Judas Priest Guitarist Thanks Dolly Parton, Rock Hall of Fame Competitor, for Wanting to Drop Out
variety.comChris Willman Music WriterDolly Parton’s attempt to drop out of the balloting for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has earned a big thank-you from Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner.
He’s not exactly a disinterested party: Priest is on the ballot, too, competing with Parton.“I think she recognizes her brand, and it didn’t necessarily fit into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
And I think it raises questions to what the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s brand is, as well,” said Faulkner on the podcast “Rock of Nations With Dave Kinchen,” as reported by Consequence Heavy.“To call it the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and not have bands like Judas Priest in it from day one, I think, is a weird thing,” said Faulkner, who further praised Parton’s request to be recused as “a classy move.” “I don’t know how you can call it the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame without having bands like that in it as default; they sort of spawned the genre.” As of this writing, Priest and Parton are still officially competing for the honor of who’ll represent the P’s in the induction ceremony this fall.
Despite Parton publicly asking to be removed from contention, with voting already underway, so far the Hall hasn’t made any public move to disqualify her, and her disinclination to receive the award doesn’t automatically take her out of the running. (See Variety‘s story: “The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Dolly Parton Pickle: Should She Be Inducted Anyway, Even If She Doesn’t Want It?”)In the public fan vote — which counts only a minuscule amount in the ultimate tallying — Parton’s name is still indeed listed, and she is ahead of Judas Priest.
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