At 6:00 AM this morning (why do they always do it this way?), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame dropped their nominees for the Class of 2026.  As always, they did so with less than 24 hours’ notice (again, why do they always do it this way?), but nevertheless, chaos, in all forms of Hall of Fame-based institutions, is what we do here.

This year’s 17 acts span musical genres and generations.

The nominees are:

The Black Crowes
Jeff Buckley
Mariah Carey
Phil Collins
Melissa Etheridge
Lauryn Hill
Billy Idol
INXS
Iron Maiden
Joy Division/New Order
New Edition
Oasis
Pink
Sade
Shakira
Luther Vandross
Wu-Tang Clan

We will be discussing these nominees in greater detail on our network of shows.

We here at Notinhalloffame would like to congratulate the musicians nominated.

As one of the most successful R&B singers of the 80’s and 90’s, Luther Vandross dominated the charts and sold out arenas across the United States. Vandross was as creative as he was smooth, and he took more ownership of his music than a lot of R&B stars did at that time. As popular and innovative as Vandross was, the bulk of his music was veering towards Adult Contemporary sounds and though he was revered in multiple circles there are few interpretations of Luther Vandross that screamed out Rock and Roll.

If any artist associated with Disco gets into the Hall next, the current top contender would have to be Chic. Ironically, if people wanted to make the argument that they aren’t a Disco band, a few of us at NIHOF would not completely disagree.