Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has officially announced this year’s inductees RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, Willie Nelson, Missy Elliott, Kate Bush, George Michael, Sheryl Crow and THE SPINNERS will all be inducted during a ceremony held in Brooklyn on November 3. The induction ceremony will be held at the Barclays Center. Details of the TV broadcast will be announced at a later date.
In addition, Chaka Khan, Al Kooper and Bernie Taupin will be honored with the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame‘s Musical Excellence Award. Meanwhile, DJ Kool Herc and Link Wray will receive the Musical Influence Award. The late creator and host of “Soul Train” Don Cornelius is this year’s recipient of the Ahmet Ertegun Award, which honors non-performing industry professionals.
“We’re very happy with this year’s class,” says Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame CEO and president Joel Peresman. “People always try to pigeonhole what rock and roll is, but our story has always been that it’s a wide tent. It includes all different kinds of genres. We think this class really shows the breadth of rock and roll. When you have Missy Elliott, Sheryl Crow and THE SPINNERS along with RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and Willie Nelson, you’re covering a lot of things.”
RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE‘s Rock Hall induction will come after the band appeared on six ballots.
To be eligible for this year’s ballot, each nominee’s first single or album had to have been released in 1998 or earlier. Eight of the nominees (Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, JOY DIVISION/NEW ORDER, Cyndi Lauper, George Michael, Willie Nelson, THE WHITE STRIPES and Warren Zevon) were on the ballot for the first time. The 2023 class was chosen by a group of over 1,000 artists, historians, and members of the music industry the Rock Hall has selected as voters.
IRON MAIDEN was on the ballot for the second time this year, but the institution’s voters snubbed them once again. The only metal or metal-adjacent acts to have made it into the Rock Hall so far have been BLACK SABBATH, LED ZEPPELIN, METALLICA, AC/DC, JUDAS PRIEST, KISS, VAN HALEN, RUSH, GUNS N’ ROSES and DEEP PURPLE.
IRON MAIDEN finished in the fourth place in the fan vote for this year’s Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction class. George Michael led the fan vote with more than 1,040,000 ballots while Cyndi Lauper came in second with more than 928,000 votes. Warren Zevon came in third with more than 634,000 votes, with IRON MAIDEN landing more than 449,000 votes. Coming in the fifth place was SOUNDGARDEN with more than 427,000 votes.
More than three million votes were cast since voting began. The top five artists, as selected by the public, comprised a “fans’ ballot” that was tallied along with the other ballots to select the 2023 inductees.
Having been eligible for induction for nearly two decades, IRON MAIDEN is one of the biggest bands on the planet. Since the release of their self-titled debut album, the British heavy metal legends have released a further 16 full-length studio records, and sold over 100 million copies.
Dear @rockhall, f**k OFF. That is all. @RollingStone pic.twitter.com/CTC79qc0j0
— Chris Jericho (@IAmJericho) May 3, 2023
Soundgarden and Iron Maiden still not being inducted into the Rock Hall is actually ridiculous. Maiden continues to play stadiums worldwide, not arenas, stadiums. But sure…DJ Kool Herc. 😐 #RockHall2023
— John Hardin (@Hardito_ATX) May 3, 2023
This years nominees are an embarrassment. Rage and Link Wray are the only rock acts on there. You want diversity- there’s plenty of diversity within rock music. Sheryl Crow before Iron Maiden???? This is a joke @rockhall. @EddieTrunk pic.twitter.com/RKalvgahHo
— Chad Koenig/ Chad From Albany (@ChadFromAlbany) May 3, 2023
