CLEVELAND, Ohio – Jay-Z, Foo Fighters, Tina Turner and Iron Maiden lead this year’s historic list of nominated Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone was the first to announce the class on Wednesday morning.
The 2021 class will be inaugurated during a ceremony to be held this fall at an as yet unspecified date and venue in Cleveland. Mary J. Blige, Kate Bush, Devo, The Go-Go’s, Chaka Khan, Carole King, Fela Kuti, LL Cool J, New York Dolls, Rage Against the Machine, Todd Rundgren and Dionne Warwick join the aforementioned performances. .
It is the most female-heavy voice the Rock Hall has ever produced, with seven of the 16 acts led by women. These nominations for 2021 are also the most race-willing in 15 years.
“This remarkable mood reflects the diversity and depth of the artists and music celebrating the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” said John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, in a statement. “These nominees have left an indelible impact on the sonic landscape of the world and have influenced numerous artists who have followed them.”
Artists are eligible for a nomination 25 years after the release of their first official recording. The 2021 vote features two new appearances in Jay-Z and Foo Fighters. Other shows nominated for the first time (while they had to wait much longer) are Blige, The Go-Go’s, Iron Maiden, Warwick and Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti.
The forerunner of Foo Fighters, Dave Grohl, wants to earn his second recording at Rock Hall, having already joined Nirvana in 2014. The same goes for Carole King, who was inaugurated as a non-performer / songwriter in 1990, and Turner, who earned incorporation as part of Ike & Tina Turner in 1991. King and Turner can join Stevie Nicks (2019) as the only women which was recorded twice in Rock Hall.
LL Cool J leads in terms of repeat nominees. The rap legend is on his sixth nomination. Chaka Khan is on her third solo nomination (fifth if you count her nominations along with the funk group Rufus). This year’s ballot also comes with Northeast Ohio ties. Devo has its origins in Akron, while Grohl was born in Warren.
Kraftwerk, which has been nominated six times since 2003, particularly missed nominations and Dave Matthews Band and Pat Benatar, who finished in the top two in the 2020 Fan Vote. Speaking of which, fans can say their opinion via the annual online poll until April 30 by visiting rockhall.com. The top five artists of the Fan Vote will consist of a ‘ballot’, along with more than 1,000 other ballots from musicians, historians and members of the music industry.
The Rock Hall’s class of 2021 will be announced in May. Ticket information for the fall ceremony will be announced later.