The 37th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is set to take place on Saturday, November 5th at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. The Induction Ceremony will air at a later date on HBO and stream on HBO Max, along with a radio simulcast on SiriusXM’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Radio channel 310 and SiriusXM’s Volume channel 106. Visit rockhall.com/join to learn more.
“This diverse group of inductees each had a profound impact on the sound of youth culture and helped change the course of rock & roll,” said John Sykes, Chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. “Their music moved generations and influenced so many artists that followed.”
In the Performer Category, for artists who have created music whose originality, impact, and influence has changed the course of rock & roll, are Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, Duran Duran, Eminem, Eurythmics, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, and Carly Simon. The Musical Excellence Award is given to artists, musicians, songwriters and producers whose originality and influence creating music have had a dramatic impact on music, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and Judas Priest. The Early Influence Award for artists whose music and performance style have directly influenced, inspired, and evolved rock & roll and music impacting youth culture, goes to Harry Belafonte and Elizabeth Cotton. The Ahmet Ertegun Award, for non-performing industry professionals who have had a major influence on the creative development and growth of rock & roll and music that has impacted youth culture, recipients are Allen Grubman, Jimmy Iovine, and Sylvia Robinson.
Lionel Richie spent a decade as rock & roll’s King Midas – everything he touched turned to gold. As a singer, songwriter, and producer, he was firmly on the pulse of popular music, crafting enduring love songs and joyous anthems that resonated deeply with listeners.
“The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is the holy grail as far as I’m concerned, in terms of your peers, who you’re in there with, the history, what they all had to go through to get here,” said Richie, “What I love about the Hall of Fame is that each artist has a story. It’s the music that came out of their stories,” he added. “It humbles me to think that I’m even in the list because I know what all of them went through. To be able to join this group, that was a bucket list check right there.”
Drawing from several musical traditions, Harry Belafonte’s lyrical baritone and emotive singing connected Americans to Black world culture. Singer, actor, producer, activist, and ally, Belafonte used the arts as a mechanism to effect social change on a global scale.
Elizabeth Cotten’s intimate recordings and performances inspired generations of artists, and her technical prowess and musical inventiveness influenced countless guitar players.
Label executive, producer, songwriter, rapper: the original hip-hop mogul. Sylvia Robinson reigned supreme at the birth of hip-hop’s commercial success. She co-founded Sugar Hill Records and propelled an unknown subculture into the mainstream, setting the stage for rap to grow into the most lucrative music business of today.
Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis created a production company, recording studio, and signature sound responsible for “making” an artist’s career – the songs and sounds that stick with fans forever.
