Dolly Parton, Eminem, Lionel Richie among Rock Hall Nominees
NEW YORK — Eminem, Dolly Parton and Lionel Richie are among the first-time nominees for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
The Cleveland-based institution today announced the 17 nominees. The other first-time nominees are Beck, Carly Simon, A Tribe Called Quest and Duran Duran.
Returning nominees are Devo, Rage Against the Machine, Pat Benatar, Dionne Warwick, Judas Priest, Kate Bush, Eurythmics, Fela Kuti, MC5 and The New York Dolls.
This year’s class will be announced in May, with an induction ceremony planned for later this year.
Artists must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years before they’re eligible for induction.
“This year’s ballot recognizes a diverse group of incredible artists, each who has had a profound impact on the sound of youth culture,” said John Sykes, head of the foundation that runs the Rock Hall.
Lionel Richie, the singer and songwriter who led the funk band the Commodores before embarking on a solo career, played Youngstown’s Covelli Centre in 2016. His long list of soft pop hits includes “Easy,” “Still,” “All Night Long” and “Say You Say Me.”
Rap superstar Eminem (“Slim Shady,” “Rock God”) will be one of the entertainers at this year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show.
Country-pop music megastar, one of the most enduring music stars, is known for her songs “9 to 5,” “Here You Come Again” and “Islands in the Stream,” among many others.
Devo, the cutting-edge act from Akron, got its start in 1970 when the members were students at Kent State University.
After witnessing the infamous May 4th shootings on the campus, they asked themselves “Are we regressing as a culture instead of moving forward?” and would form a band whose name was based on that theme: De-Evolution.
Devo was equal parts art project, performance art, rock & roll satire, and punk band. They produced a sound that was fresh to the world, a wild amalgam of sharp-edged punk rock guitar angst, synthesized modernity, jagged motoric rhythms, and detached spoken word vocalizations. The primary lineup featured two sets of brothers, Bob and Gerald Casale, and Bob and Mark Mothersbaugh, along with Alan Myers
Their early performances around Akron, Ohio, allowed them to develop their songs, performance routines – they frequently performed wearing hazmat suits – and stage characters, such as Booji Boy.
In 1978 they recorded their debut LP with Brian Eno and David Bowie both producing. Devo’s cover of the Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” showed them embracing rock history while simultaneously tearing it down – taking one of the key rock anthems of the 1960s and turning it into a nervous rhythmic groove for the coming decade. Right on time, Devo released “Freedom of Choice” in 1980 and hit the pop charts with “Whip It!”
The band’s performance art was the perfect fit for the era of music video.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this story.
Lionel Richie is among this year’s first time nominees for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File)
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
