The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

[Elton-Cetera]

If Wings are inducted in 2026, Denny Laine of the Moody Blues would join Curtis Mayfield and Matt Cameron as the other artists who waited 8 years for a second induction.

Phil Collins will be joining George Harrison as the other artist who waited 16 years between first and second induction.

This means no empty spots will be filled this year.


THE NUMBER OF YEARS AN ARTIST HAD TO WAIT
BETWEEN THEIR FIRST AND THEIR SECOND INDUCTION
INTO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME

01. 0 Years - Stephen Stills
02. 1 Year - Clyde McPhatter, Eric Clapton
03. 2 Years - Neil Young
04. 3 Years - Jimmy Page, John Carter
05. 4 Years - Michael Jackson, Sammy Strain, Peter Gabriel
06. 5 Years -
07. 6 Years - John Lennon, David Crosby
08. 7 Years - Dave Grohl
09. 8 Years - Curtis Mayfield, Matt Cameron
10. 9 Years -
11. 10 Years -
12. 11 Years - Paul McCartney, Paul Simon
13. 12 Years -
14. 13 Years - Graham Nash
15. 14 Years -
16. 15 Years -
17. 16 Years - George Harrison
18. 17 Years - Jeff Beck
19. 18 Years - Rod Stewart, Ozzy Osbourne
20. 19 Years - Lou Reed, Greg Rolie
21. 20 Years -
22. 21 Years - Stevie Nicks
23. 22 Years -
24. 23 Years - Ron Wood
25. 24 Years -
26. 25 Years -
27. 26 Years -
28. 27 Years - Ringo Starr
29. 28 Years -
30. 29 Years -
31. 30 Years - Tina Turner
32. 31 Years - Carole King

THE NUMBER OF YEARS AN ARTIST HAD TO WAIT
BETWEEN THEIR FIRST AND THEIR THIRD INDUCTION
INTO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME

01. 8 Years - Eric Clapton

THE NUMBER OF YEARS AN ARTIST HAD TO WAIT
BETWEEN THEIR SECOND AND THEIR THIRD INDUCTION
INTO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME

01. 7 Years - Eric Clapton

[Elton-Cetera]

THE 2026 ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

WHEN VOTING FOR SENIORITY

Phil Collins
Iron Maiden
Joy Division/New Order
Billy Idol
INXS
Luther Vandross
New Edition
Sade

WHEN VOTING FOR MOST RECENT ACTS

P!nk
Oasis
Shakira
Jeff Buckley
Wu-Tang Clan
Lauryn Hill
Mariah Carey
The Black Crowes

WHEN VOTING ROCKIST

Phil Collins
Billy Idol
INXS
Oasis
Iron Maiden
The Black Crowes
Joy Division/New Order
Melissa Etheridge

WHEN VOTING FOR BANDS ONLY

INXS
Sade
Oasis
Iron Maiden
New Edition
Wu-Tang Clan
The Black Crowes
Joy Division/New Order

WHEN VOTING FOR SOLO ARTISTS ONLY

Phil Collins
Billy Idol
Luther Vandross
Melissa Etheridge
Mariah Carey
Jeff Buckley
Lauryn Hill
Shakira
P!nk

WHEN VOTING FOR WOMEN ONLY

P!nk
Sade
Shakira
Lauryn Hill
Mariah Carey
Melissa Etheridge
Joy Division/New Order

WHEN VOTING FOR MINORITIES ONLY

Sade
New Edition
Mariah Carey
Lauryn Hill
Luther Vandross
Wu-Tang Clan
Shakira

WHEN VOTING FOR DEAD MEMBERS

INXS
Iron Maiden
The Black Crowes
Joy Division/New Order
Jeff Buckley
Luther Vandross

WHEN VOTING NON-AMERICAN (British Invasion)

Phil Collins
Billy Idol
Iron Maiden
Joy Division/New Order
INXS
Sade
Oasis

WORST CASE SCENARIO FOR TICKET SALES AND TELEVISION RATINGS

P!nk
Shakira
Lauryn Hill
Mariah Carey
Wu-Tang Clan
New Edition
Jeff Buckley

BEST CASE SCENARIO FOR TICKET SALES AND TELEVISION RATINGS

Phil Collins
Billy Idol
INXS
Iron Maiden
The Black Crowes
Oasis
Joy Division/New Order

[pauldrach]

Quite a few surprises this time. Still no Coldplay. Instead a quite a few rather freshly eligible mainstream stars get their first or second chance. No act that had peaked before 1979. All in all, a rather welcome ballot. Edie Trunk will have a rather hard time selecting five acts that suit his narrow taste.

