Dolly Parton, Eminem, A Tribe Called Quest and Beck are among the first nominees on the ballot for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this...
Dolly Parton, Eminem, A Tribe Called Quest and Beck are among the first nominees on the ballot for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year, the organization behind the museum and annual ceremony announced Wednesday.
Covering rap, country, folk, pop and more, the list of 17 potential inductees includes seven acts appearing for the first time – Duran Duran, Lionel Richie and Carly Simon also among them – plus 10 repeat nominees who have yet to be elected: Pat Benatar, Kate Bush, Devo, Eurythmics, Judas Priest, Fela Kuti, MC5, New York Dolls, Rage Against the Machine and Dionne Warwick.
More than 1,000 artists, historians and music industry professionals will now vote to narrow the field, with a list of inductees – usually between five and seven – to be announced in May. Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first commercial recording.
Rock Hall voters are asked to consider an act’s musical influence and the “length and depth” of their career, in addition to “innovation and superiority in style and technique”. But the venue’s exact criteria and gender preferences have seemed to grow in recent years, in part in response to frequent criticism of its treatment of black women and musicians. In 2019, a look at the organization’s 888 inductees so far revealed that just 7.7% were women.
From the last limit pushers to be elected are Jay-Z, Tina Turner, Whitney Houston, The Notorious BIG and Janet Jackson.
In a statement, John Sykes, president of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, called the latest nominees “a diverse group of incredible artists, each of whom has had a profound impact on the sound of youth culture.”
But in a universe of rebuffs, surprises and misfires, there is a cottage industry music obsessives dedicated to analyzing who gets recognized when – and who continues to get overlooked.
A Tribe Called Quest, the influential hip-hop group from Queens, has been eligible for nearly a decade but just received its first nomination, while white rapper Eminem, who is among the genre’s best-selling artists of all time, made the ballot in his first year of eligibility. Simon, the 1970s folksinger known for hits like “You’re So Vain” and “You Belong to Me,” is a first-time nominee more than a quarter century after qualifying.
Returning from last year’s poll, Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, rap-rock band Rage Against the Machine, new wave band Devo, early punk band New York Dolls, experimental pop singer Kate Bush and hit singer Dionne Warwick. Returning after some time off the ballot: Pat Benatar, Eurythmics, Judas Priest and MC5, now on its sixth nomination.
This year’s induction ceremony is scheduled for the fall, with details of the date and location to be announced at a later date, the hall said.
COMMENTS