Q&A: Rock Hall Chairman John Sykes On Why This Year’s Inductees, Including Dolly Parton, Are Very Rock & Roll

What is rock and roll? For most of us it is just a fun debate. For John Sykes, who took over as Chairman of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame three years ago it is a much bigger question, one he deals with every year as music purists debate who belongs in the Rock Hall.

The public argument boiled over earlier this year when Dolly Parton, who will be inducted this Saturday (November 5) in L.A., along with Lionel Richie, Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, The Eurythmics, Duran Duran, Carly Simon and Eminem, initially declined the honor, thinking she was not rock.

But Parton not only now realizes she deserves the honor, and every honor bestowed on her, she will debut a new rock song on the occasion according to Sykes.

So what is rock? As Sykes, whose day job is president of iHeartMedia, and I discussed, it is a state of mind, an attitude. While some would argue Eminem’s place in the Rock Hall I have long viewed and would argue Eminem is the last real rock star we’ve had. Why? Because he has the swagger and rebellion that has been the mark of every great rock star, from Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin through Axl Rose.

Before this year’s induction I talked with Sykes about Parton, how the Rock Hall will continue to grow in the coming years, being in the audience for Prince’s legendary “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” solo and much more.

Steve Baltin: For you, having taken over as the chairman two years ago, what does the Rock Hall represent to you now? What is Rock and Roll to you now?

John Sykes: That’s a great question. ‘Cause over the years, for some reason, rock and roll became reductively known as rock. And that’s because so many of the white rock artists like obviously the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and others covered a lot of the great blues songs of the late ’50s from like Willie Dixon, Robert Johnson and others. The truth is that rock and roll was created in 1955 from an amalgam of rhythm and blues, gospel and country music. It’s never been one definitive sound, rather it’s been a spirit that moves youth culture. So if you look back at the list of the inductees of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the last almost four decades, it’s ranged from Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, to Hank Williams, to The Staple Singers, to Bob Dylan, to Marvin Gaye, to Jay-Z. Because rock and roll was really created by Alan Freed as the sound of young America. And it continues to evolve as it speaks to new generations.

Baltin: I look at someone like ABBA for example. One of the great bands in the world but they were associated with the disco era, which was so maligned by rock. But when you look at today’s festival world, artists and now fans have finally learned, no one gives a crap about genre. As Louis Armstrong said, “There’s only two kinds of music, good music and bad music.”

Sykes: Right. And I think what happened was originally you had radio in the early ’60s, Top 40 radio played everything. They played Marvin Gaye, they played the Beatles, they played ABBA, they played the Rolling Stones, they played Dolly Parton. And so I think what happened was just like cable TV, art culture became fragmented to specific musical sounds. And so rock and roll, which was an amalgam, became sliced into different sub formats. At the end of the day rock and roll knows no genre, because young people know no genre. So whether it was a young kid listening to Chuck Berry in 1955, or the Beatles in 1964, or Public Enemy in 1995, it’s all the same. It’s music that speaks to and moves the generation. Until rock and roll was established or discovered by Alan Freed in 1955, there really wasn’t a sound that spoke to the young generation. And some people say that rock and roll invented the teenager, because it was not only music that moved them but it was music that let them rebel against their parents, society, school and really the establishment. And if you look at the true thread of rock and roll, it’s stayed true to that promise or that charter for the decades to follow.

Baltin: This became such a point of controversy because of the whole Dolly thing. So what finally made her change her mind?

Sykes: I think Dolly’s first reaction to being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was a learning experience for both artists and the music industry. Actually, I think artists, the music industry and fans. Because people really, a lot of them didn’t understand what rock and roll truly stood for or stands for. So when we heard from Dolly originally that she felt uncomfortable accepting the award because she wasn’t a rock artist, we explained to her the history and the lineage of rock and roll And she came around quickly to understand it, that there was a place for her. She just felt at the beginning that she wasn’t a rock artist. And when she understood what the true meaning of rock and roll is, then she embraced it and is going to not only attend the ceremony but she’s making a rock and roll album and is going to debut a song, specifically from that record at the ceremony.

Baltin: Slash and I talked about this when he was recording an album in Nashville. You look at Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson — all those guys had more rock swagger than 99 percent of people we call rock stars.

Sykes: Right, it goes back to your point. Rock and roll is not one sound but rather a collection of them. But what all of those sounds have in common is attitude and spirit. That’s why you see hip-hop exploding over the last 10 years by being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Because of the 25-year wait time to get in, you are now just seeing over the past 10 years artists like Run-DMC, Public Enemy and more recently, Biggie Smalls or Notorious B. I. G and Jay-Z are being inducted. And if you look at hip-hop, it’s very deep roots come from R&B and the blues. So it’s a natural progression of this ever changing sound that is rock and roll.

Baltin: How do you educate the masses on the idea that Eurythmics and Lionel Richie, or Eminem are just as much rock and roll in the way that they express themselves. Lionel Richie’s “Sail On” is as stone-cold as Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.”

