2024 Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame Nominees
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| OVERVIEW
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Though he technically wasn't on the Hall Of Fame Nominating Committee, the shadow of notorious racist Jann Wenner had loomed over their selections each year from the Hall's founding almost forty years ago. Since he was removed from the Hall's operations last year the hope was that this would signal a turnabout in the behind the scenes organizational structure that might have a meaningful change on the way the yearly ballots were drafted.
But that's wishful thinking as the longstanding committee members haven't changed and it was their tastes, interests and in fact their own cultural prejudices in relation to era and musical styles which got them their positions there in the first place, right down to the token black members to try and offset criticism of the Hall while ensuring that those voices would never dominate the discussion.
So until they come to their senses and have entirely new nominating committees each and every year who predominantly came of age during the era focusing on the most recently eligible candidates, while at the same time making sure the demographics are split 50/50 black and white, as well as male and female, then it will always matter more who is in the room than who is up for consideration for induction.
The one change this year however is a move towards more first time nominees rather than the committee offering up the same candidates year after year, but even here the majority of those who are on the ballot for the first time have actually been eligible - but overlooked - for years, sometimes decades, showing that the Hall still has an ongoing age-related problem that is equal to those centered on race and gender.
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| THE MAIN PERFORMER NOMINEES
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MARY J. BLIGE |
Though she's made one ballot in the past (2021), that's the only time she's been considered for induction despite being one of the most impactful artists of her era, scoring more than 70 hits and having all thirteen of her albums hitting the Top Ten. Her credentials are overwhelming but as always her recognition for those achievements by those on the committee and the broader voting body remain criminally lacking. Should be a sure thing but due to demographic realities she's more likely a long-shot.
Qualifications: 8
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MARIAH CAREY |
You wondered how long the Hall could go on justifying not even nominating the most successful female solo artist in recent memory. While they surely denied Carey her due because they classified her as pop, once they began reaching to outside genres to induct big names like Dolly Parton, who called them out on their bullshit, it obviously became impossible to say Carey was not deserving based on that excuse. Furthermore, her music was much more inline with rock 'n' roll for much of her time on top, particularly in regards to her early embrace of sampling and remixes.
Qualifications: 9
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CHER |
Having publicly complained about her and ex-husband Sonny Bono never being nominated, the Hall finally sees fit to bestow some attention on Cher alone, which isn't without merit, as she was very successful over multiple decades, but seems somehow incomplete without her days as folk-rock's mainstream icons with Sonny. It remains to be seen however if her popularization of auto-tune, which is massively influential, will be held against her by a voting body that historically frowns upon anything seen as inorganic musically.
Qualifications: 6
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ERIC B. & RAKIM |
Of all of hip-hop's legendary figures from the first decade of dominance, the Hall's most egregious omission – among far too many omissions – has been this duo who got one early nomination (2012) but have been consistently ignored since then despite Rakim being one of the single most influential vocalists in the history of the idiom. The first rapper to successfully craft complex rhyme schemes which moved beyond the boasting, party toasting and MC roasting feuds that proliferated before him. As the one who more or less instituted the importance of flow in their rapping, everyone who followed in his wake traveled down the path he blazed.
Qualifications: 8
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FOREIGNER |
On one hand you have to be glad that Foreigner earned a nomination for a long and commercially successful career, something that was due them twenty years ago. But on the other hand, if they'd gotten one back then when first eligible it still would've been about all they could hope for because despite a number of hits over a dozen years they were a fairly run-of-the-mill act whose only real "innovation" was the inclusion of a choir in their biggest hit. A nice act worth remembering, but not quite deserving of the honor of induction.
Qualifications: 6
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PETER FRAMPTON |
Speaking of innovation, that's Frampton's claim to fame, as his use of the talk-box to electronically manipulate his vocals on his legendary massive selling live album from the mid-70's was a huge breakthrough for this technology and over the next few years it became somewhat ubiquitous before fading away and being seen as somewhat gimmicky. Though that episode in rock history is indeed deserving of recognition by a Hall, his ensuing career never had any significance and so his overall value is greatly diminished outside of that one album.
Qualifications: 6
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JANE'S ADDICTION |
Their second nomination (2017) probably would've been unnecessary had the group, who had perhaps the best album of 1990 and founded the phenomenally successful Lollapalooza tours, not broken up too soon and added to their legacy when they were still in their prime. By the time they reunited the music scene had moved on, which means their candidacy rests on two early albums and that first Lollapalooza tour which marked their initial farewell. If the voting body skewed towards that era they'd stand a decent chance at slipping in a side door, but otherwise they may have to wait until the current voters die off to be strongly considered.
