The nominations for the 2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class have been announced and the rundown is as follows along with some of my own editorial views on each of the artists in the running.
Kate Bush Kate’s been nominated a few times over the years if I am remembering correctly and if you are like myself and many friends, you only know her name from that big hit from the eighties in “Running Up That Hill” which was truly a solid number. Course I never looked deeper into her catalog to learn more so can’t gauge the need for her in the Hall or not. Her inclusion in the Netflix hit series “Stranger Things” made this song a hit once more in the modern times so perhaps this bodes well for an extry.
Sheryl Crow It seems that I know more of Sheryl’s hits than I anticipated and I have no hate for any of these numbers but I will also add that I have often felt she was more of a Country Pop artist more so than a tried and true Rocker. I’d take her at Country Rock but she sure does sell a lot of albums and will fill seats at their banquet so her chances are good as well.
Missy Elliott As expected I am not listening to a whole lot of Rap with a site that’s called PiercingMetal but I do really enjoy some of the legends like DMC, Sugar Hill Gang, Grandmaster Flash and the stuff that launched this very impacting genre. She is one of two Rap artists being nominated and one will usually get in since that’s the way the Rock Hall works nowadays but I cannot speak to her material in the slightest.
Iron Maiden I’ve for sure heard of this band over the years. They’ve got an interesting premise, a few solid numbers and a good stage show. Now with all kidding aside its great to find the mighty Iron Maiden up in the nominations list once more and I hope that they will get in this year. The band is still selling out arenas on a nightly basis and while I lean more towards the classic material, can say that they are a forward thinking Metal band that pulls out all the stops each and every time and deserves to be in there alongside their fellow Brits Black Sabbath and Judas Priest.
Joy Division/New Order During the heyday of Joy Division I was not listening to anything like this. I liked Punk, and I liked New Wave but I never found myself following any of the melancholy kind of stuff. Sure I’d listen to it years later and find some interesting but back then twas not for me and since founding member Ian Curtis is long since deceased, maybe they get in and he is honored posthumously.
Cyndi Lauper Love her or hate her, Cyndi Lauper helped launch the juggernaut that was MTV and you would see her videos all of the time. Back then it was much more of a Rock station in terms of videos that got shown and these clips were often a riot. I love the hits she has and think she’s done good for a variety of organizations over the years so she will likely go right in.
George Michael George Michael has been gone for a few years now and from the videos and hits he had seemed to be the consumate entertainer. I don’t see him being overlooked.
Willie Nelson Country artists are now the newest inclusion to the Rock Hall and while Willie Nelson is fantastic, you know that he isn’t a Rock and Roller and much like Dolly probably wonders why he is nominated. Dolly balked before being reminded that she was still nominated so now its Willie’s turn.
Rage Against The Machine I was not one of those who followed the guys in RATM back during their earliest days but I did like a couple of songs. Managed to catch one of the reunion shows that happened in 2022 and thought that they brought the house down. They were one of those bands that looked to bring you some knowledge about the world around you and make you aware of injustices and honestly they did it rather well. I feel they might go in after this years nomination.
Soundgarden From this years nominations, Soundgarden is one of my highest hopes to go in. Chris Cornell was one of the best Rock singers out there and with his no longer being with us feel that he should be honored with the rest of the band. Let’s face it, they have some great stuff.
The Spinners There are a number of classic songs from The Spinners and you probably know them all. I’d say that they get in for sure.
A Tribe Called Quest I only know one song by ATCQ so won’t lay my judgement on this one. They are another Rap group so I’ve already opined my views on all the Rap that’s got into the Rock Hall.
The White Stripes While I was never a big fan of the actual duo that made up The White Stripes, I do think that Jack White is a great guitarist.
Warren Zevon Zevon was always an acquired taste for many fans of music but if you sat and listened to what he was doing it was really, really interesting. Warren has been gone for twenty years now and deserves to be honored at this point.
*** end of rundown ***
PiercingMetal Thoughts: Editorial thoughts on these nominations have already been shared so I will not be adding anything else here. It’s a weird list this year for sure and as I wrap this up I wonder what you readers are thinking about it. Feel free to chime in down below in the comments section.
Official: http://www.rockhall.com
