The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame released the name of the artists that will be inducted in November.
Performers
Eminem was inducted in his first year of eligibility and first time on the ballot. Duran Duran, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, and Carly Simon were all also inducted in their first times on the ballot, though they have been eligible for years.
Pat Benatar, one of the biggest Rock Hall snubs until now, along with her guitarist Neil Giraldo, was finally announced as an inductee. The Eurythmics, who have been on the ballot several times, were inducted as performers as well.
Artists are eligible for the Rock Hall as performers 25 years after their first commercial release. The key word there is “after” — an artist who released their first commercial music in 1997 is eligible not in 2022, but in 2023. This is because music can be released at any time throughout a given year. So the Hall would not want to induct an artist in November of 2022, for example, if their record had been released in December of 1997 (not a full 25 years from when it was released). This is alleviated by typically having the induction ceremony early in the year, after all artists who release music in a certain year would be eligible (so sometime between January and April of 2023 for those 1997 artists).
The only other criterion for induction “include the influence and significance of the artists’ contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll.” Voters (music journalists and historians, industry professionals) look at popularity, longevity, influence, style, technicality, innovation and progression, and more when making their decisions to cast a vote. The artists receiving the most votes are inducted, as long as they were marked off on at least 50% of the returned ballots, which range from 500 to 800 each year.
Award for Musical Excellence
Judas Priest and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis will be inducted in the Award for Musical Excellence Category. The Award for Musical Excellence enshrines artists in the Rock Hall for having “dedicated their lives” to progressing music and who have “achieved a level of timeless distinction.” These artists have not been inducted in the performers category. It is unclear if they could still be inducted in that category. It is also unclear if this award is more prestigious than being inducted as a performer.
Ahmet Ertegun Award
Manager, music executive, and one of the Rock Hall’s founders Allen Grubman will be inducted in the Ahmet Ertegun Award category; along with engineer, producer, and Interscope Records founder Jimmy Iovine; and songwriter, producer, and Sugar Hill Records founder Sylvia Robinson. The Ahmet Ertegun Award is given to people who have had a “major influence” on rock music, and is usually given to industry leaders (executives, producers, songwriters, etc.), journalists, and other non-performers.
Early Influencers
Folk and blues guitarist and singer-songwriter Elizabeth Cotten and singer-songwriter Harry Belafonte will be inducted in the Early Influence category.
To learn more about the people and artists to be inducted on November 5, 2022, read their synopsis on the Rock Hall website (scroll down).
The artists on the ballot this year who will not be inducted are A Tribe Called Quest, Beck, Kate Bush, DEVO, Fela Kuti, MC5, the New York Dolls, Rage Against the Machine, and Dionne Warwick.
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