Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
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The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame unveiled its class of 2023 on Wednesday (May 3), and of the 14 artists nominated this year, seven made the cut and will attend the institution’s induction ceremony on Nov. 3.
While there were a series of snubs and surprises this year, a diverse bunch makes up the class of 2023: Kate Bush, who saw a major resurgence in 2022 due to her 1985 classic “Running Up That Hill” being featured in Stranger Things, Sheryl Crow, the late George Michael, Willie Nelson, Rage Against the Machine, The Spinners and Missy Elliott, who was notably eligible for induction for the first time in 2023.
In addition to the performers, hip-hop founder DJ Kool Herc and inventor of the power chord Link Wray will receive the musical influence award. Chaka Khan, Bernie Taupin (songwriter for Elton John) and Al Kooper (player/producer for Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Blood, Sweat & Tears) were selected to receive the musical excellence award. Don Cornelius, Soul Train host from 1970 to 1993, was also inducted with the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
“This year’s incredible group of inductees reflects the diverse artists and sounds that define rock n’ roll,” John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said in a press statement. “We are honored that this November’s induction ceremony in New York will coincide with two milestones in music culture — the 90th birthday of Willie Nelson and the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip-hop.”
The class of 2023 will get inducted into the Rock Hall on Nov. 3 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Whose induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame are you most excited for? Vote in our poll bellow.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced the inductees for its 2023 class this morning (May 3). Seven of the 14 performers nominated for this year were officially welcomed into the Rock Hall, along with six more artists and execs via the honorary awards — including two recipients of the Musical Influence Award, three of the Musical Excellence Award and one of the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
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This year’s honorees (and those left behind) largely fall in line with trends we’ve seen from the Rock Hall’s last handful of induction classes — but there are a handful of exceptions, as well as some examples of the museum’s standards perhaps changing faster than we even anticipated. Here are some of the more unexpected revelations from this year’s class.
SNUB: The White Stripes
Whoops: The artist we predicted as the most likely inductee among the 2023 nominees was nowhere to be found among the names announced this morning. Detroit garage rock duo The White Stripes, who became one of the biggest and most critically acclaimed rock acts of the ’00s, seemed like a bulls-eye pick for Rock Hall traditionalists — particularly given their own obvious reverence for the kind of rock history the museum tends to honor. But Jack and Meg White’s snub in their first year nominated perhaps indicates that the target has moved somewhat for Rock Hall voters in recent years.
It’s just the Stripes’ first year of eligibility, so it’s pretty likely they’ll be back on the ballot in years to come, and may still have a good chance of getting in. The last rock band who missed the cut after seeming like this clear a slam dunk for first-year induction was Radiohead, who lost out in 2018 and then were welcomed in the very next year. But it’s getting pretty clear that dead-center rock acts who simply feel like obvious Rock & Roll Hall of Famers can no longer be considered shoo-ins for induction — at least not in their first try.
SURPRISE: The Spinners
At the other pole of our February predictions was R&B quintet The Spinners, about whom we said, “The songs hold up, but the group itself likely remains a little too anonymous for inclusion — even on its fourth nomination.” Well, the voters disagreed this time around, as the ’70s soul hitmakers did indeed get through the Rock Hall’s doors on their fourth time out — making them the first vocal group to be inducted since The “5” Royales were brought in as an Early Influence in 2015, and the first to be voted in as a performer since Little Anthony & The Imperials in 2009.
It’s hard to know what specifically the Spinners owe their induction to — though certainly, no group with classic hits as timeless as “I’ll Be Around,” “Could It Be I’m Falling in Love?” and “Games People Play” really needs to justify its inclusion in any such institution. The group may have additionally benefited from a combination of seniority and sentimentality; they were one of just three nominees from the ’60s and ’70s on the ballot this year (and the one with the biggest pop hits), and they were also one of just three acts who had already been nominated three times before (with the other two also getting in).
SURPRISE: Rage Against the MachineSNUB: Soundgarden
To be fair, it was pretty close to a coin flip between these two great ’90s alternative-era bands — whose names will forever linked due to members from each coming together in the ’00s to form the similarly successful supergroup Audioslave. It seemed like it was time for one of the two to get in this year; both had been nominated before and both have very Rock Hall-friendly resumés. We ultimately leaned towards Soundgarden in our predictions, saying that the Seattle quartet “cast a bit longer a shadow [than Rage Against the Machine] — partly because of their earlier start (as the first real sensations of the grunge era) and partly because of the specter of late frontman Chris Cornell, one of the most inimitable rock frontmen of the last 40 years.”
