Peter Tork: "The Monkees Deserve to be in the Hall of Fame"  5/5/07

The Monkees star Peter Tork has blasted music mogul Jann Wenner for keeping the Daydream Believer hitmakers out of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Tork claims the respected Rolling Stone magazine editor and publisher has the power to veto acts that merit induction into the Cleveland musical museum - and he hates The Monkees.

Bitter Tork tells Newsday, "The only person... holding a grudge is Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone. He has never written a gracious word (about us)."

Tork has spoken out about the snub after watching groups like the Sex Pistols and Run-DMC, who have covered Monkees tunes, get inducted to the Hall of Fame in recent years.

R.E.M. star Michael Stipe offered the guitarist some hope when he told Rolling Stone the Monkees were more important to him than the Beatles, reportedly stating he would refuse an induction if it meant getting into the Hall of Fame before Tork and co.

But R.E.M. were inducted into the Cleveland museum in March (07).

Tork claims Wenner's concerns about the group stem from long-forgotten claims The Monkees weren't for real, and were nothing more than a band created for a TV show.

He adds, "I've not heard the slightest murmur about The Monkees being fake (lately). Everybody's forgotten it, except Wenner. He's been vicious."