It’s Time for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to Recognize Howard Stern

Years before The Osbournes landed on MTV as one of the defining reality series of the early aughts, Ozzy (of blessed memory) and Sharon Osbourne, along with their children Aimee, Kelly, and Jack, made dozens of now-legendary appearances on The Howard Stern Show. First on terrestrial radio (later moving to SiriusXM), metal’s royal family shared unexpurgated anecdotes about topics ranging from Osbourne’s drug rehab stays — he was going to learn how to drink “properly” — to adultery (“honest cheating,” he called it), to the 19 times Osbourne failed his driver’s license exam. There might never have been The Osbournes had Stern not pushed and prodded the deliciously wacky rock star family to bring their story to the airwaves. “Hey, do a show,” Stern advised. And do a show they did.

Anyone who listens to Howard Stern, as I have since around the way-too-young age of 10, knows that the proverbial “King of All Media,” with a 45-year career in radio, is obsessed with music. Stern loves Cream and Joe Walsh and Led Zeppelin. He adores Lady Gaga, who cried over “the toll of fame” on a 2016 episode of his SiriusXM show. In 2020, Stern got Miley Cyrus to address her sobriety in the aftermath of her divorce from Liam Hemsworth. In 2014, Stern hosted a star-studded Billy Joel Town Hall at New York’s the Cutting Room complete with duets (Pink on “She’s Always a Woman,” Idina Menzel on “Honesty”). Bruce Springsteen has appeared twice; Brandi Carlile is practically a regular, while other high-frequency guests include Dave Grohl, Metallica, and Jon Bon Jovi, whom Stern inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.

So passionate is Stern about music that in June 2024, he announced that he’d started taking guitar lessons, a subject that’s since become a primary focus of the show’s episodes. And to his credit, Stern is taking the old adage of “how do you get to Carnegie Hall” — practice, practice, practice! — to heart. Skill-wise, he’s gone from able guitarist to actually good.

This year, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced Ed Sullivan as the recipient of Ahmet Ertegun Award (named after the late music executive who helped found Atlantic Records), bestowed upon non-performing industry professionals who have influenced culture. It’s a posthumous recognition for the man who launched the careers of Elvis Presley and the Beatles. Past honorees have included label heads like Seymour Stein, co-founder of Sire Records, iconic managers like Irving Azoff, and noted producers like Jimmy Iovine. (Guaranteed none of the aforementioned recipients — or Sullivan himself — could write an instant classic like “Smell My Tuchus.”)

But all jokes aside, that Howard Stern has not yet been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is, quite frankly, absurd. After all, the purpose of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is not only to fete rock icons, but the talent behind the talent — the DJs, and radio personalities, and entertainment attorneys, and managers, and agents that elevate and amplify the records and arena tours. It’s the music-loving purists who, like Stern, can inarguably claim a direct hand in catapulting musicians to rock star status.

Stern was a toddler when Elvis thrust his pelvis on national TV, and he was far too young to book the Beatles, but Stern has achieved something professional that is perhaps even more special. Certainly, more rare. Stern has dedicated his career to excavating the emotional landmines and complex origin stories that shape the lyrics, the songs, the chart-topping hits that land singers and songwriters into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Whether it’s Paul McCartney, or AC/DC, or Madonna, Stern’s gift rests not in his ability to ask the right questions — which he does — but the freedom he affords each guest to lay bare who they actually are, often revealing deep, dark secrets. That willingness to share comes from the safe space that Howard Stern has built and nurtured.

For years, there’s been a push among super fans to induct Stern into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It’s also been discussed more than once on the show. But so far, the effort has not been successful. Earlier this year, Heart guitarist and singer Nancy Wilson issued a public plea on social media to induct Stern, and Stern Show producer Gary Dell’Abate has personally campaigned for his boss’s inclusion. But the honor has eluded the king so far.

Yes, Sullivan is certainly deserving of a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. But Sullivan never learned an instrument, or tried his hand at writing songs. Stern, unlike Sullivan, wants to get as close as possible to the musicians he admires. It’s not a quick hello in the green room situation. Stern’s passion for, and knowledge of, music is deeply rooted in the very history of rock & roll, and his commitment to the artform has been consistent for decades. If that’s not reason enough for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to welcome him in, then what is?