However, the voters leaned the other way this year: Rage Against the Machine was finally inducted in its fifth try since 2018, becoming the closest thing to a traditional rock band let through the Rock Hall’s doors in 2023. (And with a rapping frontman in Zack de la Rocha and a sound that’s as indebted to funk and hip-hop as punk and metal, they’re not all that traditional.) Rage’s voting profile probably got a boost from its 2022 reunion tour — which was unfortunately cut short after 11 dates due to de la Rocha suffering a leg injury, but still may have rekindled enough memories of the band’s greatness to get it over the hump this time around.
SURPRISE: George Michael and Missy Elliott
Neither is a surprise individually, but together (along with fellow 2023 inductees Kate Bush and Willie Nelson) George Michael and Missy Elliott getting in demonstrates just how much Rock Hall voters have begun drifting towards iconic solo artists, almost regardless of what genre they’re most associated with. George Michael’s music occasionally flirted with traditional rock, but he was also proudly pop — in ways Rock Hall voters have not always rewarded or even approved of — while rap great Missy Elliott has very little connection to guitar-based rock music to speak of.
However, George Michael and Missy Elliott are undeniably crucial figures of the last 40 years of popular music — with Michael becoming one of the most trailblazing superstars on radio and MTV in the ’80s and early ’90s, and Elliott evolving the sound and image of hip-hop with her innovative albums, singles and music videos. In 2023, it appears that such an outsized impact on the music and culture of the rock era is more important to Rock Hall voters than any kind of strictly defined quintessential rockness. (Of the five solo performers inducted this year, Sheryl Crow is the only conventional rock star — and she also spent significant parts of her career dabbling in other genres like pop and country.)
SNUB: A Tribe Called Quest
Neither a legendary solo hitmaker nor a traditional rock band, ’90s rap trio A Tribe Called Quest seems likely to keep getting stuck in the middle for Rock Hall voters. The influential New York group is now 0-2, having been nominated each of the last two years but not yet inducted. Affection for the group among hip-hop heads and critics of all stripes remains perennially strong, so they’re likely to at least stay in the mix for years to come, but it may take something of a concentrated push to actually get them through the doors at this point.
SURPRISE: Chaka Khan (Musical Excellence Award)
Welcome, Ms. Khan! The funk and R&B icon of the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s had been nominated a staggering seven times as a performer — three times solo, four times along with her funk band Rufus — but had yet to be voted in, making her one of the institution’s preeminent bridesmaids. No longer: The Rock Hall finally took it out of the voters’ hands this year, making her one of three Musical Excellence Award recipients (along with storied studio musician Al Kooper and hitmaking songwriter/Elton John collaborator Bernie Taupin). Khan’s honorary induction is unexpected — probably for no one more than the singer herself — but logical, following such multi-time snubs as Kraftwerk, Judas Priest and LL Cool J taking a similar path to Rock Hall entry via the honorary awards earlier this decade.
George Michael came out on top of the fan voting when balloting wrapped up on Friday (April 28) for the list of 2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees. While the fan vote is not a guarantee that Michael will be enshrined in Cleveland, the late Wham! and solo star’s decisive victory in the fan portion of the vote — which closed on Friday (April 28) — saw him getting more than one million votes (1,040,072), which put him comfortably in front of second placer Cyndi Lauper (928,113), as well as Warren Zevon (634,130) Iron Maiden (449,682) and Soundgarden (427,040).
All but one of the previous five fan vote winners have ended up being enshrined, with the exception of the Dave Matthews Band, who did not get in despite rolling up more than 100,000 votes in 2020. Fans will find out on Wednesday (May 3) if the “Careless Whisper” star will make the cut for induction this year when this year’s list of nominees will be announced.
Others waiting to hear if they will join the Rock Hall this year include five-time nominees Rage Against the Machine, four-time nominee Kate Bush, as well as second timers Soundgarden, Maiden, A Tribe Called Quest and The Spinners; this year’s first-timers include Missy Elliott and The White Stripes. Other nominees this year include Sheryl Crow, Joy Division/New Order and Willie Nelson.
