Rick Wills on Foreigner's Long Hall Wait: 'What Did We Do Wrong?'

Former Foreigner bassist Rick Wills has expressed confusion regarding the band’s long wait to get into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Foreigner will finally be inducted later this year, but they’ve been eligible for the Hall since 2003. During a conversation with Sirius XM’s Eddie Trunk, Wills admitted it was frustrating seeing his band constantly get overlooked.

“We've waited basically 21 years for this to happen,” the rocker noted. “So when it did happen, it was a surprise in a sense. But it was also a relief that we finally could join our peers in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because I think we've definitely earned our place with the singles and the songs we've written and performed over the years. You know, what did we do wrong? I don't know.”

Part of Wills’ exacerbation came from watching artists from other genres getting their Hall call.

“It is just weird sometimes how the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame voting goes and includes some people that, to me, don't seem to belong in there because they're not rock and roll, whereas we were,” the bassist explained. “So, I don't know. It's a very difficult thing to understand sometimes.”

Wills further addressed the long-standing rumor that Foreigner had been blackballed by Rock & Roll Hall of Fame co-founder Jann Wenner.

“There's a personality thing that went on at some point with Jann Wenner and the band, and I don't know why, but he, I heard people say, ‘Oh, he said Foreigner will never get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame unless hell freezes over,’” Wills recalled. “Well, that's a pretty unkind thing to say. But, at the same time, when Jann’s in control, what can you do when that's going on? He's obviously putting his finger on the thing and saying they're not gonna get in.”

Who Is Rick Wills?

Wills was part of Foreigner from 1979 to 1991. More recently he's joined the band for sporadic performances since 2015. As a member of their classic lineup, he'll be enshrined in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame when Foreigner is inducted in October.

The bassist has also worked with many other Hall of Fame acts. He spent a year in Roxy Music and joined Small Faces from 1976 to 1978. Wills also played bass on Peter Frampton's first three albums, and expressed excitement that the guitar great will also be going into the Hall of Fame this year.

"I'm so pleased that Peter Frampton has been included, one of my old associates," Wills noted. "It's about time, for God's sake."