Sykes:Yeah. Because rock and roll, like music culture itself, never stays in one place. It’s an ever evolving sound to reflect culture. So you look at these different artists that you’re going to see inducted this year, they’re different genders, they’re different colors, they’re different sounds but they have one thing in common, they created the sound of young America. As different as they sounded musically, they moved young people and they connected and influenced others to follow. If you look at Carly Simon, made her first record in the early ’70s, she paved the way for Stevie Nicks, Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morissette and so many other great female singers that followed. So a big part of what we recognize and who we honor, who we recognize and honor in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, are those artists that not only moved culture when they released their music but also influenced other artists that followed.

Baltin: What can you tell us about the artists involved Saturday?

Sykes: Tthe surprises are going to be fun, we can say that. But there will be guests that are gonna be on as we’ve said it, Olivia Rodrigo, Alanis Morissette, Maren Morris, Zac Brown. There’ll be a lot of guests. You’ll just have to watch on HBO November 19. You have to see what exact songs they play. And the inductors range from some of the biggest artists in the history of music, from Bruce Springsteen, to John Mellencamp, to The Edge, to Pink, to Sheryl Crow and others. So not only are the inductees legendary but so are the iconic inductors.

Baltin: Why L.A. this year?

Sykes: When I took over this position almost three years ago the first question I had was, why doesn’t the hall have a presence in Los Angeles? When half of the music industry and most of the artists are based there. And I think there just was perception that this was a New York based foundation. And one of the first things I did was to change that and from now on we’re going to rotate the induction ceremonies between Cleveland, New York and Los Angeles. And hopefully one day other cities like London and Nashville. My point of view was it’s time to change that. The Rock Hall of Fame should live where the artists and the music industry is and those are those cities. And for me, Los Angeles will now will be a regular stop for the hall. At the same time we’re going to put a renewed focused on Cleveland as being not only the home of rock and roll music but it’s also the home of the museum, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum.

Baltin: I’m biased because I’m from L.A. but to me there’s only one city in the United States that rivals L.A. in terms of music. It’s Detroit. When you look at what’s come out of Detroit, not just Motown but Iggy Pop, MC5, the beginning of punk, the beginning of house music, Alice Cooper, Bob Seger. So are there thoughts of how you can start incorporating other cities more into what the Rock Hall is?

Sykes: I think one of my longer term priorities coming in taking this position, is also to make the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ubiquitous. So whether you could make it to Cleveland or you’re someone in Phoenix, who couldn’t afford to make the plane trip or didn’t have the time, you could still connect with everything that the museum honors, no matter where you live. And so that would be through obviously the technology that we now have, that’s now offered in ways that can basically take content to anyone, anywhere. And I think in the coming years you’re gonna see us working closely with the museum in Cleveland to be able to deliver the experience of the Hall of Fame to fans anywhere on the planet.

Baltin: How does the Rock Hall make people realize that if you like Grateful Dead, you need to check out John Coltrane? If you love Def Leppard, you need to go back and listen to Mott the Hoople, because Joe Elliot will swear Mott the Hoople were the greatest band ever.

Sykes: When you walk into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum in Cleveland you’re taken on a journey through the diverse artists that are Rock and Roll. So you’ll experience maybe not only the artists you came to see but the others that also surround these icons in the hall. So on your way to look at Bruce Springsteen, you’re going to pass exhibits on Jay-Z and Public Enemy, Run-DMC. So the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is an incredibly democratized institution, where the best in class live, the best artists who created sounds that made up rock and roll, live. So, our hope is if you loved Marvin Gaye and you loved Mavis Staples and you loved Smokey Robinson, you may discover other artists that were influenced by them. The reason for the museum is that it is a collection of incredibly diverse artists and diverse sounds under one roof. So by stepping in the door of the hall or going off or experiencing it through the new platforms that we’re gonna be developing, you’ll be able to discover those artists you may have never heard of or known, because they’re more closely associated to your favorite artists than you ever thought.

Baltin: Is there one thing on Saturday you are most looking forward to as a fan?

Sykes: I think you make a great point. This is an unpaid position because I have a day job at iHeartRadio but it’s a dream job of a lifetime for me that I take very seriously. And the number one reason why I took the job is I’ve gotten paid throughout my career for something I’ve loved since grade school. And I am first and foremost a fan. So every year I look forward to a moment and then I’m surprised by something that completely comes out of left field. I was very excited last year that LL Cool J was finally getting his long-deserved honor of being induced in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. What was the biggest surprise for me and the 16,000 people in the venue in Cleveland was the energy of the performance that he created along with Eminem and Jennifer Lopez. So, the beauty of an event like the Hall of Fame induction ceremony is you never know what’s going to happen. You never know what speeches are going to be made. You never know which artists are going to jump on stage to perform. And it has the incredible mystery and excitement, that really is the essence of rock and roll. The induction really reflects the energy and the spontaneity of rock and roll. So every year you think you’re going to see something and you’re completely surprised at what hits you out of left field. But that’s what rock and roll is all about. I’ve been to almost every single ceremony over the last 36 years. And each time I come looking forward to one artist, I’m completely surprised by another. I went in 2004, I was excited about seeing George Harrison and Prince inducted, had no idea that Prince was going to get up and play that now historic guitar solo in “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” So, this year I’m looking forward to so many of the artists that I’ve known for years and have been a fan of. But if the past is prologue, there’s going to be something happening that I never expected and that’s rock and roll.