To be eligible for the RRHOF, an artist’s first commercial release must have come out at least 25 years prior to the nomination year. This year’s induction ceremony will take place in the fall. The top five artists selected through fan voting will be tallied along with the ballots from the Rock Hall’s international voting body to determine the Class of 2023.
Add Pretenders leader Chrissie Hynde to the list of artists who aren’t interested in Rock & Roll Hall of Fame enshrinement. On the heels of a scathing op-ed from Hole leader Courtney Love on Friday (March 17) lambasting the Rock Hall for its lack of female representation, Hynde posted a similarly dismissive Facebook note offering up her pointed opinion on the Hall.
“I don’t even wanna be associated with it. It’s just more establishment backslapping,” Hynde wrote. “I got in a band so I didn’t have to be part of all that.” The legendary singer said she was living a happy life in Rio De Janeiro when she was informed that the long-running band had been inducted in 2005. Hynde attended the event and performed two songs after being inducted by Neil Young.
She has since, however, thrown dirt on the idea of what she calls the Hall of Fame’s music-as-sport posture and in the FB post said that when she got the news that her band had been tapped her “heart sank because I knew I’d have to go back for it as it would be too much of a kick in the teeth to my parents if I didn’t. I’d upset them enough by then, so it was one of those things that would bail me out from years of disappointing them. ( like moving out of the USA and being arrested at PETA protests and my general personality).”
In fact, other than Young’s generous induction speech, she said the whole thing was, and is, “totally bollocks. It’s absolutely nothing to do with rock ‘n’ roll and anyone who thinks it is is a fool.”
Love’s Guardian op-ed was a continuation of a thread from earlier in the week in which she criticized the Hall for its lack of female representation, repeating the stat that just 8.48% of inductees are women and that there are only 9 women on the organization’s nomination board. She also noted the length of time it’s taken for some legendary women to be nominated, or inducted, as well as some glaring omissions that she says call into question what she dubbed the “ol’ boys club.”
A spokesperson for the RRHOF had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment at press time.
Check out Hynde’s post here.
Courtney Love is legendarily allergic to holding her tongue. The former Hole singer proved it again on Friday (March 17) with yet another broadside aimed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in an op-ed in the Guardian, a follow-up to an Instagram missive earlier this week in which she said she was “so over these ole boys #fixtherockandrollhalloffame.”
The piece, titled, “Why Are Women So Marginalised by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?,” opens with Love describing her lifelong obsession with rock n’ roll by stating, “I got into this business to write great songs and have fun.”
But, she writes, “What no magazine or album could teach me or prepare me for was how exceptional you have to be, as a woman and an artist, to keep your head above water in the music business.” She cites the pioneering work of Big Mama Thornton (“Hound Dog”), who paved the way for Elvis, and, later, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, saying that their songs, and the latter’s “evangelical” guitar playing, changed music forever and helped create rock ‘n’ roll.
She then notes Tharpe didn’t make it into the RRHOF until 2018 — following what she terms a public shaming — more than three decades after 1986’s, all-male group of initial inductees: Chuck Berry, James Brown, Fats Domino, Ray Charles, Little Richard, Sam Cooke, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.
For the record, she adds, Thornton is still not in today, when just 8.48% of inductees are women and only nine women are on the organization’s nominating board. Love also quotes music historian Evelyn McDonnell, a Rock Hall voter, as saying that among the musicians and music industry members on the voting committee, 90% are male.
“If so few women are being inducted into the Rock Hall, then the nominating committee is broken. If so few Black artists, so few women of color, are being inducted, then the voting process needs to be overhauled,” Love writes. “Music is a life force that is constantly evolving – and they can’t keep up.”
Love says this year’s nominations provided another reminder of “just how extraordinary a woman must be to make it into the ol’ boys club,” noting that more women were nominated this year than at any time in the organization’s 40-year history. That group includes Kate Bush, Cyndi Lauper, Sheryl Crow and Missy Elliott, as well as the White Stripes’ drummer Meg White and New Order keyboardist Gillian Gilbert.
