Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Nominees 2025

Black Crowds=Black Crowes

Stupid phone.

I are an actual HOF voter, and I voted for Bad Company, Mariah Carey, Joy Division/New Order, Cyndi Lauper, Maná, and Soundgarden. They used to send really nice pamphlets in the mail with your ballot, but now you just do it on their website.

I really want Phish to make it because they kinda deserve it, but more important to watch the heads explode.

But I'd vote for Mariah, Joy Division/New Order, OutKast and Soundgarden for sure.

Wow, Maná! That's cool.

Controversies

In 2002, Checker protested outside of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, over the lack of radio airplay of his hit "The Twist" and his perception that the Hall of Fame had snubbed him. Seymour Stein, president of the Rock Hall's New York chapter and member of the nomination committee, claimed "I think that Chubby is someone who will be considered. He has in certain years."

In 2013, Checker sued HP over a WebOS application using his name. The application, before being pulled in September 2012, was used to unscientifically estimate penis size from shoe size. The district court said that Checker's trademark claim survived HP's motion to dismiss, but his other claims were dismissed per Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

Maná is almost certainly the first act to be nominated where I'd never even heard of them. Surprised Joe Cocker didn't make it in decades ago.

Just like Foreigner's induction, Bad Company is a way to sneak King Crimson (plus Mott the Hoople and Free) in the back door.

Voting OutKast.

I are an actual HOF voter

You're not getting extra ballots for this

I apologize, btw; "They used to send really nice pamphlets in the mail with your ballot, but now you just do it on their website." is probably the most Bob Lefsetz thing I've ever posted.

this is the weakest crop in a long time

hmm it's not all bad but black crowes and bad company put a bad taste in my mouth

Repeating my post on FB just now:

--

Okay so R&RHOF voters submit ballots electronically now, which means I already got mine, which means I've already voted. As I muttered in the separate thread, a lot of this was ridiculously easy because I quickly figured who I was *not* voting for, and with seven votes that meant I only had to worry about deciding between eight acts. I had six gimmes:

Joy Division/New Order
Soundgarden
OutKast
Mariah Carey
Cyndi Lauper
Maná

That left me to decide between the fake siblings and William Michael Albert Broad. If I had eight votes, no problem no contest, both in. But I had to decide and honestly this was harder than I thought: essentially I had to choose between one of two kinds of 50s/early 60s retrofetishists who are both pretty thrilling at their best and will be played in sports arenas in various ways for a long while to come. Nostalgia played a part for me in the end: ol' Billy I grew up with on the radio/TV where the White Stripes I more admired latterly, and that's always a key distinction. Certainly I would have appreciated submitting a ballot that at least had women in a majority of my votes instead of falling just short, and since I always tend to consider Them Pale Stripes to be more of an art project/Wire type band than neo-Zep or whatever, that absolutely tracks for me too as a plus. (Also, they absolutely get a prize for some of the best long song titles ever, knowing how to structure them and focus them. "Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground" is almost a short story in and of itself.) But getting back to the retrofetishist point: if one act, however much driven by context at the time in turn, comes off as validating a "If it wasn't recorded in a cardboard closet on a deck that Sam Phillips spat on once is it even REALLL" mindset, I will be more inclined to the other act in his pomp, in the decade he had his biggest hits, going "Fuck yeah I'm not only Elvis, I love dancefloors, synths and drum machines, let's do fucking everything!" At the time Glenn Danzig would have complained and probably did but these days Glenn's off filming shitty self-financed 'erotic' horror westerns -- ask me how I know! -- while Billy just happily keeps on and knows what he's great at. (Plus, if Pat Benatar got in with Neil Giraldo, this absolutely should have been a 'Billy Idol & Steve Stevens' entry; most of their careers have been spent together and Stevens's approach of 'what if Mick Ronson but also lasers' remains fucking awesome; as much as Eddie Van Halen was seen as the pop metal guitarist genius in excelsis for the same run, I'd argue Steve is right there with and maybe in some contexts even more crazy/amazing -- great hooks everywhere and that "Rebel Yell" solo alone blew my mind then and now. In any event, Billy it was. So we'll see what shakes out!)

