Erica Banas // Rock Music Reporter
May 12th, 2021
The 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees have finally been unveiled, and as with years past, there is plenty to talk about.
From surprise inductees to long-overdue honors to omissions, here are the five biggest takeaways from this year’s Rock Hall induction class.
Of the six performer inductees, Foo Fighters, The Go-Go's, JAY-Z and Tina Turner received their first nominations this year. Foo Fighters and JAY-Z are first-ballot inductees on their first year of Rock Hall eligibility. Carole King was first nominated as a solo artist in 1989. Todd Rundgren was previously nominated in 2019 and 2020.
Of the six performer inductees, three of them are women. The Go-Go's and Tina Turner were nominated for induction as performers for the first time this year despite being eligible for nomination/induction for many years.
This year’s class of performer inductees gives us two women who should’ve became double inductees years ago: Carole King and Tina Turner. King was previously inducted into the Rock Hall in 1990 receiving the Ahmet Ertegun Award alongside songwriting partner and former husband Gerry Goffin. Turner, meanwhile, was previously inducted as a performer in 1991 with Ike Turner. The third double-inductee? Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, who was previously inducted in 2014 as a member of Nirvana.
Unlike the Performer category, the potential recipients of the Rock Hall’s various Special Awards are usually not revealed until the main induction class is announced. This usually provides for some surprise honors, and 2021 did not disappoint. LL Cool J and Kraftwerk, two artists who have both been nominated multiple times as performers, will be the recipients of the Musical Excellence Award and the Early Influence Award, respectively. Also receiving Musical Excellence Award honors is legendary session musician Billy Preston and influential metal guitarist Randy Rhoads.
While Randy Rhoads being honored with the Musical Excellence Award is...well...excellent, heavy metal was, once again, shut out of the Performer Category despite Iron Maiden being nominated this year. The 2021 class marked the first time the iconic metal band was nominated for the Rock Hall. Their induction, along with the induction of fellow metal icons Judas Priest, is long overdue, and the general lack of heavy metal representation is something the Rock Hall still needs to address and fix.
