Rock Hall Adds Bon Jovi and Moody Blues Members to Induction List
It took a little longer than expected to get official confirmation, but the Moody Blues and Bon Jovi will be entering the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with a more complete list of members than initially believed.
As in years past, it's the Hall's prerogative to determine which band members are officially included in an act's induction — and as previously reported, the Moodies and Bon Jovi were both announced as inductees without musicians who've played a key role in their musical legacies. In the case of the Moody Blues, co-founding former member Denny Laine was left off the list — an unsurprising omission, given that Laine's brief tenure ended before the group recorded its best-known material, but one that still seemed unfair given that he handled lead vocals on a handful of early hits, most notably their first hit single "Go Now."
Even though Laine, who later joined Wings and embarked on a solo career, wasn't initially listed among the Moodies members due for induction, that's since been amended. According to longtime Rock Hall associate Steven Van Zandt, who told Twitter followers of the decision on Dec. 16, his absence from the list was due to an "inadvertent omission."
Bon Jovi bassist Hugh McDonald, a longtime member of the band's musical circle who played on their 1982 single "Runaway" and stepped in as an unofficial member after Alec John Such exited the lineup in 1994, will also be part of the induction. According to a Rock Hall spokesperson, the decision to included McDonald — who finally became a full band member two years ago — was reached after an internal review.
"Once the inductees were determined, the members of the Nominating Committee reviewed the list of artists and made the decision to add Denny Laine of the Moody Blues and Hugh McDonald of Bon Jovi to acknowledge their significant contributions," said the spokesperson via email. "We’re honored to induct them at the ceremony in April."