I saw Black Crowds open for Frightwig, they were ok

anyway i'm voting for outkast. i wanna see the reunion

Cyndi, then OutKast, then (with some distance between them) JD/NO. Maná aside, as I don't know them at all, I either don't like or just don't care about the rest.

OutKast will get in, but they'll send Key & Peele in to accept.

I haven't checked, but while there are some first-time nominees, is this the first time there's been no newly-eligible noms?

This is impossible!!! So many amazing nominees!!!!!!

In 2001, Checker took out a full-page ad in Billboard magazine arguing that he is one of rock and roll's most underappreciated figures.

I'm surprised it took this long for OutKast to get nominated. They're one of three nominees that I would've inducted immediately, along with Joy Division/New Order and the White Stripes. Most of the rest I could make a case for and would have no problem inducting. I'd vote for Cyndi Lauper but it really comes down to one and only one great album for a lot of people, and I remember quite a few commentators saying they were reluctant to vote for her for that reason, as in she had a "moment" and it passed. ("Kinky Boots" alone was a big deal, but I don't think her contributions to musical theater get much consideration.) She was one of the two biggest fan votes by a wide margin last time, and that obviously had a very limited impact.

Also Hank Ballard is in the Hall of Fame, so it's not like "The Twist" has been completely overlooked. (I prefer his version tbh.)

I'm hoping they induct the New York Dolls too. It's possible they're doing a committee selection instead of putting it to a ballot, but ffs, do it while Johansen is still here.

Wow, Maná! That's cool.

Anyone care to quickly summarize their critical standing for the baffled Canadians in this thread? Their RYM scores are not at all impressive.

Anyone care to quickly summarize their critical standing for the baffled Canadians in this thread? Their RYM scores are not at all impressive.

I have provoked great anger in Mexicans and other Latin rock fans in the past by describing them as "the Nickelback of Mexico," but that's kind of who they are, both stylistically (big yarly riff-rock) and commercially (they're huge). They fill stadiums. Their 1992 album ¿Dónde Jugarán Los Niños? is (or was) the best-selling Spanish-language rock album of all time.

I'm hoping they induct the New York Dolls too. It's possible they're doing a committee selection instead of putting it to a ballot, but ffs, do it while Johansen is still here.

― birdistheword, Wednesday, 12 February 2025 17:47 (four minutes ago) link

Given their recent track record (the MC5 for inst), I wouldn't get my hopes up

Thanks for the summary, but Nickelback isn't getting nominated any time soon, so is this just pandering to the Spanish-speaking audience?

In terms of Mexican representation in rock and Latin music, Los Lobos and Rubén Blades would've been far better nominees. Also Willie Colón though I'm not sure how that would go down after his legal fights with Blades.

And yes, I had what happend to the MC5 in mind as well...ugh.

Re: Blades and Colon, I recommend Siembra. Per Wiki:

The album was inducted into the Latin Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007. In 2024, it was ranked in first position on the “Los 600 de Latinoamérica” list compiled by a collective of music journalists, highlighting the top 600 Latin American albums from 1920-2022. The album was ranked number one of the 50 greatest salsa albums of all time by Rolling Stone Magazine in October 2024.

The very vague vibe I got from unperson's post + some googling is we're looking at something like the Mexican U2, who I'm guessing are already in?

Most countries have some huge mainstream rock band that's been around forever and is hated by its country's hipsters, gonna be some work if they all get into the Hall.

I'm not looking forward to seeing every country's version of U2.

In terms of Mexican representation in rock and Latin music, Los Lobos and Rubén Blades would've been far better nominees. Also Willie Colón though I'm not sure how that would go down after his legal fights with Blades.

Rubén Blades is from Panama; Willie Colón is from Puerto Rico; neither of them are rock artists, although someone smart could put together a really cool exhibit for the actual Hall about 1960s Latin bugalu music (part doo-wop, part Cuban son, part rock 'n' roll, part R&B, the precursor to salsa).

I get why Maná is nominated, but I wish it was Café Tacvba getting the nod. (I'd love to see a bunch of '80s, '90s and '00s Latin artists get in: Julieta Venegas, Natalia Lafourcade, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs, Caifanes, Sepultura, Nação Zumbi...)

