Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2022 ballot

[EgonSpengler]

17 nominees for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame have been announced this year. I marked first-time nominees with an asterisk.

Public voting for up to 5 artists/groups is available online, though it requires a login. The current voting results are available, if you want to look at them.

Whether you decide to vote in the real poll or not, who are your picks?

The Nominees:

• A Tribe Called Quest*
• Beck*
• Pat Benatar
• Kate Bush
• Devo
• Duran Duran*
• Eminem*
• Eurythmics
• Fela Kuti
• Judas Priest
• MC5
• The New York Dolls
• Dolly Parton*
• Rage Against the Machine
• Lionel Richie*
• Carly Simon*
• Dionne Warwick

 

[EgonSpengler]

Pat Benatar, Duran Duran and Fela Kuti are the no-brainers for me. I have to think about my final two. I'm torn between personal favorites (Eurythmics; Kate Bush) and artists that I think were important and who probably aren't popular enough to get a lot of votes (MC5; The New York Dolls). I also don't know when artists are removed from this ballot, so I don't know if there's anyone here who's on their last chance.

p.s. It's crazy that Dolly Parton hasn't been on the ballot before now. She was a mega-star when I was knee high to a grasshopper.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Carly Simon, Dionne Warwick, Dolly Parton are my top three. I did not anticipate walkin by Dolly while working 9 to 5.

 

[EgonSpengler]

Carly Simon, Dionne Warwick, Dolly Parton are my top three. I did not anticipate walkin by Dolly while working 9 to 5.

I've had a hot-and-cold relationship with Dionne Warwick over the years. I loved "Then Came You" when I was a tot, but some of her stuff is too saccharine for me. Whenever "That's What Friends Are For" came on the radio, I couldn't change the station fast enough.

Music trivia: Dionne Warwick and Whitney Houston were cousins (Whitney's mother, Cissy Houston, is Warwick's aunt). But I suppose anybody who's a fan of either singer probably knows that already, and the rest of you don't care.

 

[Birdjaguar]

Dionne had awesome songs in the Motown era. Those alone are sufficient to get her in.

 

[Kyriakos]

I have only listened to a few of them, and probably would go for:

-Judas Priest
-Eurythmics
-Duran Duran
-Beck
-Rage Against the Machine

So all groups (apart from Beck, who uses a group but is too selfish to name himself as part of the plebs)

Kate Bush could be in there too for me, although like many of the others I chose, I never really paid much attention to her music. None of the five were groups I was fond of.

 

[EgonSpengler]

Kate Bush could be in there too for me[...]

I gave Bush my 4th vote. She's both someone I adore personally and someone I think was important and influential and all the rest, but without necessarily the popularity that would make her a shoo-in on a public poll like they're doing. Although I would have said the same thing about Eurythmics, but they're currently sitting at #5, so what do I know? Maybe (a) a lot of people my age are voting, or (b) the Eurythmics are more highly-regarded among younger people than I give them credit for.

I'm a little disappointed at how poorly Fela Kuti is doing. I guess I wouldn't be surprised if the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame isn't something people outside a few countries pay attention to (I'm not sure how many Americans pay it any attention, either).

Eminem? Really?

 

[Fippy]

Yup weird, Eminem in a Rock & Roll HoF.
Eurythmics next to Judas Priest, sure sure

 

[EgonSpengler]

Yeah, I guess I'm surprised Judas Priest aren't doing better. I was never a big fan of that genre of rock, but I thought they were pretty well-regarded.

Pat Benatar is kinda pulling away from the pack.

 

[Fippy]

Priest influenced many metal bands, they have a cult status like let's say Iron Maiden.
Well they are considered metal gods.

 

[EgonSpengler]

That's right, Iron Maiden aren't in. Neither are Motorhead. So I guess Priest getting the cold shoulder isn't that surprising, after all. (At least, I'd put Maiden and Motorhead in ahead of Priest, but like I say, that genre's not really my forte.)

 

[EgonSpengler]

I decided to give my fifth vote to Eurythmics. Benatar, Bush, Duran Duran, Eurythmics and Kuti.

I kind of love that nobody here is rushing to vote for Eminem.

 

[Samson]

Is the question "which are good" or "which are rock and roll"? I really like Kate Bush, Dolly Parton and Carly Simon but would not call them rock and roll. If someone told me Duran Duran was rock and roll I would laugh.

 

[Fippy]

Yep they are mixing in pop bands or singers.
Priest could actually take offense at this list if they would care

 

[Bamspeedy]

p.s. It's crazy that Dolly Parton hasn't been on the ballot before now. She was a mega-star when I was knee high to a grasshopper.

For country music, yes. I never associated her name with Rock n' Roll. Country-Rock for some songs, perhaps. I guess it's more for her song writing, as she wrote Whitney Houston's most famous song.

I also don't know when artists are removed from this ballot, so I don't know if there's anyone here who's on their last chance.

