A case for adding these missing members of Rock Hall inducted bands

Since the Beatles and Beach Boys were inducted in 1988, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has been somewhat inconsistent when it comes to self-contained bands and their lineups.

In some cases, it seems, anybody who played, sang or even hummed a note on an album has been part of the honor — Parliament/Funkadelic as a best case in point. Groups such as Metallica, the Grateful Dead, the E Street Band and the Hollies ran deep into their respective rosters, while Josh Klinghoffer got in as part of the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 2012 after just one studio album appearance– as did the late Steve Gaines with Lynyrd Skynyrd six years before.

Then there are bands such as Kiss, for which only the four originals were inducted, and numerous others over the years whose corps are missing key, contributing members. Even in the new class, there are some who will undoubtedly say that Brian Howe, Bad Company’s second frontman, should be acknowledged.

The Rock Hall committees involved apply their own strange sciences to the determination of who gets in, and why — mostly subjective, which is the nature of the game. But we’d suggest that with a new class of inductees coming on Nov. 8, it might be time for some revision and retrospective consideration, and perhaps some deserving expos facto additions from these most glaring omissions…

The Beach Boys (1988): The most famous five — Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson, Mike Love and Al Jardine — are in, but original guitarist David Marks has always been considered an important an unsung part of the band, and was certainly recognized as such during its 50th anniversary tour in 2012. Also worthy are Blondie Chaplin and Ricky Fataar, who were key parts of the group’s early 70s renaissance and albums such as “Surf’s Up” and “Holland.”

The Supremes (1988): Certainly a case can be made that Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard were all that mattered — but not quite. Cindy Birdsong, who replaced Ballard in 1967, was on plenty of the trio’s golden age hits and certainly merits inclusion.

The Byrds: (1990): The original quintet rightly received its flowers, but where’s Gram Parsons, who steered the group in more of a country direction (including the landmark “Sweethearts of the Rodeo” album) during his tenure? And for that matter Clarence White, who provided guitar heroics alongside him.

The Kinks (1990): Another one that’s limited to the original quartet, which negates important contributions by bassist John Dalton (for longer than Pete Quaife was in the band), and keyboardist John Gosling/

Allman Brothers Band (1995): No argument with the quintet that’s in, but why not some love for keyboardist Chuck Leavell and bassist Lamar Williams, who helped the Brothers recover from the deaths of Duane Allman and Berry Oakley — and for that matter the latter day likes of Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Allen Woody, Oteil Burbridge and Marc Quinones, who helped give the Allmans a strong third chapter from 1989-2014, on stage and in the studio.

Jefferson Airplane (1996): Unlike the Grateful Dead’s inclusive Rock Hall roster, its San Francisco compatriots’ is missing a couple of later members — notably drummer Joey Covington and multi-instrumentalist David Frieberg, the latter of whom is still leading the current incarnation of Jefferson Starship.

Fleetwood Mac (1998): Eight of the Mac’s members were part of its induction, covering its origins as well as its 70s resurgence with Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. Undeservedly missing; Bob Welch and Bob Weston, singer-guitarists who fronted significant albums such as “Bare Trees,” “Penguin,” “Mystery to Me” and “Heroes Are Hard to Find.”

Santana (1998): Limiting the inductees to the original lineup keeps it from getting messy, but it does give short-shrift to worthy later members such as Armando Peraza, Tom Coster, Paul Rekow, Graham Lear, Alex Ligertwood, Chester Thompson (keyboards) and Dennis Chambers.,

Ramones (2002): The punk legends’ induction roster omits two latter drummers — Richie (nee Reinhardt) and C.J. (nee Ward), who played their part in making sure the road did not lead to ruin.

AC/DC (2003): We would lobby for a salute for Mark Evans, who played bass on the first four albums, and for drummers Simon Wright and Chris Slade, who subbed at various and important points for the inducted Phil Rudd.

The Pretenders (2005): The original foursome is all well and could but the induction is missing guitarist Robbie McIntosh, who played an impactful role during the mid-80s in helping the group recover from the deaths of James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon and hit another commercial peak with 1984’s “Learning to Crawl.”

Black Sabbath (2006): Another where just the original lineup keeps things tidy, but Ronnie James Dio both maintained and plowed some new ground after Ozzy Osbourne’s departure. And he made bassist Geezer Butler’s devil’s horn hand sign into a Thing — part of the reason Dio should be in on his own merits.

Kiss (2014): The poster child of the “but wait, there’s more” argument. Drummer Eric Carr (1980-91) and guitarist Vinnie Vincent (1982-84) were key first replacements who also helped the group, successfully, out of its first makeup era and should be immortalized with their predecessors.

Deep Purple (2016): The group’s Mk. 1 and 2 lineups are both represented — save for original bassist Nick Simper, who was on the first three albums along with vocalist Rod Evans. A curious but certainly correctable exclusion.

Roxy Music (2019): The band that went through bassists like Spinal Tap’s run of drummers only inducted one — Graham Simpson, who only played on the 1972 album. John Gustafson had the longest tenure, appearing on four albums, which would seem to qualify him for addition.

Foo Fighters (2021): The criteria applied other bands’ memberships would dictate that drummer William Goldsmith, part of the original touring lineup and player on 1997’s sophomore effort “The Colour and the Shape,” should also be part of the Foos crew.