Prior to 2021, there had never been a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Performer’s class with more than two female artists (or female-fronted bands). Since then, there have been nine female acts inducted in three years. Ten if you count the Annie Lennox-fronted Eurythmics.
There are reasons for this, much in the same way there are reasons why the Grammy’s have been so dominated by female artists over the past decade. At the risk of starting a culture war here in the pages of AudioPhix, I am going to suggest that the main reason has nothing to do with the emergence of Woke culture.
It's really just a numbers game. Simple math. Any actuary could tell you. Men were the dominant voice in music for a very long time. Male voices were bound to begin sounding stale. New voices – female voices, non-binary voices, reggaeton, Afrobeat, and K-pop voices - were bound to gain momentum if for no other reason than the fact that we had not been hearing them for the past fifty years. They were different, which attracted some attention. If the artist was exceptional, that newfound attention could lead to awards.
Predicting who makes the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2024
As it concerns the Rock & Roll HOF, an awful lot of male musicians are already enshrined. That makes it more likely that the male acts still on the outside looking in may be second-tier performers. They can still be fine artists, with loyal fans and impressive record sales. They can still merit consideration for the HOF. But they may have to take a back seat to those other artists – those non-male artists – who have not yet been recognized despite resumes that are highly deserving.
This little history lesson figures into my handicapping of this year’s HOF inductees, set to be announced at the end of April. There are fifteen nominees and there is a good chance that seven of them will be voted into the Hall. The nominees are:
Mary J Blige
Mariah Carey
Cher
Dave Matthews Band
Eric B. & Rakim
Foreigner
Peter Frampton
Jane’s Addiction
Kool & the Gang
Lenny Kravitz
Oasis
Sinead O’Connor
Ozzy Osbourne
Sade
A Tribe Called Quest
Of those fifteen, I think there are three locks and three who have virtually no chance. That leaves nine acts in the middle fighting for up to four remaining spots. Let’s do the easy ones first.
NO CHANCE
Foreigner, Eric B. & Rakim, Jane’s Addiction
Foreigner deserves consideration for their longevity. They were an important hard rock band from the 1970s and ‘80s, but they were never among the best bands of their generation. They are a classic candidate for the Hall of Very Good – not the Hall of Fame.
Eric B & Rakim are not getting in ahead of A Tribe Called Quest, and the HOF is not taking two hip-hop acts this year. Maybe they get in a couple of years down the road, but there’s no guarantee.
Jane’s Addiction’s biggest claim to fame was being one of the first alt-rock acts to break down major label doors and score some decent mainstream hits. That’s important, but just because they were among the first, it doesn’t mean that they were among the best. The HOF keeps creating more and more specialty categories to recognize more focused achievements, and as strange as it may seem now, there may come a time a decade or two down the road when Jane’s Addiction may deserve Musical Influence recognition in the same way Kraftwerk was honored a few years ago.