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Chad Channing Snubbed From Nirvana’s Rock Hall Induction

Nirvana Drummer Chad Channing Rock Hall

According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, drumming on one of three albums by a legendary band isn’t enough to get you inducted. Initial reports said that Nirvana’s original drummer Chad Channing would join the group in the Hall during next month’s induction ceremony, but in a new interview with Radio.com, he revealed the powers-that-be are snubbing him.

While Channing played on most of Nirvana’s 1989 debut LPBleach and several singles and stray tracks, Dave Grohl will be the only drummer inducted into the Rock Hall, alongside bassist Krist Novoselic and late frontman Kurt Cobain. Channing said he heard the news via a text message sent to Nirvana’s management: “Can you tell whoever looks after Chad Channing that he isn’t being inducted…  It is just Dave, Krist and Kurt.”

Based on Rock Hall rules, Nirvana is eligible for induction now that their first single, “Love Buzz,” is 25 years old. Channing served as the drummer on that when it was released in November 1988, but apparently the Hall only recognizes Nirvana’s most famous lineup, despite naming him in the group’s official biography. Though nothing has been reported, this also apparently leaves out guitarist Pat Smear, who played with the group in the year before Cobain’s suicide in 1994.

“I got a call from Michael Meisel, Nirvana’s long time manager, asking if I was attending the induction ceremony; he said that he had a ticket for me,” Channing said before learning of his exclusion. “I also talked to Krist about it a few weeks ago and he definitely thought I should be there, and was gonna help make sure that I was. I’ll be there at the table ready to walk up there.”

What makes it even sadder is that Channing also noted that his daughter was “super excited” for him about the induction. He hasn’t said whether this snub will keep him from attending the ceremony on April 10 at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.

If anything, Channing’s lack of recognition is cold comfort for Kiss, who are also getting inducted without many of their members. Speaking to Billboard, guitarist Paul Stanley bemoaned the Hall’s choice to only include the group’s founding lineup.

“There are people who played on multi-platinum albums and played for millions of people and were very important for the continuation of the band. And clearly when you’ve got a busload of Grateful Dead [members] who have been inducted and guys in the Chili Peppers who nobody knows who they are because they played on the very earliest albums are inducted… The list goes on and on of the inconsistencies. Now, I’m  not pointing fingers at any of those people, but I’m certainly pointing a finger at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The only consistencies are inconsistencies and the rules clearly are there are no rules because the criteria for how and who gets in is purely based upon a personal like or dislike. And when I feel we’re being treated unfairly, I have issues with that.”