Over the course of nearly three decades, The Red Hot Chili Peppers have successfully expanded the parameters of funk, punk and hip-hop while fusing those forms into a wholly new amalgam. Yet, The Chilis’ journey has been a volatile one, plagued by death and drugs but driven by sheer tenacity.

Don Kirshner could smell a hit from a mile away. His music empire created hundreds of hits and provided the soundtrack for much of the ’50s and ’60s.

Discoveries columnist Todd Baptista weighs in on a few of the deserving artists who’ve been excluded from The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame but deserve to be there.

Only two of the artists who earned Goldmine readers’ votes will be inducted in the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2012.