However, Love wrote, visionary pop iconoclast Bush is on her fourth nomination (after first becoming eligible in 2004), despite being the first female act to hit No. 1 on the U.K. charts with a song she wrote at 19, “Wuthering Heights.” She didn’t make it onto a ballot until 2018, after the Hall of Fame’s co-founder and then-chairman, Rolling Stone magazine founder Jann Wenner, was inducted in 2004.
“Never mind that she was the first woman in pop history to have written every track on a million-selling debut,” Love wrote of 1978′s The Kick Inside. “A pioneer of synthesisers and music videos, she was discovered last year by a new generation of fans when ‘Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)’ featured in the Netflix hit Stranger Things. She is still making albums.”
The list goes on: 30 years to induct Nina Simone, the 2014 crowning of Linda Ronstadt, who released her debut album in 1969 — acts are eligible 25 years after the release of their first record — and was the first woman to headline stadiums, not to mention Tina Turner finally being ushered in as a solo act 30 years after her first induction with former husband, bandmate and abuser, Ike Turner.
“You can write the Rock Hall off as a ‘boomer tomb’ and argue that it is building a totem to its own irrelevance,” she writes. “Why should we care who is in and who is not? But as scornful as its inductions have been, the Rock Hall is a bulwark against erasure, which every female artist faces whether they long for the honour or want to spit on it. It is still game recognising game, history made and marked.”
Calling the Rock Hall a “king-making force” in the global music industry that can impact an artist’s concert ticket prices, performance guarantees and quality of their reissue campaigns, Love says getting enshrined can be a “life-changing” experience. “The Rock Hall has covered itself in a sheen of gravitas and longevity that the Grammys do not have,” she adds. “Particularly for veteran female artists, induction confers a status that directly affects the living they are able to make. It is one of the only ways, and certainly the most visible, for these women to have their legacy and impact honoured with immediate material effect.”
Love ticks off seven-time nominee funk icon Chaka Khan as another “tragic” miss in the Hall’s induction history and claims that, “The Rock Hall’s canon-making doesn’t just reek of sexist gatekeeping, but also purposeful ignorance and hostility. This year, one voter told Vulture magazine that they barely knew who Bush was – in a year she had a worldwide No 1 single 38 years after she first released it.”
A spokesperson for the RRHOF had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment at press time. Billboard has not independently confirmed the statistics or numbers cited by Love in the piece.
“If the Rock Hall is not willing to look at the ways it is replicating the violence of structural racism and sexism that artists face in the music industry, if it cannot properly honour what visionary women artists have created, innovated, revolutionised and contributed to popular music – well, then let it go to hell in a handbag,” Love concludes.
Courtney Love is going for credit in the real world. The Hole frontwoman is calling out what she feels is the lack of female representation in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in an Instagram carousel shared March 10.
Citing a tweet from author Jessica Hopper, from the same date, in which the journalist criticized the institution’s programs celebrating Women’s History Month, Love captions a screengrab of Hopper’s post, “So over these ole boys. #fixtherockandrollhalloffame.”
The author’s original post says that of the 719 Rock Hall inductees, only 61 — roughly 8.5 percent — are women. Hopper goes on to report that the representation of women in the Rock Hall is “worse than women-artists-on-country-radio numbers (10%) and women headliners at major music festivals (13%).”
“Thanks so much @msjesshopp I’ve been begging someone to do this math for decades,” Love added.
In 2020, ahead of the year’s Rock Hall induction ceremony, NPR reported on a similar — though lower — percentage. That year, according to the nonprofit media organization, less than 8 percent of inductees were women.
Janet Jackson also spoke out on the lack of women in the Rock Hall during her 2019 induction speech, closing with, “Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, please: 2020, induct more women.” Whitney Houston, Pat Benatar and Chaka Khan (with Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan) were nominated for the 2020 class. Of the three, only Houston was inducted that year.
In the second image of her carousel post, the Grammy-nominated rocker shares what appears to be a text message she sent to Dave Grohl, who was inducted into the Rock Hall in 2021 with the Foo Fighters, and in 2014 with Nirvana. “Have fun at rock hall Dave. Make sure and hold the seats of Tina turner & carole king, both who have been eligible for 30! Years each,” her text reads. (Both Turner and King were inducted as solo performers in the 2021 class; the former was previously inducted as part of Ike & Tina Turner in 1991, while the latter was inducted as part of the songwriting duo Goffin/King in 1990.)
