gold star for USAHOF

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 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.

This month, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will be announcing its 2016 inductees. Judas Priest, who gives a fat rat's ass any more, anyway?

I'm not kidding. No one is ever happy with the selections. There is no definition of what "rock and roll" is, which means that there is no consensus on which artists are appropriate candidates. Apart from the need to have released the first recording at least 25 years previously to qualify and a vague suggestion of "musical excellence," there are no criteria that can be universally applied. And with only fragmentary glimpses of the Hall's nominating committee and its selection and voting procedures, sustained mutterings about how the entire process is an industry charade stage-managed by driving force Jann Wenner and his cronies are approaching whispered revelations about the Freemasons, the Illuminati, and other occult conspiracies.
At 2:00 AM Eastern the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced their Class of 2016 Nominees and it features some new possibilities, old returnees and a few headscratchers.

Let’s take a look at this group in order of their rank on Norinhalloffame.com.

Deep Purple: (#1)The British rockers have been nominated twice before, though their first nomination came seventeen years after being declared eligible.  They have been number one on our list for the past two years and have never been out of the top four since our website began.

The Smiths: (#5) This is their second straight nomination.  The group has always been ranked in our top ten.

N.W.A.: (#11) This is their fourth consecutive nomination and coming off of their successful biopic, this could be their year.

Chicago: (#12) Surprisingly, this is the first nomination for Chicago who have waited over twenty years for this.  Seriously, how could this one wait so long just to get to this stage?

Yes: (#16) The progressive rock band gets a second shot at the Hall and clearly they have landed on Cleveland’s radar.

The Steve Miller Band (#21) This also marks the first time that the Steve Miller Band has been nominated and like Chicago it took over twenty years to get here.  Chances are that all of you reading this had a cd of their greatest hits.

Nine Inch Nails (#33) This is Trent Reznor’s second nomination and the man who will likely (maybe this year) become the lone Industrial representative of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Janet Jackson: (#34) This is the first nomination for Janet Jackson and we know our friends at the #Inductjanet campaign will be thrilled!  This is a strong female contender for an institution that claims to support gender equity.

The Cars: (#36) Steadily climbing our chart since its inception, this marks the first nomination for the Ric Ocasek led Pop/New Wave group.

Cheap Trick: (#44) This is another first time nominee as the Chicago based power-pop rock group has been increasing in legacy in recent years. 

The Spinners (#54) The Spinners are nominated for a third time and considering that the band they inspired (Hall & Oates) got in, perhaps this year the Spinners will add another Philly Soul representative to the Hall.

Chic: (#100) This is the eleventh (that is not a misprint) nomination for the R&B/Disco outfit from the 70’s and this is getting a little sad.  Why not just induct Nile Rodgers through the same back door that they used to crowbar Ringo Starr in last year?

Chaka Khan (#131) Huh?  With all due respect to Chaka Khan, we are far more interested in seeing her inducted with Rufus, which is actually what the ranking reflects.  This is Chaka Khan’s first nomination.

Los Lobos (#135) I hope to God that those of you reading this only think that this group was known for covering La Bamba!  This is also there first nomination.

The J.B.’s (Unranked) Another strange nomination considering that the Rock Hall not long ago inducted multiple backing bands, including that of James Brown’s first band, The Famous Flames.  This was the band that supported Brown from the 70’s to the 90’s.

We know we are going to hear a lot about this one and expect that there will be a lot of people upset that their favourite musician(s) were not chosen. And while there is certainly a lot to criticize it is nice to see so many first time nominees. 

Now it’s your turn.

Do you agree with these choices?  Let us know here at Notinhalloffame.com!