For those who put validation in such things, IRON MAIDEN, FOO FIGHTERS, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and the NEW YORK DOLLS have been announced as being among the nominees for the 2021 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction. The list of actual inductees, who accumulate the most votes, will be announced in May while the ceremony itself will take place in Cleveland, Ohio in the fall.
To be eligible for this year’s ballot, each nominee’s first single or album had to have been released in 1995 or earlier.
“This remarkable ballot reflects the diversity and depth of the artists and music the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame celebrates,” Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Foundation chairman John Sykes says in a statement. “These nominees have left an indelible impact on the sonic landscape of the world and influenced countless artists that have followed them.”
So you’re probably wondering what lineups of these bands would be inducted? After all, IRON MAIDEN has had quite a list of past personnel, especially in the early days. Well according to the Rock Hall, the IRON MAIDEN members that would get inducted would include the current lineup of singer Bruce Dickinson, bassist Steve Harris, drummer Nicko McBrain, and guitarists Adrian Smith, Dave Murray and Janick Gers, along with former singer Paul Di’Anno, former drummer Clive Burr, and former guitarist Dennis Stratton.
The FOO FIGHTERS members to be inducted would include the current lineup of Dave Grohl, drummer Taylor Hawkins, bassist Nate Mendel, keyboardist Rami Jaffee, and guitarists Pat Smear and Chris Shiflett.
As for the NEW YORK DOLLS, which would be a fitting induction not only for the sheer fact that it’s the New York fucking Dolls, but also with the recent passing of guitarist Sylvain Sylvain, it would be a bittersweet, yet fitting tribute. Nonetheless those from “The DOLLS” who would be inducted include frontman David Johansen, bassist Arthur “Killer” Kane, guitarists Johnny Thunders and Sylvain Sylvain, and drummers Jerry Nolan and Billy Murcia.
A voter pool of more than 1,000 artists, historians, journalists, and members of the music industry will select the new class. Starting Wednesday, fans will also have a chance to take part in the process by voting at Rockhall.com or at an interactive kiosk at the museum in Cleveland. Their selections will count as a single “fan ballot” that gets tabulated along with the others.
Here’s the full list of nominated artists:
Mary J. Blige
Kate Bush
DEVO
FOO FIGHTERS
THE GO-GO’S
IRON MAIDEN
Jay-Z
Chaka Khan
Carole King
Fela Kuti
LL Cool J
NEW YORK DOLLS
RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE
Todd Rundgren
Tina Turner
Dionne Warwick
Now with that being said, let’s remember that even though artists are eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single, iconic hard rock and metal bands like IRON MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST and MOTÖRHEAD have yet to be inducted into said institution. The “Rock And Roll” Hall Of Fame seems to thumb their noses at the genres of “hard rock” or “metal”, with the exception of a handful of groups like METALLICA, BLACK SABBATH and KISS (who, mind you, were eligible for induction since 1999 but didn’t get their first nomination until 2009, and were finally inducted in 2014). DEEP PURPLE was eligible for the Rock Hall since 1993 but didn’t get inducted until 2016. DEEP PURPLE man! They, along with SABBATH, practically invented that little sub-genre known as “METAL”.
Back in 2018, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson referred to the Rock Hall as “an utter and complete load of bollocks” during a spoken-word appearance in Australia. The singer went on to claim the institution was “run by a bunch of sanctimonious bloody Americans who wouldn’t know rock and roll if it hit them in the face.”
Dickinson would then go on to tell The Jerusalem Post that he was “annoyed with that coverage because they took my statement out of context to make it seem like I was upset that we weren’t in the Hall Of Fame.
“I’m really happy we’re not there and I would never want to be there,” he continued. “If we’re ever inducted, I will refuse — they won’t bloody be having my corpse in there.
“Rock and roll music does not belong in a mausoleum in Cleveland,” Bruce added. “It’s a living, breathing thing, and if you put it in a museum, then it’s dead. It’s worse than horrible, it’s vulgar.”
Nonetheless, if it is in fact something that fancies your interest, you can check out the video for the full announcement of the 2021 Rock Hall Nominees below.