The Songwriters Hall of Fame has announced the nominees for the Class of 2025.  The nominating committee has until December 22 to submit their ballots, including up to three nominees in both the Non-Performing Songwriters and Performing Songwriters.

The Non-Performing Songwriters are:

Walter Afanasieff:  Afanasieff is an accomplished musician in his own right and also has extensive work as a producer.  His known work as a songwriter includes: “All I Want for Christmas is You,” “Butterfly,” “Forever,” “Hero,” “One Sweet Day” (with Mariah Carey), “She Bangs” (with Ricky Martin) and “Licence to Kill.”

Steve Barri and P.F. Sloan:  The duo co-wrote “Secret Agent Man” (performed by Johnny Rivers), “Eve of Destruction” (performed by Barry McGuire), and “Where Were You When I Needed You” (performed by The Grass Roots).

Mike Chapman:  A highly sought-after producer in Britain and America in the 1970s and early 80s, Chapman also penned a slew of hits, including “Little Willy” and “Ballroom Blitz” (performed by The Sweet), “Stumblin In” (performed by Suzi Quatro), “Kiss You All Over” (performed by Exile) and “Love is a Battlefield” (performed by Pat Benatar).

Sonny Curtis:  A member of the Crickets with Buddy Holly, Curtis wrote “More Than I Can Say” (which became a big hit for Leo Sayer decades later), “I Fought the Law” (made famous by the Bobby Fuller Four and The Clash, “Walk Right Back” (popularized by the Everly Brothers) and “Love is All Around,” the theme for the Mary Tyler Moore Show.

Tom Douglas:  Douglas co-penned many Country Music hits, including “The House That Built Me” (performed by Miranda Lambert), “Little Rock” (performed by Collin Raye), “I Run to You” (performed by Lady Antebellum), “Grown Men Don’t Cry” (performed by Tim McGraw) and “Love Me Anyway” (performed by Pink and Chris Stapleton.

Franne Golde:  Spanning a wide array of genres, Golde wrote “Stickwitu” (performed by The Pussycat Dolls), “A Man Ain’t Made of Stone” (performed by Randy Travis), “Somebody’s Out There Watching” (performed by The Kinleys), “Dreaming of You” (performed by Selena), “Don’t You Want Me” (performed by Jody Watley) and “Nightshift” (performed by The Commodores).

Ashley Gorley:  Gorley has been one of the most successful Country songwriters over the past 15 years, with hits including “I Had Some Help” (performed by Post Malone and Morgan Wallen), “Last Night” (performed by Morgan Wallen), “You Should Probably Leave” (performed by Chris Stapleton), “Play It Again” (performed by Luke Bryan) and “You’re Gonna Miss This” (performed by Trace Adkins).

Rodney “Darkchild” Jenkins:  Jenkins was also an accomplished producer and rapper who wrote or co-wrote hits like “Say My Name” (performed by Destiny’s Child), “The Boy is Mine” (performed by Brandy and Monica), “You Rock My World” (performed by Michael Jackson), “Déjà Vu” (performed by Beyonce) and “Telephone” (performed by Lady Gaga).

Dennis Lambert and Brian Potter:  The pair collaborated on hits such as “One Tin Soldier” (performed by Coven), “Don’t Pull Your Love” (performed by Hamilton, Joe Frank & Reynolds), “Ain’t No Woman” (performed by The Four Tops), and “Country Boy, “It Only Takes A Minute” (performed by Tavares) and You’ve Got Your Feet in L.A.” (performed by Glen Campbell).

Tony Macauley:  From England, Macauley wrote significant hits such as “Baby Now That I Found You” and “Build Me Up Buttercup” (performed by The Foundations), “Last Night I Didn’t Get to Sleep At All” (performed by The 5^th Dimension, “Love Grows where my Rosemary Goes” (performed by Edison Lighthouse) and “Don’t Give Up on Us” (performed by David Soul).

Roger Nichols:  Nichols was a highly respected engineer best known for his work with Steely Dan, among many other Rock and Roll Hall of Fame acts.  He also co-wrote many of the hits by the Carpenters, including “I Won’t Last a Day Without You,” “Rainy Days and Mondays,” and “We’ve Only Just Begun.”

Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham.  The respected duo’s catalog includes soul staples like “I’m Your Puppet” (performed by James & Bobby Purify), “Cry Like a Baby” (performed by The Box Tops), “A Woman Left Lonely” (performed by Janis Joplin), “Out of Left Field” and “It Tears Me Up” (performed by Percy Sledge).  Oldham is already inducted as a Sideman in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Narada Michael Walden.  An excellent drummer, Walden was also a producer and wrote hits such as “How Will I Know” (performed by Whitney Houston), “You’re A Friend of Mine” (performed by Jackson Browne and Clarence Clemons), “Freeway of Love” and “Who’s Zoomin’ Who” (performed by Aretha Franklin) and “Baby Come to Me” (performed by James Ingram and Patti Austin).

The Performing Songwriters are:

Bryan Adams.  Adams wrote and performed all of his hits, the most notable being “Everything I Do I Do it For You,” “Heaven,” “All for Love,” “Summer of ’69”, “Heaven,” and “Have You Really Loved a Woman.”

Boy George.  The frontman and leader of the successful 1980s band Culture Club, Boy George, wrote hits such as “Karma Chameleon,” “Do Yoi Really Want to Hurt Me,” “Time (Clock Of The Heart),” and “Miss Me Blind.”

George Clinton.  The mastermind behind Parliament and Funkadelic, Clinton wrote songs like “Atomic Dog,” “Flash Light,” “Give Up The Funk (Tear the Roof off the Sucker.” “Knee Deep,” and “I’d Rather Be With You.”  He is already in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Sheryl Crow.  Another Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Crow wrote her signature hits among which were “Soak Up the Sun,” “A Change Would Do You Good.” “If It Makes You Happy.” “All I Wanna Do.” and “Everyday Is a Winding Road.”

The Doobie Brothers (Tom Johnston, Michael McDonald, and Patrick Simmons.  The group penned multiple hits such as “Listen to the Music,” “Takin’ It to the Streets.” “Black Water,” “What a Fool Believes,” and “Long Train Runnin’.”

Eminem:  Eminem is also in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and is nominated here for the strength of writing songs like “Lose Yourself.” “Stan,” “Mockingbird,” “Houdini.” and “Rap God.”

David Gates:  Hates was the leader of the group Bread, who are known for their hits “Everything I Own,” “Make It With You.” “Baby I’m-a Want You,” “The Guitar Man” and “If.”

Janet Jackson:  Jackson co-wrote many of her famous hits, including “Black Cat,” “Together Again,” “Again,” and “Rhythm Nation.”  She is also a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee.

Tommy James:  The leader of Tommy James and the Shondells, James wrote their hits, which include “Crimson and Clover,” “Mony Mony,” and “Sweet Cherry Wine.” and “Crystal Blue Persuasion.”

Mike Love:  From The Beach Boys, Love’s writing credits include “California Girls,” “Good Vibrations,” “I Get Around” and “Fun, Fun, Fun.”

Alanis Morissette:  Morrisette dominated the mid-90s with songs like “You Oughta Know.” “Ironic,” “Hand in My Pocket,” “Uninvited” and “Thank U.”

N.W.A. (Dr. Dre, Easy E, Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella):  N.W.A. is already in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and they are here for songs like “Dopeman,” “911 Is a Joke,” “Fuck Tha Police,” “Gangsta Gangsta,” “Express Yourself,” and “Straight Outta Compton.”

Steve Winwood.  Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Traffic, Winwood helped write songs for that band, The Spencer Davis Group, and his solo efforts.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate this group for their nominations.

We will argue that is days like these that created this website.

Over a decade ago, constant debates of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame led us to create our own list of who we thought that should be considered.  Since we put out our first list in 2009, we can state unequivocally that our criticism of the Rock Hall has shrunk, but it remains the most divisive Hall-based institution and their inconsistent schedule remains an issue, as do the way they arbitrarily induct acts who were not voted in through vague categories.

No matter.

Here are the newest members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:

Usually, the Rock Hall inducts the top five vote getters, but this year they chose the top seven.

Eminem was as close to a lock as you can get, and the rapper enters on his first year on the ballot.  Frankly, it felt like he has been a first ballot inductee for over a decade, and while often controversial, his lyrics are often deeply introspective and vulnerable, even when embracing outright misogyny.  

Duran Duran entered on their first time on the ballot, though they have been eligible since 2007.   Known for their style and image, Duran Duran was an underrated band, who still tour.  They ran away with the official fan vote.

