As of late last night, we have a short list of nominees for the 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, and Dallas Woodrow Wilson High School alumnus Steve Miller is on it.
The nominees will be considered by a voting panel of industry experts for inclusion into the Rock Hall; the official inductees will be announced in December. Fans can also weigh in on who they think is most deserving by voting at rockhall.com starting today.
Miller joins a diverse and illustrious list of nominees including Chaka Khan, the Cars, Chic, N.W.A., Janet Jackson, Nine Inch Nails, the Smiths, Yes, Los Lobos, Deep Purple, Chicago, Cheap Trick, the J.B.'s and the Spinners.
It's a list that will be extremely difficult to narrow down, but if I were a betting man I'd put money on Miller (can't forsake a hometown guy), Chic (imagine the Nile Rodgers-led all-star induction jam), N.W.A. (that whole biopic movie this year improves the chances), Chicago, Chaka Khan and Deep Purple. I'd love to see Miss Janet squeeze in, but I don't know if the industry's ready to put her on the Rock Hall pedestal -- same goes for Trent Reznor and company. We shall see.
The 72-year-old Miller, whose family moved him here when he was a boy, credits the Dallas music scene for giving him his blues-rock education and fueling the dreams which would eventually lead to him forming the Steve Miller Band.
When Miller stopped at Verizon Theatre for a show back in June, according to reviewer Thor Christensen, he honored his roots here and even brought on fellow Dallas music legend Jimmie Vaughan to mix it up.
Wrote Christensen, Miller "talked about growing up in Dallas, studying at St. Mark's prep school during the day and lining up gigs for $75 a night before he was old enough to drive: 'Mom! I've got a job Friday night! You gotta drive me to work!'"
Miller left St. Mark's and transferred to Wilson, where he graduated and was later inducted into that school's hall of fame in 2009. So even if he doesn't make the Rock Hall cut this time, he can still come back to Woodrow and enjoy his status. Enjoy some classic rock courtesy Miller's band below.
