The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has revealed its class of 2021: Foo Fighters, JAY-Z, The Go-Go’s, Tina Turner, Carole King, and Todd Rundgren will all be inducted during a ceremony held in Cleveland, Ohio on October 30th.
Additionally, LL Cool J, Billy Preston, and Randy Rhoads will each be honored with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s Musical Excellence Award, while Kraftwerk, Gil Scott-Heron, and Charley Patton are each receiving the Early Influence Award. Sussex Records founder Clarence Avant is this year’s recipient of the Ahmet Ertegun Award, which honors non-performing industry professionals.
A committee of 1,200 artists, historians, and music industry members, as well as a fan vote, determined this year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class. In order to be eligible, a nominee’s first recording must have been released at least 25 years ago.
Three of this year’s inductees — Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl, Tina Turner, and Carole King — are entering the Hall of Fame for a second time. King was previously inducted along with her former songwriting partner Gerry Goffin in 1990 as a non-performer; Tina Turner entered in 1991 as half of Ike & Tina Turner; and Grohl was first welcomed in 2014 as the drummer of Nirvana.
Among this year’s finalists who will have to wait another year for possible enshrinement: Rage Against the Machine, Kate Bush, Chaka Khan, DEVO, Iron Maiden, New York Dolls, Dionne Warwick, Fela Kuti, and Mary J. Blige.
The 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio on October 30th. It will be simulcast live on SiriusXM, with a television broadcast on HBO and HBO Max airing at a later date.
Last year’s class included Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, Whitney Houston, The Notorious B.I.G., T. Rex, and The Doobie Brothers. Because of the pandemic, a physical ceremony was scrapped in favor of a pre-recorded televised special.
