Dave OsbornNaples Daily News
The newest members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will be inducted in a few months and won't include any Southwest Florida musicians.
Yet our region is still well‑represented with current and former residents who have achieved rock immortality.
The 2023 inductees are Kate Bush, Sheryl Crowe, Missy Elliott, George Michael, Willie Nelson, Rage Against the Machine and The Spinners. The ceremony is Nov. 3 in Brooklyn, New York.
Here's the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers with SWFL connections.
Bob Seger true Midwest snowbird
Like many Michiganders (yes, that's what we're called from my home state), Bob Segerhas been flocking to Southwest Florida for years. The connection makes sense because Interstate 75 runs through Collier County and — about 1,000 miles later — hits the Michigan‑Ohio border, then travels directly north into Canada. He's lived part‑time in a Gulf-side condo and even said during his 2015 soldout show at Germain (now Hertz) Arena in Estero: “I get to play one of my hometowns. We feel right at home here.” Seger has penned and recorded numerous songs, including"Against The Wind,""Hollywood Nights,""Old Time Rock & Roll"and "Still the Same." Seger, 78, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.
Queen of Disco Donna Summer enjoyed Neapolitan
Donna Summer moved to Naples in 2000 and lived here until her death in May 2012. She created and sold paintingsbefore dying in her home from lung cancer at 63 even though she was a nonsmoker. Summer was the biggest star from the disco era. Her 1979 hit,"Hot Stuff"remained at No. 1 for three weeks. And what wedding reception hasn't played as its final song her hit "Last Dance"? She was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2013.
AC/DC's Cliff Williams longtime Lee County resident
TheAC/DC bassist CliffWilliams has lived in south Lee County for years. The Australian-based band remains among the top 10 best-selling artists of all time, with hits including"You Shook Me All Night Long"and"Thunderstruck." Williams became aRock Hall member with AC/DC in 2003.
Moody Blues co‑founder John C. Lodge lives by the Gulf
Just a bassist and singer in a rock ‘n’ roll band, longtime Moody Blues member John C. Lodge livedin Bonita Springs before moving to a high-rise condo in North Naples in 2018. The Moody Blues, who entered the Rock Hall a few years ago, had hits including"Tuesday Afternoon,""Wildest Dreams" and "Nights In White Satin." The Moody Blues entered the Rock Hall five years ago.
Rush guitarist left limelight of Naples
Longtime Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson once called Naples home (in Bay Colony or Pelican Bay in past stories) but it's been a while. He left not long afterCollier County sheriff's deputies arrived at the beach-side Ritz-Carlton during a 2003 New Year Eve's party and usedTasers to subdue his son, Justin. The father and son escaped what could have been a lengthy prison sentence when they reached a plea deal on criminal charges and received probatiton instead.
Lifeson, his son and daughter filed a civil lawsuit but a federal judge ruled in 2007 that deputies had not used excessive force. Alex Lifeson claimed authorites broke his nose. A now‑famous photo by a Daily News photographer went worldwide showed the rock star wearing a bloodied white shirt from the night before.
The Toronto‑originated three‑man Rush ― Lifeson, bassist and lead singer Geddy Lee and drummer Neil Peart ― had numerous hits, including"Limelight," "Tom Sawyer" and "Spirit of the Radio." Rush entered the Rock Hall in 2013 and Peart died seven years later.
Who's next? Long‑time rockers and young stars
An original drummer for Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rickey Medlocke lives in Fort Myers. And even though Skynyrd entered the Rock Hall in 2006, Medlocke was not inducted with his former bandmates and despite performing with the group during its formative era of the early‑to‑mid 1970s and in later years. He started his owner Southern rock band, Blackfoot, in his hometown of Jacksonville with hits that included "Highway Song" and "Train Train."
