After unveiling one of the most diverse ballots in the organisation’s history back in February, on Wednesday the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame belched out its inductees for 2021 and left us with a mixed bag.
On the back of longstanding criticism and a recent change in leadership, seven female acts made the ballot in 2021. Kate Bush, Mary J. Blige, Carole King, Chaka Khan, The Go-Go’s, Dionne Warwick, and Tina Turner made the list alongside Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti, arch new wave icons Devo, and archetypal glam scenesters the New York Dolls.
But on induction day the Rock Hall tilted in the direction of familiar faces. Carole King and Tina Turner received their belated dues as solo artists, following King’s induction with her songwriting partner Gerry Goffin in 1990, and Turner’s induction for her incendiary R&B antics with Ike in 1991. The abundant discography of Todd Rundgren and the groundbreaking all-girl success of The Go-Go’s make them worthy additions.
But in their first year of eligibility, did the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame need to add the flaccid rock of Foo Fighters, especially with Dave Grohl already added as part of Nirvana in 2014? Jay-Z may be a pop-cultural titan, but was his influence on the culture greater than that of LL Cool J or Mary J. Blige? And while Kate Bush and Fela Kuti will surely get another spin as the Rock Hall seeks to expand its palette, after near misses for Rufus does the ineffable talent of Chaka Khan risk falling through the cracks?
With King, Turner, The Go-Go’s, Rundgren, Foo Fighters, and Jay-Z making up the class of 2021, the omission of nominated bands Iron Maiden and Rage Against the Machine made it another bad year for heavy metal and rap rock. LL Cool J will at least enter the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with an Award for Musical Excellence, devised by the organisers as a way to credit unheralded performers or fill unseemly gaps.
Like LL, the towering krautrock band Kraftwerk have been previously nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on six occasions without making the final class. In 2021 they too will enter the Rock Hall through a side door courtesy of a storied and prestigious Early Influence Award. They will be joined by the Delta bluesman Charley Patton and spoken word pioneer Gil Scott-Heron, while the keyboardist Billy Preston and guitarist Randy Rhoads accompany LL Cool J in the excellence category.
Artists become eligible for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twenty-five years after their first commercial recording. Inductees are selected by an international voting body of more than 1,000 experts, including past winners, fellow artists, writers and critics, and assorted industry figures. With scarcely a nod towards audience participation, the Rock Hall holds a nominal fan ballot, which counts as a single vote.