It's Die Toten Hosen for Germany and Xutos & Pontapés for Portugal if you wanna get a taste of what that would be like btw (both bands have some salvageable stuff in their early years tbc).

If Hip-Hop, R&B and mainstream Pop are "Rock & Roll" I see zero reason why salsa shouldn't be rock & roll too really.

Yes: Joy Division/New Order, Outkast, Mariah Carey.

Tough: Cyndi Lauper's great album was and is huge in every way--album, singles, videos. Peak value off the charts...but a little hesitation because that's pretty much it. But mostly yes.

Sentimental yes: Chubby Checker was huge for a year or two, and I think he's someone who's been lobbying to get in for years (and would be hugely appreciative).

Not my thing, but I guess there's a strong argument for Soundgarden.

I have never heard of Mana.

Just scrolled back and saw Chubby's full-page ad...

Anyone care to quickly summarize their critical standing for the baffled Canadians in this thread? Their RYM scores are not at all impressive.

I don't really know much about Maná from a critical perspective, I just know that they are huge in Latin America and have been around forever. My wife likes their cover of Led Zeppelin's "Fool in the Rain."

Rubén Blades is from Panama; Willie Colón is from Puerto Rico

Yes, that's why I also specified "Latin music" - probably should clarify, I imagine Maná wasn't just selected for their Mexican nationality but also for their popularity in all of Latin America and also to highlight music that has bridged Latin American culture (including that beyond Mexican culture) with rock music. I mentioned Blades, including his work with Colón, because of their stature in salsa music and how those albums made headway in bridging salsa and American popular music, including rock. (Per his Trouser Press entry, Blades is "the first important salsa performer to integrate rock aesthetics into his music.")

I'm guessing none of the tropicalista gang are in? Influential on anglo rock artists AND huge in their own country AND they also bridged Rock music and other styles, should be a no brainer.

XP!

There should be a separate committee like the "Early Influences" one for non-English speaking territories, so you can get Fela, Serge Gainsbourg, Can, YMO, Neu!, Jacques Brel, Jobim, Os Mutantes, Juan Gabriel etc. in.

That would probably make the most sense. They already created that precedent with Kraftwerk being inducted as an "early influence." And I don't Fela getting voted in by ballot even though he's been nominated before, and he SHOULD be in.

I should rephrase that - the "early influences" could be that since they already created that precedent with Kraftwerk being inducted that way.

(Apologies, reading and typing while talking to someone else about something unrelated is not the best idea.)

this is the weakest crop in a long time

― gestures broadly at...everything (voodoo chili), Wednesday, February 12, 2025 11:40 AM (three hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

bob lefsetz: "My mind is absolutely, positively blown. How did they get it so RIGHT?"

"I, too, now feel like making love."

one of my absolute least favorite songs

Mick Ralphs should be in the HOF...but for a different band.

no vote

I'd also like to see the White Stripes reunion also.

Also also also.

Last time Joy Division/New Order was nominated, Peter Hook said a reunion was possible and he'd be very open to it as a goodwill gesture. So that's three great reunions that could come out of this: The White Stripes, OutKast and New Order.

Also a voter interviewed by NY Mag made a horrible miscalculation, saying he didn't vote for Joy Division/New Order because he thought everyone else would, so as a strategy he pursued less likely winners. None of those people got in either. So much for "strategic" voting.

I don’t even think that they’re particularly bad, they really are just replacement level

Has any inductee died between the announcement and the ceremony? I thought of Ray Thomas, but in fact he died shortly before the announcement that the Moody Blues were being inducted.

I'm surprised White Stripes got in but Joy Division/New Order didn't. They've been eligible for much longer and New Order had more commercial and critical success and influence than the White Stripes didn't they ?
I'm not mad at them getting in, I just don't get the rush.

XP Dusty Springfield, IIRC. Maybe Sterling Morrison?

I don’t know, the white stripes seem custom-built for this voting bloc. JD/NO are a much tougher nut to crack.

must once again ask, where tf is thin lizzy

I guess Gen X gets a lot more overlooked. I mean The B-52's haven't even been nominated ever yet.

