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Nominations for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2021 are ongoing and the roster includes Jay-Z, Foo Fighters, Mary J. Blige, Iron Maiden, Tina Turner, The Go-Go’s, Rage Against the Machine, Kate Bush, Devo, Chaka Khan, Carole King, Fela Kuti, LL Cool J, New York Dolls, Todd Rundgren and Dionne Warwick. The top vote-winners will be announced in May and inducted at a ceremony in Cleveland, Ohio, in the fall.
To be eligible for this year’s ballot, each candidate’s first single or album had to be released in 1995 or earlier. Seven of the 16 acts on the ballot (Foo Fighters, the Go-Go’s, Iron Maiden, Jay-Z, Carole King, Fela Kuti and Dionne Warwick) appear for the first time, although Carole King was inducted along with Gerry Goffin as a non-performer in 1990 and Tina Tuner entered the institution in 1991 with Ike Turner.
If King and Turner are inducted, they will be the second and third female artists to enter the Hall of Fame twice after Stevie Nicks in 2019. It is also the opportunity for Dave Grohl to enter the Hall of Fame for the second time after her 2014 induction as a member of Nirvana. Foo Fighters and Jay-Z are the only acts this year to appear on the ballot in their first year of eligibility.
This is the sixth time for LL Cool J to vote; a third for Todd Rundgren, Rage Against the Machine and Chaka Khan; and the second for Kate Bush, Devo, Carole King and the New York Dolls.
According to the Hall of Fame, this is the most racially diverse ballot since 1996, as nine of the 16 nominees feature people of color.
“This remarkable ballot reflects the diversity and depth of the artists and music celebrated by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation president John Sykes said in a statement. “These nominees left an indelible impact on the soundscape of the world and influenced countless artists who followed them.
In keeping with the tradition of recent years, the Hall of Fame has appointed the individual group members who will enter if their group is inducted. For Iron Maiden, they cited current lineup from vocalist Bruce Dickinson, bassist Steve Harris, drummer Nicko McBrain and guitarists Adrian Smith, Dave Murray and Janick Gers, as well as former singer Paul Di’Anno, the former drummer Clive Burr and former guitarist Dennis Stratton.
For the Foo Fighters, this is the current lineup of Dave Grohl, drummer Taylor Hawkins, bassist Nate Mendel, keyboardist Rami Jaffee and guitarists Pat Smear and Chris Shiflett. Original drummer William Goldsmith and former guitarist Franz Stahl didn’t make the cut.
If Devo enters, it will only be the classic ’70s / early’ 80s lineup of Mark Mothersbaugh, bassist / vocalist Gerald Casale, drummer Alan Myers, keyboardist / guitarist Bob Casale and guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh.
For the New York Dolls, it’s singer David Johansen, bassist Arthur “Killer” Kane, guitarists Johnny Thunders and Sylvain Sylvain, and drummers Jerry Nolan and Billy Murcia. Johansen is the only living New York doll after the recent death of Sylvain Sylvain.
A group of voters of over 1,000 artists, historians, journalists and members of the music industry will select the new class. Starting Wednesday, fans will also have the chance to participate in the process by voting on rockhall.com or an interactive kiosk at the Cleveland Museum. Their selections will count as one “fan ballot” which will be compiled with the others.
The Hall of Fame 2020 class honored Depeche Mode, Whitney Houston, Nine Inch Nails, Notorious BIG, T-Rex and the Doobie Brothers. The ceremony was originally scheduled to take place at Public Hall in Cleveland in May, but was postponed until November due to the pandemic. They were finally forced to organize a virtual ceremony broadcast on HBO.
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