The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2023 is announced
The “Hall of Fame Season” has come to an end with the announcement of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class, and it is the largest class in recent memory.
The Cleveland based institution elected Missy Elliott, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Rage Against the Machine, Kate Bush, George Michael and The Spinners. Chaka Khan, Al Kooper and Bernie Taupin enter via the Musical Excellence Award. Link Wray and DJ Kool Herc will receive the Musical Influence Award and Don Cornelius will get the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
Four of the elected members, Elliott, Nelson, Crow and Michael enter on their first appearance on the ballot. Missy Elliott becomes the first female rapper inducted, and Nelson capped off an incredible week, first by turning 90 and now with this induction, though unlike Elliott, who only became eligible, has been eligible for decades. George Michael won the fan vote, continuing the trend of fan vote winners entering the Hall.
RATM enters on their fourth attempt, and their induction should help other Alternative acts from the 1990s. The Spinners also enter on their fourth try, and have been eligible since 1986. Kate Bush, who has been enjoying a renaissance was also nominated twice before.
Failing to gain entry were A Tribe Called Quest, Cyndi Lauper, New Order/Joy Division, Iron Maiden, White Stripes, Soundgarden and Warren Zevon.
We will begin work on revising our Notinhalloffame Rock List for next year.
We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to congratulate the impending members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced the 2023 Nominees
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has put forth one of the most diverse group of nominees for the Class of 2023, and let’s get right into who they have nominated:
A Tribe Called Quest is nominated for the first time, and should the Alternative Hip-Hop group get in, it would open the doors for many of their ilk.
Cyndi Lauper receives her first nomination since being eligible in 2009. With a barrage of 80s hits, and an activist legacy that plays well to the voter base, this is a great ballot for her, as only Kate Bush falls close to her category.
Iron Maiden collects a second nomination, but the Heavy Metal gods face an uphill climb as the voters have shown that they do not care for their genre.
Joy Division/New Order are in for a combined nomination, which greatly improves the chances for all parties in question. This is not unprecedented, as the Hall previous nominated and inducted, as the Small Faces and Faces were put forth together. Neither group has been nominated before, and this first nomination could be their only one as this is a very strong candidate.
Kate Bush earned her fourth nomination, and no artist has enjoyed more of an interest in her music over the past twelve months with her song, “Running Up That Hill” featured on Stranger Things. Cyndi’s appearance on this ballot, could delay Bush one more time.
George Michael receives his first nomination after being eligible since 2010. The mastermind behind Wham!, had a monstrous solo career generating five number ones as a solo, and two more as a duet (one with Aretha Franklin and one with Elton John). This would be a posthumous induction, as Michael passed away on Christmas Day, 2016 from heart disease.
Missy Elliot is nominated in her first year on the ballot, and should she get in, she will be the first female rapper inducted. Generally, we try not to equate everything to gender, but the above fact makes her a near-lock for induction, but we have had similar thoughts before.
Rage Against the Machine received a fifth nomination, and now fifth in the last six years. Will RATM get in this year, or does Soundgarden siphon off some of their votes?
Sheryl Crow is also a first-time nominee. Eligible since 2019, Crow was very successful in the 1990s with many hits, but she may not have the influence factor to get over some of the other artists here.
Soundgarden is now a two-time nominee, the first coming in 2020. The Seattle group could cancel out RATM, and arguably this is a bad ballot for both.
The Spinners return with another nomination, their fourth overall and first since 2016. Could the Philly Soul pioneers play spoiler?
Warren Zevon is nominated for the first time after being eligible since 1995, and it a long time coming for the acclaimed Singer/Songwriter. We have seen before how the voting body reacts to a first-time nominee who has eligible for 20 years, but he is not the only one with that credential here.
The White Stripes are in the same camp as Missy Elliot, as they are nominated on their first year. This is the type of group that the Hall drools over; successful, influential, a tad eccentric and polotically in tune with their ideals.
Willie Nelson finally got his first nomination after decades of eligibility, and following Dolly Parton last year, does this not feel like Willie is getting in?
The Class will be announced on a date yet to be determined.
We would like to congratulate the 2023 nominees for making it to this step.
RIP: George Michael
It has been reported that George Michael has died today at the age of 53. As of this writing, no cause has been given, only that he died peacefully at his home.
Born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in London, England, George Michael first found success as one half of Wham! With Andrew Ridgeley. They would reach the charts in England in 1983 with their first album, “Fantastic”, which yielded hits like “Club Tropicana” and the “Wham Rap”, but it was in 1985 that true international stardom would come calling when their album, “Make It Big” became a chart topper across the globe. That album had the smash hits, “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go”, “Careless Whisper”, “Freedom” and “Everything She Wants”. Following a farewell single, “The Edge of Heaven”, the band disbanded and George Michael embarked on a solo career, which would eclipse that of his previous one with Ridgeley.
Michael would release “Faith” in 1987 and as expected it was a huge hit everywhere. Aside from the album’s title track, the record released the then controversial single, “I Want Your Sex”, which due to the song’s suggestive lyrics was banned on some radio stations. Despite this, it was a critically beloved album and massive seller worldwide.
He would follow up with the album, “Listen Without Prejudice” gave us a more socially conscious artist, though one that would also be successful commercially. “Freedom 90’” and “Praying for Time” were number one hits from this album and this would essentially conclude the apex of his career as he would produce music far less frequently.
Notably, in 1998, Michael was arrested for engaging in a lewd act in a bathroom as part of a sting operation. It was revealed that it was with another man, basically outing the singer, though that had been suspected for some time. Regardless of his orientation, George Michael pushed the boundaries of sexuality with his music and was a bona fide sex symbol for men and women for well over a decade.
His health has been in decline for awhile, and it is not a day to speculate as to why.
Today, we have lost a great singer, a great musician and for some of us, a part of teen years.
We here at Notoinalloffame.com extend our condolences to the friends and family of George Michael at this time.
513. Wham!
It may be forgotten just how big Wham! was in the 80’s though we suspect that many thirty something women remember. The duo of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley (or just George Michael and some other guy riding off his coat tails) had a series of Pop success that few could rival. As bubblegum as it sounded, the carefully constructed Pop was actually good for what it was. Still, we don’t see any reason for Ridgeley to book that flight to Cleveland to give that induction speech.