Pearl Jam’s Mike McCready Says Dave Abbruzzese Should’ve Been Inducted into Rock Hall
Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready is speaking out about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s slight of former drummer Dave Abbruzzese.
McCready tells the satellite radio show “Feedback” that Abbruzzese — who was with Pearl Jam from 1991-1994 and played on the albums Vs. and Vitalogy — should have been inducted along with original drummer Dave Krusen and current member Matt Cameron, saying, “Dave was integral at the part when we were starting to take off…He rode that wave and helped us through that, and so I felt like he should’ve been a part of that and he should be acknowledged because he was an amazing drummer.”
Abbruzzese has been outspoken about the slight and declined Pearl Jam’s public invitation to attend the induction ceremony in April; He posted a response to McCready’s comments on Facebook, writing that, “This touched my heart. Thank you, Mike McCready. I must admit that to hear my dear friend and former band mate acknowledge me in this friendly manner evoked an emotional response that I wasn’t prepared for, but I very much enjoyed.”
Two other Pearl Jam drummers, Jack Irons and Matt Chamberlain, were also left out of the induction.
Gary Graff is an award-winning music journalist who not only covers music but has written books on Bob Seger, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen.
