The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced the 14 nominees for induction in 2025. As has become standard, part of the fun of seeing this list is reading all the joy and anger coming from fans reacting to the inclusion or exclusion of their favorites. Speaking only for myself – Where are the Monkees?
OK, I’ll let that go. For now. This year’s nominees include eight first-timers. My quick math tells me that is more than half the list. None of the rookies are in their first year of eligibility. Each has been considered and passed over for nomination at least once – and in some cases, for decades. That may suggest a new era for RRHOF – one in which greater consideration is paid to artists who have been unjustifiably ignored in the past.
Or it may suggest that this is simply a weak year for the Hall.
Who deserves to be inducted among the 2025 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees?
As many fans know, the RRHOF has been undergoing a lot of soul-searching of late. Many cultural historians consider rock & roll to be a genre in retreat. The sway it once held over the music industry has been diminishing for a long time. That was once again reflected in this year’s Grammys. The Recording Academy gave major rock awards to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, bands who were inducted into the hall before many of today’s music fans were even born.
In order to stay relevant, the Hall has broadened its definition of which acts merit consideration. In recent years, major hip-hop, country, and pop acts have been inducted despite having minimal connection to classic rock & roll. That has caused some old timers to lament just how meaningful induction into the Hall is today.
Last year, half of the eight inductees were only tangentially related to rock. Mary J. Blige, Cher, Kool & the Gang, and A Tribe Called Quest all had impressive resumes, but were they rock & rollers?
Quite frankly, that issue has been put to bed. The doors are open to a wider range of musicians. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is up to you.
Let’s do a snapshot of this year’s nominees. I am putting them in my own personal opinion of worthiness, and that is absolutely, positively going to piss off some readers. I’m OK with that. We all have our opinions. Note – this is not a prediction of who is likely to get in. That may come later after we’ve all had time to listen to the buzz and read the signs.
And though this will be my opinion of worthiness based on resumes, it is not my own personal preference. There are artists who I don’t personally like all that much who may be more worthy than bands I prefer listening to.
Enough disclaimer – on to the list. In reverse order from least-deserving to most….
Chubby Checker (1st time nominee)
The RRHOF has established sidebar honors outside the main “Performers” designation. Chubby Checker is the perfect candidate for recognition as an Early Influence. He should not be recognized as a performer. Checker had one monster hit – “The Twist” – and a couple of other very successful singles. “The Twist” was a Number One Billboard hit on two separate occasions, and “Pony Time” also made it to the top.
That was more than sixty years ago. Checker's time as a major recording artist was extremely short-lived. He will be a sentimental favorite because he has spoken about his desire to be enshrined and is 83 years old. But he does not merit inclusion as a performer.
Mana (1st time nominee)
If I’m being honest, I don’t know nearly enough about Mana or their influence to offer a legitimate assessment of their chances. They represent a further opening of the Hall, being the first musical act that performs entirely in Spanish to garner a nomination. Their impact in Mexico and on the USA Latin Charts is undeniable. But they have had little presence on mainstream charts in the US.
This feels like the first crack in the wall that has thus far kept Latin performers out, and as such, the nomination is important. One day, when reggaeton acts are being routinely inducted, Mana will be hailed for their achievements. I just don’t think that equals induction in 2025.
The Black Crowes (1st time nominee)
I like the Black Crowes a lot. They have six top-20 albums and three top-five singles on their resume. They put out a well-regarded album last year, which speaks to their longevity. That’s all pretty good. Pretty good shouldn’t get you in the RRHOF.
Joe Cocker (1st time nominee)
Apart from Chubby Checker, no first-time nominee has been around as long as Joe Cocker. He is one of the most highly-respected blues belters of his era and had a live album, Mad Dogs & Englishmen, which caused a sensation back in 1970. Countering that is the fact that over the course of 22 studio albums, Cocker has never cracked the top ten in either the UK or the USA.
He has had his greatest success in Germany. As with Checker, Cocker is in the wrong category here. There is an honor given for Musical Excellence at RRHOF inductions. It was originally intended for sidemen, but last year Dionne Warwick – a pure vocalist - was so honored. That is what Cocker should receive.
Bad Company (1st time nominee)
This one kills me. I grew up with Bad Company. I loved them. They were one of the most successful early supergroups. Their debut album hit number 1 in the USA and three of their next four were major hits. But the fact is that Bad Company basically began trailing off as soon as that first album was out and their run as a major band ended after about five years.
