The nominees for the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame have been announced for 2021. An interesting mix to be sure, some repeat names here and a lot of first timers. I’ve but the list below and my personal favourites are in bold!
- Mary J. Blige
- Kate Bush
- Devo
- Foo Fighters
- The Go-Go’s
- Iron Maiden
- JAY-Z
- Chaka Khan
- Carole King
- Fela Kuti
- LL Cool J
- New York Dolls
- Rage Against the Machine
- Todd Rundgren
- Tina Turner
- Dionne Warwick
Tina Turner was inducted along with ex-husband Ike Turner back in 1991, Carole King was inducted along with song writing partner Gerry Goffin in 1990. If inducted they would be the second and third ladies to be in the HOF after Stevie Nicks was inducted as a solo artist in 2019 (Fleetwood Mac was inducted in 1998). If the Foo Fighters are inducted, Dave Grohl will have been inducted twice as Nirvana was inducted in 2014. Even so, Foo Fighters themselves are first time nominees along with The Go-Go’s, Iron Maiden, JAY-Z, Mary J. Blige, Fela Kuti, and Dionne Warwick. Chaka Kahn was previously nominated both as a solo artist and with her band Rufus.
You can vote for your favourites and see more information about the nominees here. Just a word of warning, although the ‘fan vote’ does count it only counts as 1 vote for each artist that hits the final 5. The only band from last year’s final 5 to make it was The Doobie Brothers. Over 1000 ballots are sent out to industry insiders, critics and journalists and those make up the lionshare of the votes. I’m going to vote anyway, I can always hope more people vote like me! Honestly, I think everyone on this list could be entered. The only reason I’m not voting for Tina and Carole is because they already have a spot. I’d love to see Kate Bush and LL Cool J get some recognition, they were innovators and they both have a pretty long legacy.
