Checker, Cyndi Lauper, and Joe Cocker will be honored this year.
This isn’t the first time this has happened, either. Back in 2020, Dave Matthews Band won the fan vote but ultimately were not inducted into the Hall of Fame. They were eventually honored in 2024.
Fans Are Not Happy About Phish Getting Snubbed Yet Again by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
There is a reason why Phish didn’t make the cut, though fans will probably not agree with it. According to the Hall of Fame, the totality of the recent fan vote only amounts to one ballot. There are hundreds of ballots submitted to the Hall of Fame every year, via industry pros and performers alike.
Even though Phish nabbed the fan vote, it ultimately didn’t matter. Each of the top five winners of the vote has the same advantage. The impact, then, is quite small. One might wonder why they even conducted a fan vote at all.
“Phish next time, please,” said one fan in the comments of a recent Instagram post from the Hall of Fame.
“I have a question,” said another. “Why do you ask us to vote? […] Billy Idol was in fourth, Phish was first… Can you tell me why they’re not even on here? Why bother voting? How do you come up with who wins then? Because apparently what we choose doesn’t matter!”
It’s not the definitive end for Phish’s potential induction. It can take years or even decades for a band or musician to eventually be recognized and inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Naturally, considering that Phish is full of solid dudes, they were grateful to even be considered for nomination and joked about the nomination in an interview with GQ.
“I love Soundgarden,” said Trey Anastasio back in February. “Take off Phish. Put back Soundgarden.”
Photo by Danny Clinch
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.