Despite a last-minute request to pay homage to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame controversy, country singer Dolly Parton has managed to get in anyway, joining a musically diverse set of 2022 nominees, which also includes Eminem. Lionel Richie, Carly Simon, Eurythmics, Duran Duran and Pat Benatar.
The winners – voted by more than 1,000 artists, historians and music professionals – “each had a profound impact on the sound of youth culture and helped change the course of rock and roll,” said John Sykes, chairman of Rock Hall, in a statement.
The 76-year-old Parton said in March that she was “extremely flattered and grateful to be nominated”, but did not think she “deserved that right” to be recognized as a rock artist at the expense of others. However, the ballots had already been sent to voters and the hall said they would remain unchanged, noting that the organization is “not determined by any genre” and has deep roots in country and rhythm and blues.
In an interview with NPR last week, Parton said he would still accept his inauguration if that happened. “I’ve always believed that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is for people in rock music, and lately I’ve realized that’s not necessarily the case,” she said.
But she added: “If they can’t go there to be recognized, where do they go? So I just had the feeling that I was going to take from someone who might deserve it, certainly more than me, because I never considered myself a rock artist. ”
After years of criticism of diversity – less than 8 percent of those admitted are women by 2019 – Rock Hall has made a point in recent years to expand its reach. Artists such as Jay-Z, Whitney Houston and Janet Jackson are welcome from the worlds of rap, R&B and pop, along with prominent women in various genres such as Go-Go’s, Carol King and Tina Turner.
This year, Eminem becomes only the 10th hip-hop artist to take office, making the cut in his first vote. (Artists are eligible for entry 25 years after the release of their first commercial record.)
Parton, Richie, Simon and Duran Duran were also selected in their first round, while new nominations such as Beck and A Tribe Called Quest, which met the conditions for more than a decade, were tossed. Simon, best known for her folk-pop hits such as “You’re So Vain,” was nominated for the first time more than 25 years after qualifying. Benatar and Eurythmics, which have been eligible for a long time, have been examined once before.
This year also saw Kate Bush, Devo, Fella Kuti, MC5, New York Dolls, Rage Against the Machine and Dionne Warwick.
Judas Priest was on the ballot, but will instead be included in the Non-Performing Arts category, along with the songwriting duo and producer Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. Harry Belafonte and Elizabeth Cotton will receive the Early Influence Award, while executive directors Alan Grubman, Jimmy Iowaine and Sylvia Robinson will receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award, named after the longtime Atlantic Records man and one of the founders of Rock Hall.
The 37th Annual Introduction Ceremony will take place on November 5 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles and will be broadcast later on HBO and SiriusXM.
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