JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford admits he was “pissed” when he first found out that the legendary metal band would receive the Musical Excellence Award at this year’s Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
In a recent talk with the Arizona Republic, Rob was asked how he felt when he found out JUDAS PRIEST was going to be given the Musical Excellence Award by the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame this year instead of being honored with this year’s other recipients, Halford said: “Why haven’t they given us the same title as all of our friends. BLACK SABBATH, for example. There’s a different tag, isn’t there? I was pissed. I was a bit pissed. At the end of the day, does it matter?”
He continued: “Some days, I go, ‘No, it doesn’t matter. We’re in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Be grateful. Shut the hell up.’ And then there are other days where I’m like, ‘God damn, why did they give us the Musical Excellence Award?’ Because it sounds very, you know, grandiose. ‘The Musical Excellence Award, reserved for blah, blah, blah.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, but I want to be with that bunch of musicians over there that have got the performance or whatever it is that they’ve got.'”
Halford added: “I don’t know why they gave us the Musical Excellence Award. I have no clue. I just felt a little bit like, ‘Well, SABBATH got this. So why can’t we have that?’ Not that I’m jealous of SABBATH. I’m just talking about this tag that they give it. Why do they put these tags on the damn thing? Why don’t they go, ‘Welcome. You’re in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame‘ and leave it at that.
“A lot of our fans went, ‘What the hell?’ ‘Oh, you know, they’re a great band. They are an excellent band.’ ‘But why put the Musical Excellence? Why don’t you give them like everybody else has got?’
“I know it’s silly, but it’s just frustrating. And on the other side, it’s like, ‘Great. Everybody else got that and we got shafted with this.’ [Laughs] JUDAS PRIEST are still the Rodney Dangerfield of heavy metal. They can’t get no respect.”
The Musical Excellence award is given to artists, musicians, songwriters and producers whose originality and influence creating music have had a dramatic impact on music.
The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony will be held on November 5, 2022 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.