This week in 2016 classic rocker Steve Miller was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame but he didn’t enjoy the experience. In his acceptance speech, which was in part critical, he encouraged the Hall of Fame to keep expanding its vision, to be more inclusive of women and to do more to support music education in schools. After his performance, which included his hits Fly Like an Eagle, Rock’n Me, and The Joker, Miller really ripped into the institution during a press room interview for the way it treated him throughout the process.
“When they told me I was inducted they said, ‘You have two tickets—one for your wife and one for yourself. Want another one? It’s $10,000. Sorry, that’s the way it goes.’ What about my band? What about their wives?”
Miller wasn’t the first to have criticized the Hall of Fame, whose limited selection process has drawn much heat from skeptics over the years.