Dee Snider doesn't believe that TWISTED SISTER deserves to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. He told SiriusXM's "My First Time" in a new interview (hear audio below): "People go, 'Oh, you think you should be in the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame?' [And I go] 'No'. 'What do you mean no? Everybody thinks…' 'No.' I'm honest enough to say we had a moment. But it seems like that moment, and maybe what I did in Washington" — referring to the time in 1985 when he found himself giving testimony to the United States Senate's Committee on Commerce in a congressional hearing on "record labeling" — "that moment, and maybe when I created what became 'Headbangers Ball', which was an important show in the metal community… It was originally called 'Heavy Metal Mania'. It was my idea. I called MTV, pitched them, they bought it. 18 months I hosted it till I asked for money, and they said, 'We don't pay money.' I was, like, 'Well, I'm not doing this for free anymore.' And then it became 'Headbangers Ball'. So a respect, over the years, has come, and it's nice that people are appreciating me." Even though artists are eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single, iconic hard rock and metal bands like IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST and MOTÖRHEAD have yet to be recognized by the institution, which inducted GUNS N' ROSES in that group's first year of eligibility. Rock Hall rules state that artists become eligible a quarter century after their first records were released, but the Hall also claims that other "criteria include the influence and significance of the artists' contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock 'n' roll," which is, of course, open to interpretation. While TWISTED SISTER released a single called "I'll Never Grow Up Now" in 1979, the group's first full-length album, "Under The Blade", didn't arrive until 1982. Eligible for induction since 1999, KISS didn't get its first nomination until 2009, and was finally inducted in 2014. DEEP PURPLE was eligible for the Rock Hall since 1993 but didn't get inducted until 2016. In 2016, Snider was featured in an exhibit at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame titled "Louder Than Words: Rock, Power And Politics". The exhibit showcased some of the most important debates of our country through the lens of rock music.
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