Don't know if there is a hard limit. Chic has been on the ballot 11 times according to this (hasn't been on list since Nile Rodgers got in as an individual) :

https://futurerocklegends.com/The_Snub_List/

 

[lymond]

My votes:

Beck
Kate Bush
MC5
New York Dolls
Duran Duran

 

[EgonSpengler]

Is the question "which are good" or [..?]

I'm torn between those artists I liked personally, and those I think were 'important' in some fashion, worthy of induction for their contributions or for the road they paved for others.

For country music, yes. I never associated her name with Rock n' Roll. Country-Rock for some songs, perhaps. I guess it's more for her song writing, as she wrote Whitney Houston's most famous song.

Well, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has never been about just rock & roll. The inaugural class included James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke and Robert Johnson. It's been 35 years, I think we can get past the name now.

Don't know if there is a hard limit. Chic has been on the ballot 11 times according to this (hasn't been on list since Nile Rodgers got in as an individual) :

https://futurerocklegends.com/The_Snub_List/

As with anything influenced by popular voting, some important people get left out, maybe especially if they were an early or obscure band in a particular genre.

That's right, Iron Maiden aren't in. Neither are Motorhead. So I guess Priest getting the cold shoulder isn't that surprising, after all. (At least, I'd put Maiden and Motorhead in ahead of Priest, but like I say, that genre's not really my forte.)

And, as if to prove my point, I see that Priest have been nominated 3 times, but Maiden and Motorhead only once each. I guess I'm willing to believe that Motorhead is more of a niche band, but I would have bet money that Iron Maiden was more popular than Judas Priest.

Gram Parsons was nominated 3 times? That seems like a needlessly deep dive, considering the long list of artists who haven't been nominated even once. I note that Parsons was not included as part of The Byrds when that band was inducted.

Some interesting bits I found on the website:

Hall of Fame Eligibility
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame only has one official criteria for induction: the artist must have made their first recording a minimum of 26 years ago. Unlike most sports halls of fame, an artist is never removed from eligibility unless they get inducted.

Induction Process for the Performer Category
The annual induction process is run by the Rock Hall Foundation and begins with a meeting in New York City of the Nominating Committee, which consists of roughly 30 artists, music journalists, Museum executives, and others in the industry. (The meeting was online during COVID). Each member is allowed to nominate up to two eligible artists. Through a series of votes, the list is narrowed to a final ballot of 15-19 names.

Why Are non-rock artists inducted into the Hall of Fame?
The name "Rock & Roll Hall of Fame" is a perpetual source of criticism from some fans and artists given the wide variety of musical styles it honors. The "rock 'n' roll" genre (e.g. Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, etc.) that gave the Hall of Fame its name effectively ended decades ago, so to remain relevant, the institution celebrates the wide range of styles that were birthed from that music of the 1950s. That includes rock, pop, R&B, electronic, disco, metal, and hip hop. Rock Hall chairman John Sykes has been describing it as anything that is the "sound of young America," and Museum president Greg Harris likes to reference Ice Cube's induction speech:

"Rock & roll is not an instrument, rock & roll is not even a style of music. Rock & roll is a spirit. It’s a spirit. It’s been going since the blues, jazz, bebop, soul, R&B, rock & roll, heavy metal, punk rock and yes, hip-hop. And what connects us all is that spirit. That’s what connects us all, that spirit. Rock & roll is not conforming to the people who came before you, but creating your own path in music and in life. That is rock & roll, and that is us."

While the Rock Hall fits many things under its umbrella, there are some genres that they typically don't honor. Among all of the different popular music genres, it has made no moves towards honoring country, although John Sykes said in 2021 that he was open to it in the future.

So is Dolly Parton the first country artist to be nominated? I'm not a country music fan myself, but I have to say, I'm a little miffed on their behalf that it was deliberately excluded all these years. I mean, c'mon. I think country and rock & roll are closer cousins, in a manner of speaking, than rock and some of these others genres. Country and folk are even closer than that - siblings, you could say - and there are folk artists in the Hall of Fame. Willie Nelson had a great quote that I love, iirc, something like, "back in the '60s, the difference between country and folk was how you felt about the Vietnam War." Anyhoo...

 

[Fippy]

Motörhead are not niche
They are a very popular band and Lemmy was a megastar.
All 3 are about equal in the metal community, which is what those guys really play or played..heavy metal.
Sure Lemmy always said hiya we are Motörhead and we play RnR - and it's not wrong by any means - but they usually played with other metal bands on concerts.

 

[Broken_Erika]

I kind of love that nobody here is rushing to vote for Eminem.

Eminem still got more votes than DEVO.....

 

[lymond]

So is Dolly Parton the first country artist to be nominated?

Johnny Cash
Chet Atkins
Floyd Cramer
Bill Monroe
Jimmie Rodgers
Hank Williams
Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys

above are pure country, although Cash certainly delved into other genres like Folk and Rock

Others like Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis certainly have ties to country

Parton did covers of Rock songs, and had some hits that I'd classify as Pop at least. (Plus, she's Dolly Parton ...she's an institution...has her own Theme Park for gawds sake)