State of sound: Southern rock to Miami sound: A look at Florida's most influential musicians
Latin music icon for decades, José Feliciano
JoséFeliciano hasn't called Lee County home for more than a decade, but it was his home for years. The 77-year-old musical pioneer lived in Lehigh Acres and moved away after complaining to sheriff's deputies about harassment.
He became popular in the late 1960s and early '70s, with hits including his rendition of "Light My Fire" and his perhaps most enduring song, the Christmas classic "Feliz Navidad" that turned 50 in 2020. Felicianohas family in Southwest Florida and even lived in Lehigh Acres at one point. They now live in Connecticut.
Feliciano also achieved plenty of notoriety — though not the kind he probably wanted at the time — in 1968 when he sang the national anthem at Tiger Stadium in Detroit before Game 5 of the World Series between the hometown Tigers and the St. Louis Cardinals.
Some felt Feliciano disparaged the national anthem when he sang a more stylized version, the first singer to ever perform it that way.
His performance caused an uproar at the time but it has since become revered for its social and cultural significance. Feliciano's rendition reflected the turbulent year of 1968 in America and it endures today.
Feliciano is a musical pioneer in many ways and deserves to enter the Rock Hall.
"Anything I play, my Latin part of me goes into it because that's what I am," he said during a Detroit radio station interview four years ago.
Laura Jane Grace receives high honor
Punk-rock star Laura Jane Grace grew up in Naples and headed to Gainesville when she turned 18. She formed the group Against Me!, which has enjoyed worldwide success. And recently, Billboard magazine named Grace on its lists ofTop 50 Greatest Rock Lead Singers of All Time.
Billboard ranked her No. 31, which was higher thanJerry Garcia of The Grateful Dead(No. 44),Courtney Love of Hole(No. 43),Paul McCartney of The Beatles(No. 39),Iggy Pop of The Stooges(No. 38),Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship/Starship(No. 35), andOzzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath(No. 32).
Against Me! is based out of Gainesville, Florida, although Grace calls Chicago home.
Dominic Fike a shooting star
Naples native Dominic Fike has become an international star, as a musician and actor in shows like HBO's "Euphoria." His first big single was "3 Nights" in 2018, with the song itself reaching Top 10 in numerous countries and the video on YouTubealonegarnering nearly 50 millionviews. Fike ― who five years agosigned a reported $3 million to $4 million contract with Columbia Records ― "embodies the hazy, genre-less future ofpopularmusic," the New Yorker wrote in a 2019 story. He'll need to accomplish more to make the Rock Hall but he's well on his way.
Bad Company among Rock Hall's major snubs
Former Bad Company singer Brian Howe won't get to see if his former band makes the Rock Hall. Howe died in 2020 in Lake Placid, Florida, where he moved after liiving for years onFort Myers Beach.
Howe succeeded Paul Rodgers as lead singer, and sang on the 1990 hit"If You Needed Somebody." And Bad Company often makes some lists of all‑time Rock Hall snubs. Some of the bands many other hits include "Feel Like Makin' Love," "Can't Get Enough," "Bad Company" and "Ready for Love."
Before the politics, Ted Nugent scored some hits
Known as the Motor City Madman, Ted Nugent and his wife, Shemaine, own a Gulf-side penthouse condo in North Naples. Nugent has received national attention in recent years for his political commentary but he was mainly known as a musician for decades before that. His hits have included "Cat Scratch Fever," "Free‑for‑All," "Wango Tango" and"Stranglehold."
Nugent ― who in interviews in the last year said he's not yet in the Rock Hall because of his politics ― listed Grouper & Chips among his favor restaurants in Naples during a 2017 interview with the Daily News.
"The food is wonderful; the people are wonderful," he said of the restaurant along U.S. 41, just north of Central Avenue. "I’ve always loved Florida. I’ve been playing in Florida, I’ve been rocking and rolling and hunting in Florida since 1967.”
Dave Osborn is the regional features editor of the Naples Daily News and News-Press. Follow him on Instagram and Threads @lacrossewriter.
