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Is Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Exclusively for Rock and Roll?

By: Emily Eade

In recent years the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has been a frequent topic of debate. The most significant reason behind this is the musicians being nominated and inducted as performers. rock is such a broad genre, that it’s hard to exclude a great deal of musicians from this award. Yet again, should musicians like Missy Elliott, Dolly Parton, or Sam Cooke be inducted?

During the 1940s, rock and roll would become a term describing this genre of music created and founded by black musicians such as Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, and Fats Domino. It wasn’t until the early 1950s that this term would become popularized by Cleveland’s own, Alan Freed. The WJW disc jockey was known for promoting this genre immensely, leading Cleveland to be known as the “birthplace” of rock and roll. In September 1995 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened its doors to the public. However, inductions had started in 1986.

As per Merriam-Webster’s definition, rock and roll is “popular music usually played on electronically amplified instruments and characterized by a persistent heavily accented beat, repetition of simple phrases, and often country, folk, and blues elements.” Does this mean all the performers nominated and inducted for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame should be in? According to the Hall of Fame, nominees are selected based on musicians who created music with originality, impact, and influence that changed the course of rock and roll.

This is where the controversy begins…

Many people can argue that there are musicians in the Rock Hall who do not fit the standard definition of a rockstar. This would include Tupac Shakur and Willie Nelson just to name a couple. The arguable reasons why Tupac shouldn’t be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are simple… He did not influence rock and roll nor do anything involving the genre as a whole. Some argue that Willie Nelson, as a country artist, hasn’t influenced or done anything for the rock genre. Whereas, others would argue that these musicians changed the course of the genre. An example of this can be seen through Tupac being a pioneer of hip-hop, which took samples of rock music. Another example is Willie Nelson’s founding of the subgenre outlaw country, which took influence from blues and rockabilly, and helped evolve the genre of rock and roll. Even though musicians such as Tupac and Willie Nelson are inducted into the Hall of Fame, I do believe that there are a large number of musicians that belong in the Hall of Fame that aren’t in.

Let’s look at rock stars who have not been inducted. Some examples are Journey, Meatloaf, Blue Oyster Cult, and Styx. Journey is one of the best examples of musicians who should be in the Hall of Fame. There are many reasons to support why, first, is their large body of music. Second, their influence, the band influenced other bands such as Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, and Whitesnake, two of which have been inducted before Journey. Meatloaf is another great example, with his large body of captivating music and being one of the best-selling artists of all time. Blue Oyster Cult, at one point, was named the greatest rock and roll band of all time, for their body of music, influence, and overall sound, but, yet again, they aren’t inducted. Lastly, Styx should also be in the Hall of Fame, have you listened to The Grand Illusion? Styx screams musical geniuses. The underrated band has never been nominated despite their musical excellence, body of music, and influence. 

At the end of the day, we can argue about who should and shouldn’t be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, it’s not our choice; it’s the nominating committee, which is made up of rock historians. They select nominees, and then those nominees get voted upon by rock experts. Ultimately the Hall of Fame should be named the Music Hall of Fame due to the inducting of musicians not part of this genre.