Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Announces 2025 Inductees
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has announced its 2025 inductees, and the tally includes a range of musical acts. – Author: Charles Ken, photo by Michael Lavine
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is often criticized for its lack of, well, rock and metal act, but sometimes, they get it right. For rock fans who appreciate the big names in grunge, the 2025 class is one of those that just got it right. That’s because Soundgarden has been selected to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, following fellow grunge trend makers Nirvana and Pearl Jam, who are already in. Now, the last remaining major grunge band that has not been inducted is Alice in Chains.
Rock Hall 2025 Class
On Sunday, April 27, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced its 2025 class, and it includes Soundgarden, the White Stripes, OutKast, Cyndi Lauper, Joe Cocker, Bad Company, and Chubby Checker, who will each be inducted during a ceremony held in Los Angeles on November 8.
On top of the general inductees, Warren Zevon and Salt-N-Peppa will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as part of the Musical Excellence category. Also, Carol Kaye, Thom Bell and Nicky Hopkins will be honored with the Musical Influence Award, and longstanding music industry executive Lenny Waronker will accept the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
Per usual, the 2025 inductees were selected by an international voting body of more than 1,200 artists, historians and members of the music industry, plus a fan vote. To be eligible to be nominated for the honor, a nominee’s first recording must have been released at least 25 years ago. Of the bands selected for the 2025 class, a good number of them were first-time nominees, including OutKast, Cocker, Bad Company and Checker.
As for this year’s finalists who did not make the Rock Hall were Phish, Oasis, Mariah Carey, Joy Division/New Order, Billy Idol, Maná and The Black Crowes.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s 2025 induction ceremony is scheduled for the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Saturday, November 8. It will stream live on Disney+. The show will also be available on Hulu after its premiere and get a special broadcast airing on ABC at a later date.
Soundgarden and the Grunge Legacy
Soundgarden came out Seattle and was one of the biggest bands in the famous grunge scene of the 1990s. “The band’s raw power came out of the Northwest and flew in the face of a disconnected world, giving fans what they had long desired: a voice and a sense of belonging,” the Rock Hall stated on their website. A unique combination of alternative, metal, and punk, Soundgarden’s compelling sound cemented their place in music history.”
Formed in 1984, Soundgarden were one of the earliest grunge bands on the scene. As Louder notes, “1986 was an important year for Soundgarden. The band made their first ever appearance on vinyl, the CZ Records compilation ‘Deep Six,’ and experienced the first flutter in their line-up. It was becoming obvious that the band would have to venture outside the Pacific Northwest region to further their career, so Sundquist (who was a husband and father) opted to leave. It was a decision that enabled Matt Cameron to occupy the drum stool.”
Soundgarden broke out with 1991’s “Badmotorfinger” and grew even more with 1994’s “Superunknown.” The band broke up in 1997 but got back together in 2010. Frontman Chris Cornell sadly passed away after a Detroit gig in 2017.
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