iHM's John Sykes Aims For Rock Hall Diversity

John Sykes

In a wide-ranging interview with cleveland.com that covered the twists and turns of his career as well as his thoughts on diversity in the Rock Hall, John Sykes dropped a bit of a bombshell, considering that nominations for the Class of 2020 won’t officially be revealed until later this month. This year, he said, “T. Rex and Depeche Mode were both nominated to get on the ballot, but so was Notorious B.I.G.”

“I grew up where music, television and radio were my reasons for existence,” said Sykes in a call from his offices in New York City, where he is president of iHeart Entertainment Enterprises. “For me, it’s what I always wanted to do.”

Succeeding Juan Wenner in the unpaid role as chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation is just the latest scene in an ongoing dream.

Sykes will become the third chairman of the Foundation, following Wenner and the late Ahmet Ertegun, the two men who created the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the early 1980s.

“The great thing about being around the Hall of Fame is that I’ve been a fan of just about every single artist inducted,” he said. “The idea that I get to be part of the nominating committee for artists I listened to since I was 12 years old in my sister’s bedroom has been part of a dream come true.”

“It’s important to note that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is more than a category; it’s a spirit,” he said. That spirit is why he defines rock by the phrase Hall of Famer Berry Gordy used to describe the music of Motown: “The Sound of Young America.”

Hip-hop is “the music of young America,” but older fans needn’t worry that they — we — will be left out in the cold.

“The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame could become irrelevant because rock as we knew it in the ’60s is beginning to age out,” Sykes said. “We have to evolve, and we have to change, because music is changing.

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