Billboard has reached out to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Grohl’s rep declined to comment.
Six women have been nominated for the Rock Hall’s class of 2023: Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, Cyndi Lauper, Gillian Gilbert (with New Order) and Meg White (as part of The White Stripes). The inductees are set to be revealed in May; the ceremony will happen in the fall.
Check out Love’s Instagram post below:
Rage Against the Machine received its latest nomination for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame earlier this month, and Tom Morello finally reacted to the news in a new interview on Wednesday (Feb. 8).
“This is Rage Against the Machine’s fifth nomination. So always the bridesmaid, never the bride in a way,” he said in a joint sit-down with Måneskin for Audacy Check In. “It’s an honor, and it’s great for the fans, and it’s something my mom would be very happy (about).”
Other acts up for induction as part of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023 include Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, Iron Maiden, Joy Division/New Order, Cyndi Lauper, George Michael, Willie Nelson, Soundgarden, The Spinners, A Tribe Called Quest, The White Stripes and Warren Zevon.
During the chat, the rock guitarist also offered up his assessment of the Italian newcomers, whom he joined on the band’s hard-charging new single “Gossip” from their recently released third studio album RUSH!, saying, “It’s an unusual thing in 2023 to have a rock and roll band that has songs on the radio. Then to have a song on the radio that has not one, but two guitar solos in it. It really is an anomaly in this day and age.”
The members of Måneskin only had great things to say about working with Morello in the studio, telling host Nicole Alvarez they learned from his “passion and not really giving a f–k about all these limits or anything. And that really inspired us and made us [think], like, ‘If a legend does it this way, then for me it’s right.’”
Watch the full interview with Morello and Måneskin below.
Here’s a list that, frankly, no one wants to be on – artists who have had the most nominations to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame without being inducted. Because, whether they admit or not, most artists wants to be inducted, awarded, feted and celebrated.
Three of this year’s nominees to the Rock Hall are creeping up this list. This is the fifth nomination for Rage Against the Machine and the fourth for Kate Bush and The Spinners. It’s the second for Iron Maiden, Soundgarden and A Tribe Called Quest — but we limited this list to artists who have been nominated three or more times without being inducted.
Sometimes, the Rock Hall gives special awards to artists who have been passed over in the regular voting. Nile Rodgers received an award for musical excellence in 2017, the same year his band Chic was passed over for the 11th time. LL Cool J received the same award in 2021 following several snubs. The Rock Hall stresses that all routes to their honors are valid and should be accorded respect. They don’t want anyone to regard special honors as consolation prizes (even if many fans will see them that way).
LL’s musical excellence award removed him from this list. Chic remains on the list because the other members of the group — Bernard Edwards, Tony Thompson, Luci Martin and Norma Jean Wright — have yet to be honored.
Eight of this year’s 14 candidates are first-time nominees, which suggests that time is marching on in the Rock Hall nominating process, as it should. You can also see evidence of that in the “most recent nod” column here. 1950s R&B star Chuck Willis’ most recent nod was in 2011. You have to go back to 2005 for Gram Parsons’ most recent nod, and all the way back to 1988 for Ben E. King’s. Barring some new impetus to induct these artists, their chances appear close to nil. But never say never: Kate Bush had a thoroughly unexpected revival in 2022, which greatly boosted her chances of making it in this year.
Chaka Khan has faced the voters seven times without being inducted – three times on her own and four times fronting Rufus.
To be nominated for the Rock Hall, an artist or band must have released its first commercial recording at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination.
Here’s how Billboard‘s Andrew Unterberger pegs this year’s nominees in terms of their likelihood of being inducted this year — from least to most likely. Of the six repeat candidates, he is highest on Bush and Soundgarden making it in this year, with the other four deemed less likely to get the job done this year.
Here’s a list of the artists who have been nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three or more times but haven’t been inducted yet.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is filled with hundreds of artists that combine commercial success with cultural influence: The Beatles (class of 1988), U2 (class of 2005), Blondie (class of 2006), The Who (class of 1990), Stevie Wonder (class of 1989), Bob Dylan (class of 1988) and Whitney Houston (class of 2020) represent dozens of No. 1 records, platinum records and Grammy Awards (and one Nobel Prize in literature).
