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.

Although there are many who think of Nick Lowe as the man who sang “Cruel to be Kind” and not much else, the Jesus of Cool had a career that was far greater than that hit. Lowe was an accomplished songwriter for other artists (Current Hall of Famer, Elvis Costello for one) and producer for others. Had Lowe performed more of the music he penned, his induction chances would likely be greater than the marginal chance he has currently; though a listen through his album catalogue shows an artist who could master various songwriting genres effortlessly and deserves more of a look from the Hall than he will likely ever get.

Is there a more appropriate first name than King? King Sunny Adé was (and still is) the undisputed leader of Juju music and his infectious blend of Western music and African rhythms literally made the world take notice. Technically skilled with the guitar and lyrically gifted, King Sunny Adé may very well be the most important musician to come out of Africa, or at the very least the man who made a lot of people take notice as to what was happening on that continent. With Jimmy Cliff garnering Jamaica a second induction, could the Hall’s world gaze look upon Nigeria next and induct King Sunny Adé or Fela Kuti?