Tommy Shaw, guitarist and singer for Styx, has softened his stance on the band’s exclusion from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. In an interview with Sirius XM’s Eddie Trunk, Shaw reflected on his changing perspective regarding the Hall’s snub.
“At one time, it used to get under my skin,” Shaw said. “I at one time was saying, ‘Please don’t give it to me now. Wait until I’m dead. Because I don’t want to have to go to one of those [induction] things that charge me $5,000 to get in the door and go up and play with guys who probably don’t want to play with each other.”
By 2024, Shaw had expressed hope that Styx might eventually be inducted. While he didn’t directly address the band’s Hall credentials in his discussion with Trunk, Shaw acknowledged his appreciation for bands that he believes truly deserve recognition.
Styx, eligible for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame since 1998, has sold over 54 million albums and boasts a catalog of classic hits. However, the band has yet to receive a nomination. During the interview, Styx singer and keyboardist Lawrence Gowan also advocated for the band’s induction.
“To me, I would like to see [induction] for the guys that were in the band long before I was in the band,” said Gowan, who joined Styx in 1999. “I’d like to see it for them, because they built the whole foundation that we’ve been able to extend the life of.”
Gowan continued, “Bands that get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, we always celebrate that, and when I’ve seen them open for Styx, we always make a big deal of the fact that that band or this artist is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It’s not beyond noticing the irony of the fact that some bands that are in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will be opening the show for Styx. In my mind, that says something.”