George Michael, Kate Bush and the White Stripes are among the artists vying for a place in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year.
The names of the artists and bands nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the class of 2023 have been announced.
Among them, metal legends Iron Maiden, post-punk pioneers turned dance-rock act Joy Division/New Order, eccentric pop icon Cyndi Lauper, pop titan George Michael, country legend Willie Nelson, Rage Against the Machine, grunge pioneers Soundgarden, garage blues revivalists The White Stripes and scathing songwriter Warren Zevon.
Rage Against The Machine, Kate Bush, A Tribe Called Quest, Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliot and The Spinners also complete the list.
Of those nominees, eight (or rather nine) are first-time nominees: Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, Joy Division/New Order, Cyndi Lauper, George Michael, Willie Nelson, The White Stripes and Warren Zevon. Also receiving nominations are The White Stripes and Missy Elliott in their first year of eligibility.
This means, of course, that the remaining six artists are candidates again, having been nominated in the past, but not voted for.
Kate Bush was up for re-election in 2018, 2021 and 2022, but appears to have a headwind in her bid this year, with her classic song 'Running Up That Hill' becoming one of last year's biggest hits after his appearance in the popular series 'Stranger Things'.
Rage Against The Machine are nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for the fourth time overall. The band was nominated again in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
Soul band The Spinners have also been nominated three other times, but it's been seven years since their last nomination. The Spinners were again inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2012, 2015 and 2016.
Soundgarden, Iron Maiden and A Tribe Called Quest are all nominated for the second time this year, having been nominated once in the recent past – in 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively.
An artist is eligible for nomination to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at least 25 years after their first commercial release.
Missy Elliott earned a nomination when her July 1997 album 'Supa Dupa Fly' turned 25 last summer.
The White Stripes didn't release a full-length album until 1999, but apparently earned the right to be nominated because of their first single, 'Let's Shake Hands', released in March 1998.
It's worth noting that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's nominating committee began meeting earlier this year and did not begin deliberations the year before, as was previously the practice.
This means that 2023 is somewhat of a "catch-up year" for artists who first released music in 1997 or 1998.
Regarding the aforementioned issue regarding the number of artists nominated for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2023, the two bands of Joy Division and New Order are competing with one joint nomination.
For the uninitiated, Joy Division was a British rock band that helped evolve punk into post-punk from 1976-1980.
After the suicide of lead singer Ian Curtis in the early 1980s, remaining members Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook and Stephen Morris formed New Order, adding keyboardist Gillian Gilbert and subsequently setting the standard for dance-rock and alternative dance music.
While some may take issue with the two bands being inducted as one, there is precedent: In the past, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has been inducted together by Parliament/Funkadelic in 1997, the (Young) Rascals also in 1997, and Small Faces/Faces as one in 2012.
The artists who will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the class of 2023 will be revealed in May and the ceremony will take place in the fall.
The votes of the top five artists from the public vote will be tallied with the votes from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's international voting body.
Fans can vote online every day until April 28 at vote.rockhall.com or at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, OH.
“This remarkable list of inductees reflects the diverse artists and music that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame honors and celebrates. These artists created their own sounds that influenced multiple generations and influenced countless others who followed in their footsteps,” said John Sykes, president of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation.
It is recalled that Eminem, Dolly Parton, Duran Duran, Lionel Richie, Pat Benatar, Eurythmics, and Carly Simon joined the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the class of 2022, while Judas Priest received the Music Excellence Award.
The artists nominated for the
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2023
• Kate Bush
• Sheryl Crow
• Missy Elliott
• Iron Maiden
• Joy Division/New Order
• Cyndi Lauper
• George Michael
• Willie Nelson
• Rage Against The Machine
• Soundgarden
• The Spinners
• A Tribe Called Quest
• The White Stripes
• Warren Zevon
Source: www.hit-channel.com
