By “Tampa” Earl Burton
If you got our tenth-anniversary edition of Rock at Night, you saw the list of artists that I felt were the best choices for nomination for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for 2025. If you did not, consider this your introduction to this year’s fourteen choices for induction. Come May, at least six or seven of these names will be the ones called out as the next inductees as Performers for the Hall.
But why wait until then? Here are the choices I would make for the Class of 2025 for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame – and remember…it’s about “rock and roll” not RAWK!
Surprises Abound Again in 2025
The Nomination Committee for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has never lacked the ability to surprise us. The list of potential inductees for this year is an intriguing mixture of artists and bands that will present voters with clear-cut choices to enter rock and roll’s Parthenon; the tough part may be who gets the last couple of slots or goes in through Musical Excellence or Musical Influence routes. A few surprise nominations are on the list, at least one of whom will earn an induction. That would be Bad Company who, while I disagree with their potential induction, would not be unwelcome to have in the Hall (it is possible to carry both theories in your brain!). Bad Company, who had never been nominated before 2025, is one that RAWK fans have been clamoring for decades. Now, we will see if they can earn induction – my bet is that they will, easily.
Two other surprises are not as slam dunk guaranteed as Bad Company may be. Chubby Checker, who in 2014 told the Rock Hall to “induct me or drop dead,” and Joe Cocker both were nominated in 2025. Both men will have a challenging time swaying many voters, but stranger things have happened. There were also some “out of left field” nominations. With little fanfare or call Mana, an extremely influential Mexican pop band; Phish, a longtime jam band (think the Grateful Dead), was put on the nomination list; and Outkast, the groundbreaking Atlanta rap group, were all nominated (Outkast for the first time).
Phish will get a HUGE push from the Fan Vote, much like Dave Matthews Band did a few years ago when they were nominated for the first time, but I don’t see them being elected – at least on their first nomination (which also happened to DMB). I see Mana being bypassed also, much like the much more Hall-worthy choice in Fela Kuti; the Hall is not known for its ability to pull suitable inductees out of the international community. The one who might get the call? Outkast, the seminal rap group that has been at the forefront of many a “snubbed” list over the years. There are some more first-time nominees – Billy Idol, Oasis, and The Black Crowes – and some returning entries – Mariah Carey, Cyndi Lauper, Joy Division/New Order, Soundgarden, and The White Stripes – who might be running out of chances for induction. Only Carey seems to be a sure-thing induction…the rest? Well…
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation today announced a list of 14 Performer Nominees to be considered for 2025 Induction.
- Bad Company
- The Black Crowes
- Mariah Carey
- Chubby Checker
- Joe Cocker
- Billy Idol
- Joy Division/New Order
- Cyndi Lauper
- Maná
- Oasis
- Outkast
- Phish
- Soundgarden
- The White Stripes
- Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Announces 2025 Nominees – and Here’s Our Choices - February 15, 2025
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