The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has always been a chaotic animal. They have no pattern in when they announce the nominees, and when they announce the date, it is often in the middle of the night. The Cleveland-based institution was so oblivious towards the other major Halls, that they changed the date when they realized it was the same time as the Pro Football Hall of Fame had a scheduled announcement. Had they been paying attention, they would have seen that the PFHOF does follow an announcement structure, as do the other major sports, but their pattern has always been no pattern.
Last night, the Rock Hall did buck their tradition as we actually when they were going to announce it, which occurred on American Idol. Whether or not it is a good idea to do that on a show that is about manufacturing pop stars is a good or idea or not can be determined later, but at least it was not dropped out of nowhere in the middle-of-the-night press release.
Announced by Lionel Richie, who is one of the judges of American Idol, we learned who will comprise the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2024.
The newest members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class are:
A Tribe Called Quest: ATCQ meets the artistic and influence requirements, though we consider it a mild surprise that the voters placed them over Eric B & Rakim.
Cher: We said (as did many) that when Cher received her first nomination after being eligible for decades that this induction was a lock. Generating hits in multiple decades, Cher is a rock star, fashion icon and maverick, who said last year that she would never attend if chosen. So, of course, here we are!
Dave Matthews Band: The jam scene gains another entrant with the Dave Matthews Band, who join the Hall on their second ballot (they were first nominated in 2020). No other nominated act in 2024 was close to them stylistically, and they were apparently very close when they were nominated the last time. This was not a shock.
Foreigner: The arena rock band was allegedly told that as long as Jann Wenner was in charge, they would never be inducted. Wenner was ousted, and they were finally nominated. As we have seen often (and also here with Cher), when the voting body has a chance for someone who has waited over 20 years, they respond. We will see another example soon.
Kool & The Gang. Another band that had to wait over 20 years for their first crack at the Hall. Far more than “Celebration” they have the most eclectic body of work of all the inductees. Too bad there is only one member left.
Mary J. Blige: Mary J enters the Hall on her second nomination (she was nominated in 2021), and in regards to R&B/Hip-Hop authenticity, she has few peers.
Ozzy Osbourne: Already inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall with Black Sabbath, Osbourne had a very successful career in the 1980s and remains an iconic figure in Metal. Once he was nominated as a solo, this felt inevitable.
Peter Frampton: Like Foreigner, Frampton was part of the arena rock scene, had never been nominated, and was eligible for over 20 years. Is Wenner rolling in his grave? He’s alive? So, stewing in his juices.
This means that Eric B. & Rakim, Jame’s Addiction, Lenny Kravitz, Mariah Carey, Oasis, Sade and Sinead O’Connor id not receive the necessary votes to advance.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has a backdoor entry that they often use when acts they want acts inducted, which the voting body had passed on previously. This avenue called the Musical Excellence Award, saw two previous nominees, a recently deceased legend and a songwriter/producer, enter the Hall.
MC5: One of the most important bands in proto-punk history finally got their due, and this was likely their only path for induction. They were nominated in 2003, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 & 2022 and never seemed to come close in voting.
Dionne Warwick: Warwick and her smooth soul/adult contemporary voice enter Cleveland through the Musical Excellence Award. She was nominated previously in 2021 and 2022.
Jimmy Buffett: The leader of the parrot-heads died last year, and was one of the most successful touring acts ever.
Norman Whitfield: Working for Berry Gordy at Motown, Whitfield co-wrote and/or produced many of their hits, and was credited with the creation of “psychedelic soul”
The Hall also inducted Alexis Korner, John Mayall and Big Mama Thornton via the Musical Influence Award and Suzanne De Passe with the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
In the upcoming months, we will endeavour to revise our Notinhalloffame Rock List. Please be patient, as we also have to complete our Football, Basketball, and WWE revisions.
We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the newest members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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