Pat Benatar, Eminem and Dolly Parton Among 2022 Rock Hall Inductees
Eminem, “Music to be Murdered By” album art – Story by Anne Erickson, photo via Shady/Aftermath/Interscope Records
The 2022 Rock Hall inductees include Pat Benatar, Eminem, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, Duran Duran, Eurythmics and Carly Simon
Pat Benatar, Eminem, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, Duran Duran, Eurythmics and Carly Simon have been selected to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as part of the Hall’s 37th class. In addition to the general nominees, two acts will receive the Musical Excellence Award: metal band Judas Priest and the songwriting and production team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.
For Judas Priest, it’s a bittersweet honor, as the band has been nominated for regular induction twice but hasn’t been selected for regular induction. So, instead they’re getting a special award. While it’s great they’re getting honored, it would mean more for them to get inducted alongside the other artists without a unique award.
It’s a big year for women in the Rock Hall, as six women will be tapped to enter the Hall. Those women are Benatar, Simon, Parton and Eurythmics’ Annie Lennox, along with blues musician Elizabeth Cotten scoring an Early Influence Award and record producer Sylvia Robinson scoring the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
Parton’s win is an interesting one, as Parton actually tried to decline her nomination, but the Rock Hall kept her on the ballot. Parton released a statement saying she was concerned that she would be “taking away from someone that maybe deserved it, certainly more than me because I never considered myself a rock artist” and would only “accept gracefully” if she were inducted due to “the fans vote.”
Many critics of the Rock Hall believe the institution leaves out, well, rock and metal music. Rage Against the Machine was nominated for induction this year but didn’t make the cut, despite their massive reunion tour that sold out in just a few minutes with five dates at New York’s Madison Square Garden. That’s not to mention Rage’s place in music as one of the first rock bands to really incorporate politics and social issues into their music. As for metal, Metallica has been inducted, but nothing from Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden or any of the other major metal mavens.
A live Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Nov. 5 in Los Angeles.
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