The 2023 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame all-star class of inductees includes Kate Bush, Missy Elliott, George Michael, Sheryl Crow, Rage Against the Machine, The Spinners and Willie Nelson, who celebrated his 90th birthday last week.
The icons will be officially anointed as rock and roll royalty on November 3, when the 38th annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony takes place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
“This year’s incredible group of Inductees reflects the diverse artists and sounds that define rock & roll,” John Sykes, president of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said in a statement Wednesday. “We are honored that November’s induction ceremony in New York coincides with two milestones in musical culture; the 90th birthday of Willie Nelson and the 50th anniversary of the birth of hip-hop.”
Others who have made it to the Rock Hall include hip-hop founder DJ Kool Herc and guitar great Link Wray, both of whom will earn the Musical Influence Award; funk R&B queen Chaka Khan and prolific songwriter musicians Al Kooper and Bernie Taupin receive the Musical Excellence Award; and the Ahmet Ertegun Award, an award for non-achieving industry professionals, goes to soultrain creator Don Cornelius, who died in 2012.
Artists must have released their first record 25 years earlier to be eligible for inclusion in the Rock Hall.
Elliott is inducted into her first year of eligibility, becoming the first female rapper to join the prestigious music organization. She is the 11th rapper overall, after acts like Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Jay-Z, NWA and Eminem.
Nelson, Crow and Michael – who died in 2016 – were selected to be included in the auditorium after being nominated for the first time.
Tom Morello, Brad Wilk, Tim Commerford and Zack de la Rocha will be inducted into Rage Against the Machine, while inductees for The Spinners include Henry Fambrough, Billy Henderson, Pervis Jackson, Bobbie Smith and Philippé Wynne.
