Uncovering the Next Generation's Hall of Fame
Bob Wills and His (Missing) Texas Playboys
In 1999, Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the “Early Influence” category. For years, the Rock Hall clearly listed all of the Playboys individually on their website as inductees, as this screenshot from 2010 shows:
When the new Hall of Fame exhibit at the Museum was unveiled last year, the Texas Playboys were omitted from the signature plaque and removed from the website:
Why on earth* would the Rock Hall remove Tommy Duncan, Leon McAuliffe, Johnny Gimble, Joe Holley, Tiny More, Herb Remington, Eldon Shamblin, and Al Stricken? We all know the Rock Hall has a problem inducting women, but throwing out dead male inductees doesn’t seem like a good solution. If you’re going to erase history, at least provide an explanation for what you’re doing.
* - Please don’t say it’s because they didn’t fit on the plaque.
Update (May 4, 2019): The Rock Hall Museum’s President and CEO, Greg Harris, tweeted today to say that the Texas Playboys have been restored to the website and will be added to the signature wall soon.
All, thank you for bringing the Bob Wills item to our attention, we’ve checked our records and updated the website to reflect the way we’ve had it since 1999 including the Texas Playboys. Plaque will be updated shortly again thanks.
— Greg Harris (@rockhallceo) May 4, 2019
Update (January 22, 2020):
Happy to report that the Texas Playboys are once again displayed in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Thanks to @KatBoydRocks for the photo pic.twitter.com/5JsAsPOpb5
— Future Rock Legends (@futurerocklgnds) January 19, 2020