Toto guitarist and frontman Steve Lukather said his band isn’t in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame because “they hate our guts.”

The statement comes courtesy of a new interview with the music blog Misplaced Straws.

When asked why Toto, who have been Hall of Fame eligible since 1998, has yet to be enshrined, Lukather didn’t mince words.

“Because they hate our guts and have since 1978,” he matter-of-factly declared.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, it should be noted, was not established until 1983. Lukather’s comments seemingly link back to Jann Wenner, co-founder of the Rock Hall and the publisher of Rolling Stone.

“Now, the interesting part about that is that for the first time in 43 years, I was just called to do an interview for Rolling Stone. And I asked my PR people, ‘Is this a setup?’ Because they shit on me in the Ringo band,” Lukather explained, alluding to his run as a member of the Beatle's All-Starr Band.

The musician went on to note that Rolling Stone has been extremely critical of one of Toto’s biggest hits. “Some other ass clown wrote some horrible shit about 'Africa,' a song that was written in 1981, by the way - 1981, and it's still fucking everywhere. It's like herpes, it comes back when you least expect it. But at the same time, it's a golden nugget. But that's the golden nugget that the Satan person has, and they hold it over our heads now.”

In Lukather’s opinion, the Hall’s distaste for “Africa” has continually kept Toto at bay. “It's like they think we're only worth one song," he noted. " And it's like, ‘Dude, we got a lot of material.’"

With six Grammy Awards and more than 40 million albums sold, Toto have the credentials worthy of Hall consideration. Despite his harsh words toward the establishment, Lukather insisted he's not bitter regarding the Rock Hall. "I don't care. We're moving on. I wish everybody well," he said.

Lukather is prepping a new solo album titled I Found the Sun Again for release on Feb 26.

 

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