[Elton-Cetera]

Quite a few surprises this time. Still no Coldplay. Instead a quite a few rather freshly eligible mainstream stars get their first or second chance. No act that had peaked before 1979. All in all, a rather welcome ballot. Edie Trunk will have a rather hard time selecting five acts that suit his narrow taste.

They get to vote for 7. It’s been that way for a few years.

[Elton-Cetera]

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Unveils 2026 Nominees: See the Complete List
Ten artists receive Rock Hall nominations for the first time.
https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/ ... 236186061/

Rock Hall 2026 Nominees Roundtable: Snubs, Surprises and More
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/rock-ha ... surprises/

Phil Collins, P!nk, and Oasis Lead the 2026 Rock Hall Nominees
https://www.vulture.com/article/phil-co ... inees.html

[Brian]

If I were voting with this ballot, Iron Maiden, Joy Division/New Order, Mariah Carey, and Wu-Tang Clan would get my vote. Oasis, P!nk, and Sade would most likely be the other three I'd vote for.

With Lauryn Hill, it depends on how you look at her nomination. If you look strictly at her solo career, then she's being recognized mostly for one important album and its singles, and is a similar case to The Go-Gos and Cyndi Lauper, both of whom have been inducted. In that case, she should probably be inducted eventually, but I'd say she's not quite one of the 7 best choices this time. However, if you also take into account her work with The Fugees, then she probably is one of the 7 best choices on the ballot.

I'd say Phil Collins is the best of the rest. For now, I'm withholding judgement on Shakira.

I find Jeff Buckley to be the biggest head scratcher on the ballot. If an artist is going to be inducted mostly for one album, I think it should be a more commercially successful album than Buckley's or more influential. If they're going to nominate an artist mostly for acclaim, why not Sonic Youth instead, who has been acclaimed for several albums rather than for just one. Sonic Youth has also been eligible for a lot longer than Buckley has.

I don't really see it for the Black Crowes either. They were a largely derivative band that had some commercial success, but not any more than a lot of other artists. This is their 2nd nomination, and Smashing Pumpkins have never been nominated, and I don't see where there's any reason to consider the Crowes as deserving as the Pumpkins.

Like pauldrach, I miss Coldplay's absence from the ballot. I don't know why the nominating committee is waiting to nominate them. But overall, I think it's a decent ballot.

[Ryan]

I find Jeff Buckley to be the biggest head scratcher on the ballot. If an artist is going to be inducted mostly for one album, I think it should be a more commercially successful album than Buckley's or more influential. If they're going to nominate an artist mostly for acclaim, why not Sonic Youth instead, who has been acclaimed for several albums rather than for just one. Sonic Youth has also been eligible for a lot longer than Buckley has.

Jeff Buckley is more influential than you'd think. To the point where I wouldn't be surprised to see him inducted in influence instead as the Hall is wont to do these days.

He's also huge with Gens Z and Alpha right now. There are some names on this ballot that may not ring a bell to people under 25, but Buckley isn't one of those. I could very easily see the Hall pull someone big like Ed Sheeran or Chris Martin to induct him.

I don't know what's up with Coldplay. Supposedly they don't want to be inducted until their big final tour is done and they want to wrap a bow on their career with a Hall of Fame induction. But that is all speculation at this point. I think they are more than worthy.

[Ryan]

If I had a ballot it would be

Mariah Carey
INXS
Iron Maiden
Joy Division/New Order
Sade
Luther Vandross
Wu-Tang Clan

I'd also consider Jeff Buckley, Phil Collins, and Lauryn Hill.

[Brian]

I find Jeff Buckley to be the biggest head scratcher on the ballot. If an artist is going to be inducted mostly for one album, I think it should be a more commercially successful album than Buckley's or more influential. If they're going to nominate an artist mostly for acclaim, why not Sonic Youth instead, who has been acclaimed for several albums rather than for just one. Sonic Youth has also been eligible for a lot longer than Buckley has.

