Enter Deep Purple In The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Already!

It is a tragic error that Deep Purple is not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Critics be damned enter this seminal heavy metal band already! One listen to any of their mega hits should tell you why they deserve to be included.

I was pleased to learn that Lars Ulrich of Metallica is actively working on making this happen. According to the Deep Purple Web Site:

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich last year told writer Peter Makowski that he is working on getting his all-time favorite band, DEEP PURPLE, a long-overdue spot in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Asked why the creators of “Smoke On The Water” were not in there yet, Ulrich said, “What you’ve got to understand is that a lot of the people that have run the selection process are critics, and DEEP PURPLE, as you know, were never a critic’s band — especially in America, because their influence was probably felt more in Europe.”

But Ulrich added, “It’s only a matter of time. Rather sooner than later. We’ve already lost one member. The fact that LED ZEPPELIN and BLACK SABBATH are in and PURPLE is not is one of the crimes of that whole institution. We’ll get them in soon enough. I’m working on it.”

Founding PURPLE keyboardist Jon Lord passed away in July 2012. Ulrich, who wrote a tribute to Lord on METALLICA’s web site, told Makowski, “I’m not sure that the people in today’s hard rock world really truly understand how innovative this guy was . . . he really did something nobody had done before with the sound of the keyboards and I think that’s probably the biggest thing to remember him for.”