The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has released its nominees for its Class of 2021.
For years, the Rock Hall has been criticized for its lack of diversity. But this year, its nominating committee deserves an “A+” for that effort with seven of the 16 nominees being women.
But overall, I’d give this year’s field a “C.”
For starters, the committee continues to ignore classic (’70s and ‘80s) R&B/soul/disco acts … It’s the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, not “Rock Music” Hall of Fame (a discussion for another day).
And frankly, I could name 16 other acts who are just as – if not more so – deserving than those chosen this year by the committee (another discussion for another day). If you want a name, I can give you someone who belongs in the Rock Hall more than any other artist nominated this year:
Mariah Carey … incredible vocal range, biggest hitmaker of the 1990s, second only to the Beatles in most No. 1 songs all-time, etc., etc.
Let’s look at this year’s nominees.
It’s unrealistic to think that all 16 nominees will be chosen for the Class of ’21. So who should be turned away this year?
I say Mary J. Blige, Kate Bush, Devo, Chaka Khan, Fela Kuti, New York Dolls, Rage Against the Machine and Todd Rundgren.
That leaves eight, who I believe should be inducted in the Class of ’21:
Foo Fighters – Perhaps the most consistently successful rock band of the last 25 years.
The Go-Go’s – How many female rock bands can you name? … That’s what I thought. And they wrote many of their songs. This induction would be long overdue.
Iron Maiden – Pioneers in the heavy metal genre, who are hoping to break down the walls for future hard rock inductees – Judas Priest, Motörhead, etc.
Jay-Z – Hard to deny this hip-hop icon a place in the Rock Hall.
Carole King – An inductee as a songwriter, her “Tapestry” album might be the greatest LP ever recorded by a female artist in the rock era.
LL Cool J – Arguably hip-hop’s first successful solo artist. Enough said.
Tina Turner – Known for her powerful vocals and energy on stage, she had a string of hits in the ‘80s. This would be her second induction (Ike & Tina Turner the other).
Dionne Warwick – Her sweet, soft vocals were at the center of a multitude of Top 40 hits for three decades.
