Collected from a group of respected studio musicians, Toto had a great run in the late 70’s and early 80’s with a string of Soft Rock hits that may not be held in the highest regard today but was very well produced and expertly played. Their musicianship is not in question, but without any perceived substance it won’t just be the “rains down in Africa” that Toto will miss as an induction in Cleveland seems like a long shot.

Probably one of our trickiest artists to rank as there can be doubt that their entire catalogue of music was brilliant; however that catalogue was only one album. Blind Faith’s lone album was the birth of the first ultimate “super group” that comprised of Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Ric Grech and Steve Winwood (Basically the key components of Cream & Traffic) and it was a landmark effort in Rock and Roll. Artists have gotten in on the strength of one album before, but with all members already in the Hall, we are guessing that Clapton’s fourth induction may not occur.

As the late 60’s saw America fall into turmoil, popular music was very much a reflection of those times. One exception was the Sunshine Pop sound of the Association whose rich harmonies and cheery lyrics was a perfect distraction from the outside world. This would prove to be their greatest gift and curse as despite the talent they had, they would never be taken seriously by the musical establishment who seemed to crave only counter culture acts during that era. Their songs still have some legs to them but any band branded as lightweights have to have ABBA like success to make the Hall.

One of the first underground bands that gained attention, the Fugs played their brand of Rock and Roll ripped with satire and coarse language in an era where that was unheard of. In a sense, the Fugs were responsible for injecting a Proto Punk attitude and can be argued were a new type of “Shock Rockers”. Clearly ahead of their time, they helped to launch a series of innovative lyricists, though likely just as many bad ones.