The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame certainly knows how to sell itself out. Even the announcement of who would be the inductees in the 2024 class was over the top. The museum decided to announce its inductees on an episode of American Idol. That seems cheap and not very rock and roll.
Also cheap and not truly in the spirit of rock and roll is the Rock Hall clearly beginning to run out of ideas as far as who should be worthy of induction and who should not be. Take a band such as Foreigner, for instance. They had a few good albums in the 1970s and then sold their souls to the musical devil and began making saccharine pop ballads that anyone could make in their basements.
Foreigner became a sell-out band. That is not what rock music is about. Yet, the Rock Hall decided they should be included among the inductees in the performer category for the 2024 class. This is the same museum that inducted Dolly Parton recently as well. Parton had never made a rock album before being announced as an entrant and even she seemed embarrassed by being included.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announces 2024 inductees with one clear miss
Plus, whatever rules the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame had before are obviously gone. The museum decided to induct Jimmy Buffet this year, too. No offense to Buffett, but it is odd that he has to sadly pass away for the Hall to truly notice him. He could have been inducted years before and he wasn't even on the list of potential candidates. Because of his death, the Rock Hall thought about him and decided to make him a part of the museum. That is almost disrespectful of Buffett.
At least the Rock Hall has begun noticing that metal acts are pretty good too. Judas Priest made the Hall last year and Ozzy Osbourne will make it this year. There is no reason for Osbourne to have waited this long to be inducted.
This is the full list of those who will be inducted in the 2024 class.
Performer category
Mary J. Blige
Cher
Dave Matthews Band
Foreigner
Peter Frampton
Kool & the Gang
Ozzy Osbourne
A Tribe Called Quest
Musical Excellence Award
Jimmy Buffett
MC5
Dionne Warwick
Norman Whitfield
Musical Influence Award
Alexis Korner
John Mayall
Big Mama Thornton
Ahmet Ertegun Award
Suzanne De Passe
The 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on October 19 at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland is also home to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame museum. The ceremony can be seen live stream via Disney+ and ABC will show a recorded version at a later date.