Lionel Richie also gets in on his first ballot, and like Duran Duran, he has been eligible for a significant since the 2007 ceremony.   Richie’s blend of R&B and soft pop generated a slew of hits in the 1980s, but this has to impact the Commodores, Richie’s original group who had a far more diverse discography than Richie did as a solo.

Dolly Parton enters after asking the voters not to choose her, but come on, of course they voted for the queen!  She was first eligible in 1986, but this was her first time on the ballot.  We guarantee she will show up and be the classiest person there.

Carly Simon was finally nominated after 25 years of eligibility and the singer/songwriter fills the niche that the Rock Hall loves. 

Pat Benatar made the ballot for the second time this year, having been nominated two years ago with her musical collaborator and husband, Neil Giraldo.  Nominated on her own this time, the voters responded and one of the most copied looks of the early 80s is now in Cleveland.  

Eurythmics (Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart) have been eligible since 2007 (that makes three?), and this was their second nomination.  With Lennox, Simon, Benatar and Parton, this marks four woman inducted in four separate acts, the most that have ever been voted in.

The other inductees are:

Judas Priest comes in through the Musical Excellence Award, which is the Hall’s way of inducting people who the Rock Hall wants, but either can’t get voters to select, or worthy inductees (see next entry) that have no viable path to enter.  The Rock Hall has a metal problem, so while this is good to see them enter, it is clear that Rock voters are not Metal connoisseurs.  

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis also were chosen through the Musical Excellence Award, and it is no stretch to say that they are producing geniuses who helped shape popular music over the last forty years.

Harry Belafonte and Elizabeth Cotton will be inducted in the Early Influence category and the Ahmet Ertegun Award went to Attorney Allen Grubman, executive/producer Jimmy Iovine and Sugar Hill Records founder Sylvia Robinson.

Those who were nominated but did not get in:

A Tribe Called Quest, Beck, Devo, Dionne Warwick, Fela Kuti, Kate Bush, MC5, New York Dolls and Rage Against the Machine.

This means it is time for us to get to work, as we will remove those who were inducted, add those eligible for the next vote, and revise those already on based on your votes and comments.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the newest members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and you can believe that will be watching the impending ceremony, scheduled to take place on November 5, at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles.

When you do long lists, it takes you a long time to do revisions.

Recently, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced the belated Class of 2021, which was originally intended to be announced last December.  This means that we had some work to do at Notinhalloffame.com, and this involved three components:

Remove those who were chosen.  This means that Kraftwerk, Jay-Z, Foo Fighters, Todd Rundgren, Gil Scott-Heron, Tina Turner, The Go-Go’s, Carole King, LL Cool J and Billy Preston.

Add those who are now eligible for the next class.

Alter those ranked based on your comments and votes.

Seems simple enough, right?

Let’s move on!

Our entire list can be found here, but we would like to present our new top ten.

Eminem is his first year of eligibility, and he takes over the number one spot.  There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that he will enter on his first year of eligibility.

Oasis moves up from #4 to #2.  While there should not be any dispute of their Hall of Fame credentials, the British rockers would not likely attend the ceremony…especially with each other.

Jethro Tull climbs back to #3, which equals their highest previous rank.  Despite being eligible since the 1993 vote, the progressive rock group have never been nominated.

The Smiths go to #4, which is also their highest ranking.  The have been nominated twice before, 2015 & 2016.

At #5, Gram Parsons cracks the top five for the first time.  Parsons has been nominated three times before, but the last was way back in 2005.

MC5 inched up one rank to #6, which matches their highest previous rank.

Judas Priest, who was nominated in 2018 and 2020, achieve their highest rank yet with #7, two higher than last year.

Willie Nelson moves up from #10 to #8.

Iron Maiden cracks the top ten for the first time at #9.  They also received their first nomination last year.

New Order returns to the top ten, edging up one spot.

There are other new additions to our list:

Nickelback (#98), Spoon (#130), The Hives (#199), Fiona Apple (#232), Matchbox Twenty (#256), Fatboy Slim(#283), Shakira (#295), The Spice Girls (#353), Mogwai (#433), Staind (#444), Placebo (#503), and Doves (#561).

Eventually (and we know we said this many times) we will expand this list to an even 1,000.  We will get there, we promise!

You know what we want you to do!

Cast your votes, and give us your opinions.

As always, we thank you for your support.

The man born Marshall Mathers was far from the first white Rapper, but he was the one who cemented the path that the Beastie Boys set and changed the perception of Hip Hop forever.