Paul Rodgers being omitted from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is one of those massive oversights music fans love to complain about. It turns out this omission was Rodgers’ choosing.
The iconic rock singer revealed in a new interview that he received a nod to be inducted via Atlantic Records/Rock Hall co-founder Ahmet Ertegun. Rodgers said he told Ertegun, “I don’t think rock ‘n’ roll belongs in a museum.” He also alleged he was approached to be inducted “a couple of times.”
Rodgers did not elaborate on what capacity he would’ve been inducted. His career included him fronting Free and Bad Company. Rodgers, of course, fronted Queen from 2004-2009, and they were inducted into the Rock Hall in 2001.
Rodgers has maintained a solo career and catalog since 1983. His latest solo LP, Midnight Rose, is out now via PaulRodgers.com and is available for streaming and download via Sun Records.
Rodgers made headlines last month when he revealed he suffered 13 strokes in recent years. Two of those strokes were major, while 11 of them were considered minor in comparison. The first major stroke happened in 2016, while the second happened in 2019.
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These strokes left Rodgers unable to sing or speak properly and eventually led Rodgers into surgery. The surgery Rodgers had was an endarterectomy, which removed plaque that was clogging a carotid artery.
Rodgers told CBS Mornings of the surgery, “They told me, they’re very clear, ‘You may not come out of this alive.’ And I said, ‘Oh, well, that’s a plus, isn’t it?’ And when I woke up, I opened my eyes, I thought, ‘Oh, I’m still here.’”
Following surgery, his recovery was slow. It took Rodgers six months to begin singing and playing guitar again.
Cynthia Kereluk Rodgers joined her husband during the interview. When asked what it was like to hear him sing again, she got visibly emotional. She said, “I didn’t think that would ever happen, and I had heard him singing around the house, and it wasn’t what it was.” Rodgers playfully interjected, “Now you tell me!”