Qualifications: 6
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KOOL & THE GANG |
Of the first time nominees it's not a newly eligible name that is most welcome on the ballot, but rather a group that began in the late 1960's by melding jazz and rock and emerged in the 1970's as one of the premier funky groups of the decade and then transformed yet again in the 1980's as more ballad oriented hitmakers. That's a massive scope of styles and yet in spite of widespread popularity and respect within the music community for their playing ability, they never sniffed a nomination until now… sadly after founding members began passing away. They should be mandatory, not just for their accomplishments, but to give the Hall the middle finger for denying their candidacy for so long.
Qualifications: 8
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LENNY KRAVITZ |
It's demoralizing to have to say that here's someone who's been carefully chosen by the Hall this year to try and give white voters who still wrongly think rock 'n' roll is guitar-based music, a black candidate to feel comfortable inducting so that if those same voters ignore the far more deserving hip-hop based acts the final tally won't seem so blatantly racist. While his image is outsized compared to his achievements Kravitz deserves better than to be a designated "safe choice" for those who shouldn't be allowed to cast ballots in the first place.
Qualifications: 5
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DAVE MATTHEWS BAND |
The second nomination (2020) for a group who don't have traditional qualifications for induction, as their commercial heyday in the 1990's was fair but not overwhelming and devoid of influence. Instead they crafted an image as a touring band which kept them notable for years but unlike others in that mold, like Grateful Dead of the recently deceased Jimmy Buffett, they didn't manage to become a subculture unto themselves in the process. An enduring band, but not an immortal one.
Qualifications: 5
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OASIS |
If the voting body was comprised of Brits of a certain age, Oasis would be a mortal lock, not just for their mid-90's run as one of the most eclectic bands in the world, but because of the legendary infighting between brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher which made for one of the longest lasting musical soap operas in the United Kingdom. Unfortunately for their candidacy, the rest of the world had long moved on and so their chances, like so many others, probably come down to the specific demographics entrusted with a vote.
Qualifications: 6
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SINÉAD O'CONNOR |
Unfortunately one trend the Hall has become famous for is nominating an artist right after an untimely death, meaning that even should O'Connor, who passed away last summer, make it in she won't be able to celebrate it. But the possibility of a sentimental vote tends to obscure the more objective qualifications for or against a candidate and while her biggest moments at the dawn of the 1990's had tremendous cultural significance, chances are the voting body knows little or nothing of the rest of her career to make a proper judgment. Her commercial returns stagnated but her artistic respect grew, making her a candidate with more subjective credentials than most.
Qualifications: 6
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OZZY OSBOURNE |
Though his unlikely second – or was it third – bout with massive fame is now itself a few decades in the past after his family's reality show left the air, he still retains more casual name recognition than most on the ballot which could help his chance considerably. Already in as Black Sabbath's frontman, most assumed that would suffice for crediting him for his career, but his solo years in the 1980's actually made him more well-known, or notorious, in part for non-musical antics, even as his music during that time was consistently impressive.
Qualifications: 6
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SADE |
The Nigerian born vocalist - and the band of the same name that she led - would bring some long sought after global focus to the Hall, though she herself was raised in Great Britain. They achieved mainstream recognition galore in the mid-80's and scored huge successes with their first few albums before a long break-up, but then came back strong with more chart topping albums, giving the group, and one of the most distinctive vocalists of her time, a surprisingly deep résumé and which makes them perhaps the most likely dark horse candidate of this year's ballot.
Qualifications: 7
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A TRIBE CALLED QUEST |
The only nominee to appear for the last three years tells you that thankfully someone in the room knows what the rest of the voters apparently remain oblivious to, which is this group who helped pioneer the alt-rap style scoring three massive hit albums in the early 90's and who did the near-impossible decades later with a comeback LP that was as popular as it was praised. The Hall has been particularly reluctant to induct hip-hop groups after the 80's-era entries, possibly to keep the voting body from getting too many new members who'd cast their ballots for other rap acts, so despite their credentials they are no lock to get in this time around either.
Qualifications: 8
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| RECAP |
Going by past elections it's not hard to predict the results this year, which would be a mixed-bag focusing more on big names rather than the most deserving candidates. Since the voting body presumably hasn't been overhauled there's no reason to expect that to change. But with five candidates standing out for their achievements it won't be difficult to pinpoint the Hall's continuing problems no matter what public relations moves they make in an attempt to counter the inevitable backlash.
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