The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has announced its 2022 list of inductees. The list includes Dolly Parton, Duran Duran, Eminem, Lionel Ritchie, Pat Benatar, Eurythmics, and Carly Simon will be in the performers category. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, along with Judas Priest will receive the Musical Excellence Award. The Early Influence Award will be presented to Harry Belafonte and Elizabeth Cotten. The Ahmet Ertegun Award will go to record executive/producerJimmy Iovine, and R&B singer/Sugar Hill Records founder Sylvia Robinson.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame released a statement:
This diverse group of inductees each had a profound impact on the sound of youth culture and helped change the course of rock & roll. Their music moved generations and influenced so many artists that followed.
Originally, Parton did not want to be considered for the induction, however, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame told her it was too late, she was already on the ballot. The reason she was concerned was because she is a country artist and did not feel she should be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. She was worried she was taking the award from another artist.
All of the artists in the Performers category are alive and actively performing, unlike in most previous years.
Duran Duran is being inducted with guitarists Andy Taylor and Warren Cuccurullo. The band has not performed with Cuccurullo since he left the group in 2001. Taylor left the band in 2006. Simon Le Bon told SiriusXM that it would be great to perform together again. He said he would not be talking about being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame if it was not for the artistic talents of Taylor and Cuccurullo.
Judas Priest is also looking forward to performing together again. K.K. Dowling left the band in 2011 after exchanging bitterness with ex-group members. Les Blinks and Dave Holland are also being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Holland passed away in 2018 and Blinks is a member of K.K. Priest. It is possible he will perform with the band at the induction ceremony. This will be the first time in decades he has performed with Judas Priest.
This year, Eminem is the only Hip-Hop artist being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. He is also the only artist in the Performance category that began releasing albums in the 90s, and the only artist to be inducted in his first year of eligibility. Pat Benatar with husband Neil Giraldo, Dolly Parton, Carly Simon, and Lionel Ritchie are being inducted on their first nomination.
The honorees were voted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by more than 1,000 artists, historians, and professionals in the music industry. Chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, John Sykes, stated the inductees have all had a “profound impact on the sound of youth culture and helped change the course of rock ’n’ roll.”
The ceremony will be held in Los Angeles for the third time since 1993. Tickets will be available soon.
Written by Jeanette Vietti
Sources:
Rolling Stone: Eminem, Dolly Parton, Duran Duran, Lionel Richie Lead Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2022 Class; by Andy Greene
The New York Times: Dolly Parton Voted Into Rock Hall Alongside Eminem and Lionel Richie; by Joe Coscarelli
USA TODAY: The 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees are Dolly Parton, Duran Duran, Eminem and more
Featured Image Courtesy of Erik Drost’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inline Image Courtesy of Eva Rinaldi’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
