Willie Nelson, Missy Elliott, and more inducted into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Willie Nelson, Missy Elliott, and Kate Bush are among the next class of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame honorees

Willie Nelson, Missy Elliott, and more inducted into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Missy Elliott; Kate Bush; Willie Nelson Photo: Michael Loccisano; Chas Sime; Brandon Bell

School will soon be out for summer, but there’s a new class coming in. That’s this year’s inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a class of 13 iconic artists who will join the annals of music history on November 3. The list includes a range of performers from genres not strictly what one might consider “rock & roll,” including Willie Nelson, Missy Elliott, Kate Bush, and more.

“This year’s incredible group of Inductees reflects the diverse artists and sounds that define rock & roll,” John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said in a statement (via The Hollywood Reporter). “We are honored that this November’s Induction Ceremony in New York will coincide with two milestones in music culture; the 90th birthday of Willie Nelson and the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip-hop.”

Nelson, Elliott, and Bush are all being inducted in the performer category, alongside Cheryl Crow, Sheryl Crow, George Michael, Rage Against the Machine, and The Spinners. Sykes noted to Variety that Bush has “been nominated many times,” but “Sometimes it takes a major moment like Willie’s 90th birthday or, in the case of Kate Bush, music being played in Stranger Things to shine a light on them for a lot of younger people who didn’t know who she was in 1985; they probably weren’t even born yet.”

DJ Kool Herc and guitarist Link Wray are being inducted with the honor of the Music Influence Award, while songwriters Al Kooper and Bernie Taupin, as well as Chaka Khan, will receive the Musical Excellence Award. Khan has been on the ballot seven times previously, which Sykes told Variety was part of the reason to elevate her to this category. “Because if someone’s been nominated so many times, but there’s a disconnect between the nominating committee and the general ballot, after it’s been five or six times, then we realize that there’s such a strong belief in them by the nominating committee that we can honor them.”

Finally, the Ahmet Ertegun Award—so named for the co-founder of Atlantic records and given to “non-performing industry professionals”—will be bestowed upon the late Don Cornelius, host and producer of the beloved dance and music show Soul Train. The induction ceremony will take place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, with a new media partner expected to be named after the event’s contract with HBO recently expired, per Variety.

 
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