‘I’m Not Holding My Breath’

James “JY” Young of Styx isn’t banking on his band being included in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

“Well, it’s very East Coast-centric in terms of the people that have a vote. And Styx probably deserves to be in there, but I’m not holding my breath,” he recently told the Detroit radio program Meltdown [via Blabbermouth]. “Our type of music and the audience that basically love our music and buy millions of our records don’t have a vote. There’s 30 or 40 people that decide who’s going in — not 30,000 and 40,000 voting. And, I won’t mention names — that might guarantee we never get in — but I don’t, honestly…”

According to the Hall of Fame, the actual number of participating voters is higher than that: “Nominee ballots are sent to an international voting body of more than 1,000 artists, historians and members of the music industry.”

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Styx has been eligible for the Hall since 1998, but Young says he won’t be upset if induction never pans out — the response the band has gotten from fans over the years has been worth it alone.

“Will I have a smile on my face when I go to my grave if I haven’t made it in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Sure,” he said. “We’ve played in front of audiences and people have said so many wonderful things about, ‘JY, your music has changed my life. Your music saved my life. It got me through the most difficult times when my girlfriend or my mother passed away and I was listening to your music that helped get me through my most difficult time.’ And so what could be more significant than another human being saying that ‘You’ve saved my life. You made my life better.'”

This year’s class of inductees is expected to be announced sometime this month. The induction ceremony will take place in Cleveland, Ohio.