lenny kaye

Steven Van Zandt wishes the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame had chosen the Patti Smith Group instead of solo Patti Smith for this year's induction.

You've heard who got into the Rock Hall this year: R.E.M., Patti Smith, the Ronettes, Van Halen and Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. All good. All deserving. I was hoping it would be the Patti Smith Group, though, because now Lenny Kaye will probably never get in and he deserves to be.

All right, I am unapologetically a band guy, what can I tell you? Smith is indisputably great, and I mean no disrespect, but for me it's simple: Is she better with the band or without the band? She gets her name in the title either way, so what's the problem, right?