With the passing of Mike Nesmith, an accomplished songwriter and music video pioneer, it is time to induct the Monkees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

For decades, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, led by Jann Wenner, has blocked admission of The Monkees. His charge is that Davy, Peter, Mickey and Mike were not a true group, but prefabricated. This is short sighted, unfair and childish. The Monkees counted among their fans The Beatles, R.E.M., the Sex Pistols and other artists that would go on to reflect and cite their influence. By the Hall's own measure, groups such as The Drifters (1988 inductees) do not belong there; their membership was a constant revolving door directed my music business executives.

If the Hall of Fame can induct groups such as the Bee Gees (which led the charge of disco music, a threat to rock, in the 1970s), it is time to recognize the infectious spirit of a band that, in true rock fashion, rebelled against its created image. The Monkees exposed themselves as "fake." They learned to play their own instruments. Nesmith wrote the breakthrough hit for Linda Ronstadt (2014 inductee), "Different Drum." it is time to give the Monkees their due as musical heroes to many, and an indelible part of the rock's colorful narrative.  

Send a message to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Before their induction, R.E.M. famously said that if the Monkees were not inducted, they would not join. The Hall refused to budge. Let's pressure them to change their obstinate and very un-rock stance--and at the very least, reinforce how much they are adored and missed by true rock fans.