Sometimes, as with Parliament-Funkadelic (class of 1997), importance can also be measured by the number of times their songs were sampled in hit songs. In other instances, such as the Grateful Dead (class of 1994), inclusion of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame comes from an unmatched touring legacy more than a relatively modest sales history (In The Dark reached No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1987).
But influence alone might not be enough. In 2022, voters opted not to induct proto-punk groups New York Dolls and MC5, pioneering Afro-funk musician Fela Kuti and new wave group Devo (whose track “Whip It” reached No. 14 on the Hot 100 in 1980). They even passed on Beck, whose 180,000 album equivalents units far surpassed both Pat Benetar and The Eurythmics, although his airplay audience was far lower.
Influence can trump commercial success in determining who voters induct, however. The Ramones (class of 2002) and Velvet Underground (class of 1996) had little commercial success when active. Even as their fame grew over the decades, neither band’s catalog sales matched their significant cultural importance. The Hall has purposefully set aside space to recognize the genre’s foundational musicians. Blues greats such as Robert Johnson (class of 1986), Lead Belly (class of 1988), Howlin’ Wolf (class of 1991) and Elmore James (class of 1992) were inducted as “early influences” for their incalculable impact on rock music, not their album sales figures.
None of this year’s nominees have 2022 consumption numbers nearly as low as MC5 (8,000), New York Dolls (7,000) and Kuti (37,000) had in 2021. Warren Zevon is the at the bottom of the group with 66,000 units. Last year, Carly Simon’s 91,000 units was the lowest of the inductees.
Kate Bush, also passed over for induction in 2022, could have better odds this year after her 1985 recording “Running Up That Hill” re-entered the Hot 100 — peaking at No. 3 — thanks to the Netflix series Stranger Things. Last year, that renewed interest pushed Bush’s album equivalent up 326% and her U.S. radio audience up more than 5,400%, according to Luminate.
Returning nominees Rage Against the Machine and A Tribe Called Quest have some of the highest consumption figures of this year’s batch. Both groups had about the same number of equivalent units in 2021 and 2022. Soundgarden’s 218,000 album equivalent units are in the middle of the pack but could be helped by its airplay audience that ranked second only to Bush.
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Source: ROBYN BECK / Getty / Missy Elliott
Missy Elliott, A Tribe Called Quest, and The Spinners are among 14 other nominees who are one step closer to music immortality after being nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2023.
Wednesday, the complete list of nominees came out, including names like Rage Against the Machine, Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, Iron Maiden, Joy Division-New Order, Cyndi Lauper, George Michael, Willie Nelson, Soundgarden, The White Stripes, and Warren Zevon.
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For Elliott, who gave the world the iconic album Supa Dupa Fly, this will be her first time being on the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s ballot, per Variety, and there is no one more deserving of the honor.
Among her many accomplishments, Elliott is the first and only female Hip-Hop artist with six platinum albums on her resume. She has written numerous hits for herself and other artists while producing iconic records for the late Aaliyah, Keyshia Cole, 702, Nicole Wray, and Jazmine Sullivan.
This Is The Second Time For ATCQ
For ATCQ, this is the second time the Queens Hip-Hop group has made the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s finalist list. They were nominated in 2022 with last year’s inductees Enimem, Lionel Richie, plus Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
ATCQ is one of the best Hip-Hop groups ever, blessing the Hip-Hop genre with three platinum albums that gave us classic records like “Find A Way,” “Award Tour,” “Can I Kick It?” and “Check The Rhime.”
The 70s iconic Detroit R&B group The Spinners, best known for hits like “It’s A Shame,” got their start with Motown Records before jumping ship to Atlantic Records, releasing 19 Top 10 hits on the R&B Billboard Charts, including songs your parents still sing while cleaning the house like “Sadie,” “Ill Be Around,” “The Rubberband Man,” and “Might Love.”
How To Help Get The Into The Hall
If Missy Elliott and ATCQ make it into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, they will join the likes of Run DMC, the Beastie Boys, N.W.A., JAY-Z, LL Cool J, Public Enemy, Biggie Smalls, Tupac Shakur, and Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five.
If you want to ensure Missy Elliott, ATCQ, and The Spinners make it in, fans are encouraged to vote, which they can do daily on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s website until April 28.
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Photo: ROBYN BECK / Getty