Does Neil Diamond belong in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

This year’s honorees include the “Sweet Caroline” singer—often criticized as cheesy—but not the arguably edgier Bon Jovi.

Rolling Stone has announced this year’s honorees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, who include Tom Waits, the Alice Cooper Band, Dr. John, and… Neil Diamond. The inclusion of Diamond, the “king of drunken sing-alongs,” has irritated several music reviewers, particularly when New Jersey rockers Bon Jovi were nominated but ultimately overlooked. Does Diamond belong in the same company as Chuck Berry, The Who, and Bob Dylan?

This corny crooner makes it to the Hall of Shame: Adding “the easy-listening likes of Neil Diamond” to the Hall of Fame is “an affront” to rock music, writes Michael Norman of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. The artist was always better known for his “chest-baring leisure suits and droopy bedroom eyes” than his songs. There must be “acts out there with stronger rock ‘n’ roll pedigrees….”

“Rock and Roll Hall of Fame snubs: The Top 25 acts passed over for induction”

Don’t dismiss Diamond so easily: Look past his “schlock factor,” argues Jim Beviglia of CultureMap Houston, and you’ll find a “serious body of work.” Diamond is a successful lyricist with “a hand in countless hits.” His “Sweet Caroline” highlights this deserving inductee’s “unerring sense of song structure, a lost art these days.”

“The hits and misses of the new Rock and Roll of Fame class”

Forget Diamond. Why are women ignored? I have no problem with this “motley crew” of eight inductees, says Sasha Brown-Worsham of The Stir, except that it includes only one woman: Darlene Love. “How does that seem fair?” Pat Benatar and Heart are certainly worthy of consideration. Come on, Rolling Stone. “We need some estrogen up in here!”

“Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees: Where are the ladies?”