The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame – Nominees and Should be’s

Just this week, the nominations for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were announced and included Tina Turner, Devo, The Go-Go’s, Iron Maiden, Chaka Khan, Fela Kuti, New York Dolls, Todd Rundgren, Rage Against the Machine, LL Cool J, Kate Bush, Carole King, Dionne Warwick, Foo Fighters and Jay Z. The last two acts became eligible for nomination this year as their first official recordings turn 25 years old this year. That is the single criteria required to be eligible for consideration for entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The act up for nomination must be 25 years removed from their first official recording release. Though I will admit, I was stunned that Iron Maiden, whose first major release was their self titled album in 1980, weren’t inducted into the Hall of Fame years ago. Cited as an influence to artists worldwide, Iron Maiden should be a shoo-in for induction on this (their first!) nomination. And, for me, the Hall of Fame is lacking some seriously influential groups and artists.

So let’s have a look at which 5 acts/artists I believe should be joining the Hall of Fame this year and some of the acts that (I think) should be but aren’t in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and, of course, we’ve got a Spotify playlist of all these songs for you to enjoy.

My Inductees

First and foremost, who I would be inducting into the Hall of Fame this year:

Tina Turner: Tina is already in the Hall of Fame alongside Ike Turner but Tina definitely deserves recognition for her solo work, which is, in most people’s opinions, more iconic than her work with Ike. With the likes of ‘Missing You’, ‘What’s Love Got to Do With It’ and ‘We Don’t Need Another Hero’ in her solo repertoire, Tina deserves some props for what the 80s called “one of the greatest comebacks in music history,” 12 Grammys and touring as recently as 2008/2009 at the age of 70. She is known as the Queen of Rock and Roll for a reason!

Foo Fighters: Yes, Dave Grohl is in the Hall of Fame as a member of Nirvana but the Foo Fighters have been a powerhouse of rock, winning 12 Grammys including Best Rock Album four times, and creating tracks like ‘Everlong’, ‘Best of You’ and ‘The Pretender’ since 1994. They created a sound that soon became synonymous with their name and released their tenth studio album, Medicine at Midnight, on February 5^th of this year and still sell out multiple tour dates around the globe.

Rage Against the Machine: Two Grammys and induction into the KERRANG Hall of Fame show that Rage Against the Machine have caught the attention of the world. 2020 was meant to be Rage’s return to touring with the Public Service Announcement Tour being the band first full length world tour in 20 years. And it’s not every day that a song like ‘Killing In The Name Of’ becomes a Christmas Number 1 which happened back in 2009. With songs like ‘Bulls on Parade’ and ‘Guerrilla Radio’, the resurgence of interest in Rage Against the Machine shows that their use of music as a form of social activism has drawn the attention worldwide.

Dionne Warwick: Winner of six Grammys and proclaimed queen of Twitter in December last year, Dionne Warwick is still touring at the age of 80 and has given the world classics like ‘Do You Know the Way to San Jose’ and ‘I Say A Little Prayer.’ Dionne Warwick is also one of the most charted female vocalists of all time with 56 of her singles appearing in the Hot 100 – 12 of which were top 10 singles.

Iron Maiden: When you sell over 100 million copies of your various albums worldwide with slim to no help from television and radio and play over 2000 shows across the globe, you know you have done something right but somehow this is Iron Maiden’s first time to be nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Bands like Metallica, Trivium, Avenged Sevenfold, Slipknot and, fellow nominees, Rage Against the Machine have claimed Iron Maiden as influential to their music. Their 16 studio albums have garnered them 29 awards from various sources, I think it’s about time they enter the Hall of Fame.

My Would Be Nominees

These are the acts I would nominate because they have been hugely successful, influential acts that meet the 25 year criteria. And, to make it harder, I’m going to try convince you these acts’ nominations are deserved by using one song. Here we go!

Soundgarden

Thin Lizzy

Pat Benatar

Mötley Crüe

Cyndi Lauper

Duran Duran

George Michael

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So, go to vote.rockhall.com to have your say on which acts you think should be inducted into the Hall of Fame this year. Enjoy!