There might be less outrage about the Scorpions' continuing omission from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame than bands like Iron Maiden, Motörhead or Mötley Crüe, but that doesn't make Scorpions' lack of Rock Hall nominations any less egregious.
One of the most successful and enduring rock groups of all-time, since forming in Germany in the mid-'60s and picking up steam in the mid-'70s, Scorpions have sold more than 100 million records worldwide — a figure on par with this year's Hall of Fame headliners Def Leppard.
But despite the band's long history, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's obvious bias against bands who had their best commercial years in the '80s remains in effect.
Guitar virtuoso Uli Jon Roth left Scorpions in 1978, right before the band began generating hits in America. He indicated in a new interview that the Scorpions' Hall of Fame induction is probably inevitable, but it's puzzling how long it's taking.
"They should be [in the Hall of Fame]," Roth told Rock Music Star in a new interview. "I don't know what they are thinking over there. Deep Purple wasn't in there for a long time. So I really don't know."
Roth explained that Scorpions were already a massive band in Europe and Japan before their U.S. label finally agreed to book them a U.S. tour. He says the RCA Records CEO simply didn't believe American audiences would embrace Scorpions.
"Until our success became so obvious — we started having gold records in Japan — and then, finally an offer for an American tour came," Roth recalled. "But by that time, I had already said that I wanted to leave the band, so I declined the American tour. Which with hindsight was maybe a mistake. I think that I should have been on the first American tour. I could have stayed a few more months longer, but then I didn't."
The timing just didn't work out, he continued. Roth says he was writing music that he couldn't see fitting with Scorpions' style. Had he remained in the band after 1978, he probably would have become frustrated.
"I was happy in the Scorpions for many years, and everything was great, but towards the end, I really thought that I had to move one, and that's that."
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