Epiphany: There are just way too many of these. Last year 13 acts were inducted. Unless you think that, on average, 13 HoF-worthy bands debut in a given year, it’s a continual lowering of the bar.
Anyway, this year we have
Black Crowes
Jeff Buckley
Mariah Carey
Phil Collins
Melissa Etheridge
Lauryn Hill
Billy Idol
INXS
Iron Maiden
Joy Division/New Order
New Edition
Oasis
P!NK
Sade
Shakira
Luther Vandross
Wu-Tang Clan
Thoughts: At this point it’s hard to tell what the criteria are. If they’re going to pick a dozen of them, who’s to decide who gets left out?
New Order and Oasis are, to my mind, the only two no-brainers on the list. One was hugely influential, the other was just huge, and their music is indisputably “rock and roll”, which can’t be said of many of these nominees.
No offense to Lauryn Hill, but the line for female rappers starts behind Mary J. Blige, who should have been in a long time ago.
Carey and Collins both sold tons of records so will probably get in, even though that’s IMO stretching the definition of “rock” to the breaking point. Same for Luther Vandross.
Personal experience: I remember in high school there were some kids whose favorite band was INXS, and others whose favorite band was New Order. Even among those of us who generally liked Billy Idol, I don’t remember anyone ever arguing that he was one of the very best musicians around.
Bear in mind that “only” seven of those were selected from the main “Performer” ballot. The others were selected separately, by committees within the Hall voters (Influencer, Musical Excellence, Ertegun Award). But, yeah.
Each year, one new “year” of musical acts becomes eligible for the Hall (they become eligible 25 years after their first commercial recording was released). Assuming that five to seven acts gets voted in on the Performer ballot in a given year, that means that either:
Five to seven acts which debuted in a single year are worthy of the Hall (unlikely)
Acts which have been on the ballot repeatedly, but not ever selected, finally get in (mostly what happens)
Acts which had been left off the ballot for years, but finally get added on, get in (happens sometimes; I think that Electric Light Orchestra was an example of that – they were overlooked for years, and then got in on the first try on the ballot)
The voting and the induction ceremony drive a whole lot of PR for the Hall (which in turn drives their ticket sales and merchandise sales), and that demands a range of new inductees every year, even if only some of them are clearly in the “should be in” category.
A few days ago, I was actually considering starting a separate thread for a discussion of “Weird Al,” and whether Dopers felt he belongs in the RRHoF (spoiler: I do).
Having genre Halls of Fame around the country is the way to go. The Hip Hop Hall of Fame in Atlanta, and so on. That place in Cleveland should be renamed the Pop Music Hall of Fame. In the actual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, doesn’t matter where it’s located, none of these nominees would be inducted. Maybe INXS. Eh, maybe Oasis would get in, but holy shit, what a garbage band.
Indeed. It’s widely believed that they were among the groups which suffered from Mr. Wenner’s personal dislike of prog rock; the fact that they, Yes, and Rush all made it into the Hall in rapid succession does suggest that there was finally a shift.
Maybe, but I’m not acknowledging any such shift until they induct King Crimson. I mean, they should be at the top of the list of prog nominees. I would insist that if any prog band is a no-brainer, they’re the ones.
My pet candidates are Motorhead, not huge sellers but highly influential and generally awesome. Also agree at this point there are many acts in which aren’t nearly as popular and enduring as Weird Al.
Other worthy candidates, just looking at a list of previous nominees: Bad Brains, Afrika Bambaata, Beck, Devo, John Prine, The Replacements, The Smiths. However, no hardcore punk acts should get in ahead of the Dead Kennedys or Black Flag.
I’m puzzled as to why A Tribe Called Quest breezed in shortly after becoming eligible, but De La Soul has never even been nominated. I recall them as being equally prominent in the “conscious hip hop” scene of the early 90s. (OK, now I had to go check, and yeah, during their careers TCQ had six Grammy nominations, but never won, DLS had four but won one. Seems pretty comparable)
Correction to my above post: Mary J Blige was inducted in 2024. Lauryn Hill, your table is ready.
At some point I should stop ruminating about this and get some work done, but it doesn’t appear that that point is now.
The Pixies and Pavement are two other acts whose exclusion seems hard to justify at this point. Also the Butthole Surfers ought to be considered as an early influence on the whole 90s “alternative rock” genre.
My sentimental but hard to rationally justify choice: Arlo Guthrie.
I admit, I have never listened to anything by them. But, every time I see the name, I remember an interview with Micky Dolenz in Playboy in the '80s (my roommate had a subscription). Dolenz was asked to name some newer bands which he liked, and he mentioned the Surfers. My recollection of his quote: “great band…shame about the name.”
A complete list of (IMO) remotely rock-adjacent acts that are eligible, have sold over 100 million units and still aren’t in (not counting those currently nominated):
Meat Loaf, Backstreet Boys, B’z, Linkin Park, Maroon 5, Lil Wayne, Britney Spears, Coldplay, Kanye West, Katy Perry, Beyonce, and Drake. (I’d never heard of B’z either, but apparently they’re big in Japan). Fair to say none of those are critic’s favorites, except for Kanye who is clearly being blackballed for having become a Nazi lunatic, and Beyonce who I can’t believe isn’t already in.
Jeff Buckley aside, it does appear that the window is pretty much closed on any acts from the 60’s if not the 70’s at this point (yes including the 2 prog snubs in KC and Tull).