Bad Company's nearest contemporary analog is Bob Seger, I think -- this is music to listen to while you're fixing a car, and later when you're drinking beers out of a cooler in the trunk of the car. I'd only salvage, like, four of their greatest hits ("Bad Company," "Good Lovin Gone Bad," "Honey Child," and "Rock and Roll Fantasy"), a much worse track record than Seger's, but I mean...that's more songs than I'd give Chubby Checker. I think marking them as for the Lefsetz contingent is right, because Lefsetz at the Bad Company show in '75 telling everybody that THIS is the REAL MUSIC is a very believable image, but I think the Lefsetz of today will say "nobody actually cares about Bad Company."

Congrats, Chubby!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzgVI9lv7d8

XP Lefsetz saw them with Rich Robinson filling in for Ralphs a few years ago and posted something like they're the "best band people don't care about".

Jesus Christ, you guys are really hard on BadCo! I can't help but really like 'em! I Would only suggest that the Paul Rodgers band nominated and inducted is like on the second Miles Davis Quintet/ Trout Mask-era Beefheart level compared to the 80s BadCo, which really is the worst corporate radio-ready slop in the history of the multiverse.

Hank Ballard's "Twist" is fine; Chubby Checker's is better. I'd say the first RS Illustrated History had it right: "Chubby Checker's cover of this song, not as nicely sung but more danceably produced and tirelessly promoted, achieved the unique feat of being Number One on the pop charts two separate times, more than a year apart." Ballard's original just doesn't have as much presence. (On the compilation I have, I gravitated more to some of his doo-wop, like "Teardrops on Your Letter.")

Bad Company was unavoidable if you grew up with classic rock radio in the '90s

You know what was easily avoidable? All of their albums.

XP Lefsetz saw them with Rich Robinson filling in for Ralphs a few years ago and posted something like they're the "best band people don't care about".

Bad Company a distinct step down from ALL of the members' previous bands - Free, Mott the Hoople and King Crimson. Basically a hard rock equivalent to Peter Frampton. And I used to like them! Not so much these days.

appreciate that half the bad company songs i can name (shooting star + r&r fantasy) are about 'being a rock star'

incredible range

Hank Ballard's "Twist" is fine; Chubby Checker's is better. I'd say the first RS Illustrated History had it right: "Chubby Checker's cover of this song, not as nicely sung but more danceably produced and tirelessly promoted, achieved the unique feat of being Number One on the pop charts two separate times, more than a year apart." Ballard's original just doesn't have as much presence. (On the compilation I have, I gravitated more to some of his doo-wop, like "Teardrops on Your Letter.")

Just gave both a spin to refresh my memory and what sticks out to me is how similar they sound, Ballard a lot more teenybopper than I remembered him. Pretty sure "tirelessly promoted" in that RS guide is supposed to be code for payola.

Bad Company was basically the Bon Jovi of the '70s.

Both had songs about being cowboys/gunfighters.

Pretty sure "tirelessly promoted" in that RS guide is supposed to be code for payola.

When does Morris Levy get his Ahmet Ertegun Award?

You know what was easily avoidable? All of their albums.

Say you never looked at a $1 vinyl bin in the '90s without saying "I never looked at a $1 vinyl bin in the '90s".

Pretty sure "tirelessly promoted" in that RS guide is supposed to be code for payola.

Probably, yes--and guessing Philadelphia-based Dick Clark had a major hand in that.

Clark goosed the success of many Cameo-Parkway artists when Bandstand was still shot in Philly.

Say you never looked at a $1 vinyl bin in the '90s without saying "I never looked at a $1 vinyl bin in the '90s".

I think the point was that you didn't have to listen to them, unless you got one of those record stores that forced Bad Company on you at gunpoint.

(The single greatest twist song, by the way--unless I'm forgetting something obvious--is Joey Dee & the Starliters' "Peppermint Twist." I hope that's been inducted as a song...if such a category exists.)

I'm sure Joy Division/New Order will get in some day, just like the Scorpions, Alice In Chains and Motörhead feel like inevitable choices, they just spread em out.

