Last Updated on July 6, 2023 by Scott Shetler
Phish: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Facts
Eligible Since: 2014
Finalist: Never
Grammy Awards/Nominations: 0/1
Career Top 40 Hits: 0
Essential Tracks: You Enjoy Myself (1989), Reba (1990), Bouncing Around the Room (1990), Tweezer (1992), Free (1996), Wading in the Velvet Sea (1998), Farmhouse (2000)
Essential Albums: Junta (1989), A Picture of Nectar (1991), Rift (1993), A Live One (1995), Billy Breathes (1996), Slip, Stitch and Pass (1997), Farmhouse (2000), Fuego (2014)
Is it possible for a rock band to get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with no hit singles whatsoever? Legendary jam band Phish is putting that question to the test.
Phish occupy a unique position as one of America’s most enduring live bands since the ’80s, without ever getting radio airplay or substantial mainstream attention.
There’s been growing sentiment that the Hall should consider Phish. But will they? Let’s discuss.
Phish’s Rock Hall Credentials
Really the only thing Phish are known for are their incredible live concerts, which feature jamming, improvisation, seamless segues between songs, and unexpected cover songs, and take the audience on a completely different journey each night.
Phish’s improvisational skills have been compared to those of jazz musicians, as they effortlessly explore and expand upon their songs, making each performance a unique experience.
It goes without saying that the four members of Phish are remarkable musicians – you’d have to be in order to do the things they’ve done on stage over the years.
With the consistent lineup of Trey Anastasio on guitar, Page McConnell on keyboards, Mike Gordon on bass, and Jon Fishman on drums, Phish have done things on stage that other bands wouldn’t even dream of.
They once did a run of 13 shows in Madison Square Garden, more than 34 total hours of music and almost 200 total songs, without performing any song twice. How many other bands in the world could pull off such a feat? Even Metallica was impressed.
Their Halloween concerts became legendary, as each year they would cover an entire album by another artist from start to finish.
It’s not a stretch to say that Phish are one of the most versatile live bands in history. Even now, in 2023, Phish are still headlining arenas. That level of sustained success is the kind of thing that should make them a natural contender for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Another factor in their favor is the reach of their influence. While Phish have obviously had an impact on modern day jam bands like Umphrey’s McGee and the Disco Biscuits, more impressive is their surprising influence on a number of other rockers.
Radiohead’s Ed O’Brien gushed about the group’s experimentation, saying, “I’m really influenced by Phish. I think they are just so f—ing brilliant and they’re not on the radar here in Britain. I’ve just got so much respect for where they go musically. It’s like a jazz band; they are willing to take risks for a moment of musical transcendence.”
Maroon 5’s Adam Levine once said, “Phish made me want to be a better musician, plain and simple. They taught me so much and I will always consider Trey to be one of my heroes. His playing is just so boundary-less and his sound is so unmistakable.”
Brandon Boyd of Incubus noted, “Our band, especially the early days of our band, we were hugely influenced by Phish. I’ve been to more Phish concerts than I can actually count.”
In 1998, Rolling Stone wrote, “Given their sense of community, their ambition and their challenging, generous performances, Phish have become the most important band of the Nineties.”
That’s an awful lot of mainstream influence for a band that never had a hit single, isn’t it?
Phish appeared on David Letterman’s late night show numerous times over the years, and in 2002 they performed on SNL and appeared in a sketch with Jimmy Fallon and Al Gore.
Now, they even have their own channel on Sirius XM.
The Case Against Phish
Phish checks the boxes of longevity, influence, innovation, and establishing a devoted fanbase. The main reasons they wouldn’t be considered for the RRHOF are their lack of commercial achievements and declining relevancy.
While chart success isn’t the sole indicator of musical greatness, it is considered when evaluating an artist’s impact. On the Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, Phish managed a paltry two entries: 1994’s “Down with Disease” (#33) and 1996’s “Free” (#11.) “Birds of a Feather” from 1998 made a minor impact, as it was performed a few times on national tv and cracked the Top 15 of the Adult Alternative Songs chart.
It’s one thing to not have radio hit singles, but Phish rarely even cracked the Top 10 on the album chart, reaching that level only with 1996’s Billy Breathes (#7), 1998’s The Story of the Ghost (#8), and 2014’s Fuego (#7.) Only their debut album, 1989’s Junta, has been certified platinum.
Despite Phish’s incredible live prowess, their appeal remains mostly to fans of the jam band genre, and that limited appeal hurts their Rock Hall chances.
Lots of young people under 25 have never even heard of Phish. Their absence of radio hits and minimal social media footprint mean they just don’t have much cultural relevance today, beyond their existing fanbase.
While Phish have played some jam band festivals and performed at Bonnaroo a number of times, they’ve largely ignored mainstream festivals where they could’ve exposed their music to thousands of new listeners. They played Coachella just once and have never done Lollapalooza. That’s a missed opportunity which hurts their name recognition with the younger generation.
The Verdict: Will Phish Ever Get Inducted Into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
Phish have one big feather in their cap – they performed at the 2010 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, when Anastasio inducted Genesis. That’s a great sign, because RRHOF presenters often go on to earn induction themselves. It means that somebody in the Rock Hall respects and supports Phish. Unfortunately, there aren’t yet enough Phish supporters on the Hall’s nominating committee.
The Rock Hall doesn’t currently have a lot of comparable artists to Phish. The Grateful Dead are the obvious one, given their legacy of touring and jamming, but Phish didn’t influence rock and roll history to the same extent the Dead did.
A better comparison, for our purposes, might be Rush. The Geddy Lee-fronted group wasn’t a jam band, but their challenging, progressive rock made them outsiders to the rock mainstream, just as Phish are. Like Phish, Rush weren’t a singles band, with just one Top 40 hit in their careers. And Rush were ignored by the Rock Hall for 14 years.
Rush were finally given the honor by the Hall in 2013. There’s hope that Phish could follow a similar trajectory and eventually get inducted.
But… remember that even the Dave Matthews Band hasn’t gotten inducted yet. DMB were never on Phish’s level in terms of jamming and improvising, but DMB did regularly turn 6-minute album tracks into 15-minute live jams, and they had a boatload of hit singles and albums to go along with it. If DMB can’t get in with their resume of chart hits, Phish wouldn’t seem to have much chance. At least not right now.
We think that Phish could earn induction someday, but something will have to change. Perhaps fans and supporters of Phish need to start being as loud as Rush supporters were years ago, when their vocal outrage kept Rush in the Hall of Fame conversation year after year.
Best case scenario is that the Rock Hall considers Phish sometime in the 2030s.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: Phish
Odds of Getting Inducted Next Year: 1%
Odds of Getting Inducted in the Next Five Years: 3%
Odds of Getting Inducted Eventually: 25%
Do you think Phish will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame someday? Leave a comment and let us know!
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