There should be little doubt that Steve Winwood has earned his place in the Hall for his work in Traffic. What has been in doubt is whether he deserves induction a second time for either his work with other bands or as a solo artist. Although Winwood achieved a lot of success during the 80’s for his solo work, it lacked the Soul and Blues infusion that his efforts with Traffic, Blind Faith or the Spencer Davis Group. Although the overall career of Steve Winwood was brilliant, his solo career may not necessarily be Hall worthy. Having said that, should the Hall wish to induct him a second time (for either solo or other bands), it would not come out of left field.

A band that has a much longer career than most people realizes, the Bar-Kays have a diverse catalogue of music that spanned through Memphis Soul, R&B and Funk. They cut their teeth as one of the main backing bands for various artists at Stax records, but it was not long before they recorded their own material. The band overcame tragedy when the majority of their members were killed in the same plane crash that took Otis Redding, but after the remaining members rebuilt the band they continued to have a long and prosperous career. Considering the amount of genres that they conceivable represent, they are not impossible for induction.

As one of the most successful Southern Rock bands, .38 Special’s brand of Southern Fried Pop was a successful recipe for success in the 80’s. Basically a cross between Lynyrd Syknyrd and Arena Rock, .38 Special’s playful hits found a wide variety of fans as they could appeal to Hard Rock, Country and Pop crowds. Their drawback was that they were not considered a “deep” enough band, and with Skynyrd and the Allmans already in, the debt to Southern Rock may be filled with bands that the Hall considers more textured.

Perhaps way ahead of their time, Camper Van Beethoven was merging whatever styles they felt like and was one of the darlings of the underground scene of the 1980’s. The styles they merged ranged anywhere from various World Music influences, Punk, Ska, Folk and virtually anything else they wished to. The California band was absurdly creative and was a very fun band to watch. Had they been a little more serious lyrically it is possible that they may have been perceived less campy and their musicianship would have been featured more prominently, but without that irreverence it just wouldn’t have been the same band.