Jeff Buckley is more influential than you'd think. To the point where I wouldn't be surprised to see him inducted in influence instead as the Hall is wont to do these days.

He's also huge with Gens Z and Alpha right now. There are some names on this ballot that may not ring a bell to people under 25, but Buckley isn't one of those. I could very easily see the Hall pull someone big like Ed Sheeran or Chris Martin to induct him.

I don't know what's up with Coldplay. Supposedly they don't want to be inducted until their big final tour is done and they want to wrap a bow on their career with a Hall of Fame induction. But that is all speculation at this point. I think they are more than worthy.

I wouldn't be surprised either if they inducted him in the Musical Influence category, since that seems to be more about an alternative means for the Hall to induct an artist than about actual influence. But maybe I am underestimating his influence. Can you tell me what he did first that was followed by others?

I could also see a big name inducting Buckley, because there are some pretty big artists who like him.

[Tim]

Feel tying influence to innovation specifically is more of a ddd thing, the more casual usage would be as a synonym for inspiration (or effect) which I think a lot of notable artists cited Buckley as.

[DmitryXenon]

Jeff Buckley is truly great, but I don't understand how they could forget about his father. Tim Buckley deserves to be in the Hall of Fame just as much as Jeff.

[Elton-Cetera]

The 2026 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees
https://zacksoldschoolmusic.blogspot.co ... -fame.html

Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame 2026 Nominees
https://sterlewine.substack.com/p/rock- ... 6-nominees

[pauldrach]

Quite a few surprises this time. Still no Coldplay. Instead a quite a few rather freshly eligible mainstream stars get their first or second chance. No act that had peaked before 1979. All in all, a rather welcome ballot. Edie Trunk will have a rather hard time selecting five acts that suit his narrow taste.

They get to vote for 7. It’s been that way for a few years.

Well, that won't necessarily make it easier for him.

[Brian]

Feel tying influence to innovation specifically is more of a ddd thing, the more casual usage would be as a synonym for inspiration (or effect) which I think a lot of notable artists cited Buckley as.

Yes, maybe Ryan and I were talking about two different things. Of what you mentioned, I can see calling effect influence more than calling inspiration influence. To say an artist influenced a later artist, one should be able to hear something distinctive of the earlier artist in the later artist. But if for instance Ice Cube says that he was inspired by Pink Floyd or Queen, I can't really see saying that they influenced him if it can't be heard in the music.

BTW, I note that in ManPerson's revision in progress of the '90s Rock Artists list, Buckley is at #56, which I think is probably pretty close to being the right spot for him. If so, and his career was entirely in the '90s, I'll note that there are a lot of artists ahead of him on that list who have never been nominated. He is way ahead of the Black Crowes though. Maybe I should have called them the biggest head scratcher on the list.

[Zach]

I'd lump Melissa Etheridge with the Black Crowes as the biggest head-scratcher. She had two or three years of mainstream success, with two (maybe three) big hits and respectable industry acclaim, including a couple of Grammys, but she wasn't quite as broadly lauded as other female pop-rock stars of the era. Her influence feels somewhat unremarkable--she's noted as one of the earlier artists to come out as gay in her heyday, but that's kind of a "so what?" to me.

[Elton-Cetera]

I'd lump Melissa Etheridge with the Black Crowes as the biggest head-scratcher. She had two or three years of mainstream success, with two (maybe three) big hits and respectable industry acclaim, including a couple of Grammys, but she wasn't quite as broadly lauded as other female pop-rock stars of the era. Her influence feels somewhat unremarkable--she's noted as one of the earlier artists to come out as gay in her heyday, but that's kind of a "so what?" to me.

Melissa Etheridge has been compared to Janis Joplin in the past. There are people who think she looks and sounds like her.

[Elton-Cetera]

Rock Hall Inches Forward
https://populismblog.wordpress.com/2026 ... s-forward/

Off to the races: the 2026 Ballot
https://rockhallmonitors.blogspot.com/2 ... allot.html

[Ryan]

Feel tying influence to innovation specifically is more of a ddd thing, the more casual usage would be as a synonym for inspiration (or effect) which I think a lot of notable artists cited Buckley as.

Yes, that's exactly what I'm talking about. Thom Yorke described Jeff Buckley as a significant influence on his singing from The Bends onward, and as have Chris Martin of Coldplay and Matt Bellamy of Muse, for a few examples.