Piece by Rob Sheffield in RS today about the regrettable Joy Division/New Order omission, so I'm guessing that will clear a path for next year.

Has any inductee died between the announcement and the ceremony? I thought of Ray Thomas, but in fact he died shortly before the announcement that the Moody Blues were being inducted.

Happened last year with Dennis Thompson, the last surviving member of the MC5.

Cyndi fucking rules, nice to see this today

Bad Company was unavoidable if you grew up with classic rock radio in the '90s

I've rarely listened to classic rock radio and can't name a single song by them.

You know what was easily avoidable? All of their albums.

LOL. Honestly, they were so reviled for so long, if anyone mentioned them, it was to insult another band. Like Marc Maron dismissing Pearl Jam with "great, Bad Company is back together." (I actually like Pearl Jam.) I kind of enjoy "Can't Get Enough" after hearing the Replacements covering it with Alex Chilton.

Agreed about "Peppermint Twist." If the twist is SOOO important that Chubby Checker needs to get inducted, they should at least induct "Peppermint Twist" in that one-hit-wonder category that's been dormant for a while now. A much better record and it even knocked Checker's record out of the #1 spot on the Billboard charts.

I've rarely listened to classic rock radio and can't name a single song by them.

Here's a hint: "B*d C*mp*n*"

So they do have a category then? For me, that'd be where 97% of best stories are. (Yes, Joey Dee knocked out Chubby second time around.)

I'm going to solve the puzzle....Bid Campona!

And yes, there is - it was active for three consecutive years, but since then NOTHING:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Rock_and_Roll_Hall_of_Fame_inductees#Singles

(Not that it needs to be debunked any more--I think that's been accomplished by now--but a look at 1962's #1s gives lie to the old 1960-63 wasteland theory. Half of them are great.)

"The Letter" by the Box Tops is in, but they need to induct Alex Chilton already (or really Big Star).

I never knew that Clyde McPhatter got in for his solo career the year before The Drifters did.

I'm not sure I'd induct him as a solo act, but Deep Sea Ball: The Best of Clyde McPhatter by Clyde McPhatter is excellent, at minimum a solid A collection, and at least a few of those singles were every bit as great as the Drifters' best records.

Forgot about the Dominoes (featuring Clyde McPhatter)...that's some great stuff that deserves to be much better-known. So yeah, I'd induct him on his own just to cover everything.

Think I'd give the edge to "A Lover's Question" and "Treasure of Love" over his Drifters work.

Also surprised that Mitch Ryder & The Detroit Wheels aren't in the HOF. That feels like the kind of act that would totally get inducted in the Jann Wenner era. (They're honestly great, I'm just saying I didn't expect Wenner & Co. to overlook them since it plays to their taste.)

Yeah, it's one of my all-time favorites:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAE0ouWc7pY

Re: McPhatter, anything to those bisexuality rumors? Keep seeing that mentioned here and there, but never anything concrete...

Nothing about his personal life on Wikipedia. But Jesus, what a sad ending (which I didn't know):

McPhatter returned to the U.S. in 1970, making a few appearances in rock-and-roll revival tours, but lived mostly as a recluse. Hopes for a major comeback with a Decca album were crushed on June 13, 1972, when he died in his sleep at the age of 39, of complications of heart, liver, and kidney disease, brought on by alcohol abuse – behavior fueled by a failed career and resentment he harbored towards the fans he felt deserted him.[15] In his interview with journalist Marcia Vance, McPhatter said, "I have no fans." He died at 1165 East 229th Street, in the Bronx, New York, where he had been living with Bertha M. Reid. They were traveling together as he tried to make a comeback.

"I have no fans."

Awful.

If he was alive and well, I could see a Drifters reunion with McPhatter AND King being an enormous deal in 1974 thanks to the nostalgia craze fueled by American Graffiti.

Hiro Yamamoto is getting inducted too - first Asian American in the HOF?

eddie and alex van halen

i just had the sad realization the first major artist i ever saw was when my parent's took me to see chubby checker performing at famed confederate monument stone mountain.

Kim Thayil's parents are from India as well, Kirk Hammett's mother is Filipino.