Billy Idol (1st time nominee)
This hurts even more than Bad Company because I personally liked Billy Idol even more. I still do. The “rock star” commercials he does today are brilliant. But like Bad Company, Idol’s run as a major artist is limited. If you consider his years with punk pioneers Generation X (and the RRHOF does), his resume is bolstered a bit more. But is a couple of huge albums and several top singles in the mid-‘80s enough?
Cyndi Lauper (2nd-time nominee)
Lauper was nominated in 2023 but didn’t make the final cut. Like Billy Idol, she had some major hits in the mid-1980s and also played a crucial role in the development of music videos at the time. She continued to put out music after her great early success and experienced something of a resurgence in the last decade. I think that as pop becomes more acceptable in the RRHOF, she will one day be inducted. This year, she will run into a roadblock from another female pop artist.
Phish (1st time nominee)
Phish is a little bit like Mana in that it is not really fair to judge them by typical entrance standards. They have had a strong presence on the alternative charts, but in terms of mainstream success, they have had virtually none.
Still, they are one of the best-loved and most successful live acts on the planet and have a very rabid fanbase. The sheer amount of live music they have released is staggering. I’m not sure Phish has enough wide-ranging support to get them in, but in an ideal world, they will one day be inducted.
Soundgarden (3rd time nominee)
If the past is precedent, we are into the portion of the list featuring artists who have a very good chance of being inducted this year. Soundgarden is my personal favorite band amongst this year’s nominees and I admit I may be showing my bias here. They only released six studio albums, and the first two were largely post-punk niche recordings.
But after Nirvana and Pearl Jam, no band was more significant coming out of the northwest scene in the early 1990s. That scene was important enough to merit multiple bands in the RRHOF. In Chris Cornell, they had one of the great rock & roll vocalists of his era, and in Kim Thayil, they had a guitarist smart enough to read and renegotiate the contract he was being asked to sign by indie label SST.
The strategy Soundgarden employed to launch their career is almost reason enough to include them. Their music puts them over the top.
The White Stripes (2nd time nominee)
It is easier to make the case for Jack White than for his band the White Stripes. If you pool together his solo work and various side projects, there is no reason why he is not already in. But the band he formed with his wife Meg White was so influential on modern rock that they deserve induction despite a relatively limited discography.
Joy Division/New Order (2nd time nominee)
The two bands were nominated together in 2023. They are linked because New Order was a continuation of Joy Division after the death of the original band’s frontman, Ian Curtis, in 1980. I will admit freely that I have never been a big fan of either incarnation. But their impact is undeniable.
The only argument you can really make opposing their induction is that they were much bigger in the UK than in the USA. That theoretically doesn’t matter to the voters, but you never know. That shouldn’t suggest that New Order had no impact in the USA. They were very big on the Dance charts. But they were monsters in the UK.
Outkast (1st time nominee)
Last year, the hip-hop act A Tribe Called Quest was inducted, as was Mary J. Blige, an artist who incorporates rap into her neo-soul. The Hall is going to induct more hip-hop artists going forward. Though I would have preferred to see Wu-Tang Clan on this nominee list, Outkast is equally qualified.
The duo broke up early so their resume isn’t especially long, but it is long enough. Over a ten-year period, they were the foremost proponents of Atlanta rap with five consecutive albums that climbed to Number One or Two on the US album chart.
Oasis (2nd time nominee)
I thought Oasis would get in last year when they were nominated for the first time. As with Joy Division/New Order, the only blemish on their musical resume is the fact that they were so much bigger in the UK than in the USA. But with the Gallagher brothers, other blemishes invariably crop up. Singer Liam Gallagher has been very outspoken in his opinion of the Hall.
He summed it up in one word – “wankers.” Oasis is forever controversial They also dominated the UK charts and much of the world for a ten-year period from the mid-‘90s to the mid-aughts in a way few other rock acts have ever managed. They should clearly in inducted, but I have no idea whether they will be.
Mariah Carey (2nd time nominee)
Let’s get this out of the way. The RRHOF inducted Madonna in 2008. Then they put in ABBA. Donna Summer. Janet Jackson. Whitney Houston. Cher. The RRHOF has opened its doors to pop artists. Once you do that, there is no argument to be made that keeps Mariah Carey out. She is more successful, by a fairly wide margin than any of the artists I just named.
I suppose you could say that her brand of pop is further removed from rock & roll than that of the other pop acts. The fact that she wasn’t inducted last year may suggest there are others who agree, but that seems like splitting hairs to me. This is an arguably weaker year for nominees. I expect she will get in.
The RRHOF does not reveal the specific date they will announce the 2025 class, but we know that announcement will come sometime toward the end of April.