Of the many Punk bands that emerged from L.A. (or really anywhere for that matter), the Gun Club could have conceivably drew from more outside influences than anyone else. With a serious Blues injection to their music, the Gun Club indirectly helped create a harder Alternative Country market that really hadn’t existed before and a list of successful bands who were influenced by them (R.E.M & the White Stripes to name a couple) is a long one. Having said that, should a Los Angeles based Punk band receive the nod, the Gun Club likely won’t be that band.

A legend in the field of Jazz, Sonny Rollins has been referred to as one of the most important figures of that genre. His mainstream Jazz recordings have been among amongst the most consistent for any performer over the last four decades and though that consistency has made him beloved and respected. Rollins played music so effortlessly and this perception that music came easy to him may take away from the rebellious nature that musicians are often perceived to have. Coincidently, that rebellion is often is rewarded in the Rock world. Chances are another Jazz legend will eventually get into the Hall and though Rollins is among the group that is the most revered, he likely won’t be the next one in.

Though other artists from Australia have been considered more important, it is difficult to dispute that the first key band from down under was the Easybeats. With a British Invasion sound they quickly dominated their own country and were later able to penetrate the British market. They did however fail to make serious headway in America though those who are discovering their sound today often wonder why they didn’t.

A casualty of his own success, Peter Frampton was long since a star musician from earlier solo work and with Humble Pie. After he put out Frampton Comes Alive, he found that the live album made him a superstar of which brought him great fortune but an eventual backlash. Plastered on teeny bopper magazines, Frampton stumbled across an image he really didn’t seek and lost a core audience in the process from which he never seemed to recover. That live album really was that good, but it will have to reach legendary status for him to reach the Hall.