THE LOCKS
Mariah Carey, Cher, Ozzy Osbourne
Between her debut in 1990 and her last album Caution (2018), Mariah Carey released 15 albums. Every one of them landed in the Top 10 on the US charts. All but one made it into the top 5, and six of them went to Number 1. What more do you really need to say?
Cher was huge in the 1960s as part of the iconic Sonny & Cher. She was huge as a solo act in the 1970s with three number 1 hits and a host of other charting singles. She continued to be big in the 1980s, and then, just past her 50th birthday, scored another massive hit with “Believe” in 1998. Two decades later, she was still releasing top-selling albums. The simple fact is that once the R&R HOF opened up the definition of what could qualify for inclusion to hip-hop, country, and pop music, Cher’s induction was destined. I’m surprised it has taken this long.
Ozzy Osbourne is already in the Hall as part of Black Sabbath, one of just three metal bands included. I could make the argument that rather than honoring Ozzy as a solo artist, the Hall really should find room for Iron Maiden and Motorhead first. But that won’t happen this year. Ozzy has a titanic solo career. I think I read more than one critic point out that you really can’t have something called the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame without including Ozzy Osbourne in it.
WHO GETS IN
So, in addition to Mariah, Cher, and Ozzy, who gets in? I’m saying A Tribe Called Quest continues the streak of hip-hop acts. I’m also going to go with two mild surprises: Kool & the Gang because there is a lot of momentum building for them, and Oasis, because I simply can’t see the Hall totally ignoring mainstream pop-rock this year.
That leaves two very strong candidates – Lenny Kravitz and Sinead O’Connor – battling it out for the final spot. Given the aforementioned recent track record of female artists, I predict that O’Connor will get in, and Kravitz is a bit of a surprise omission. I’ll note that virtually every other prediction column I have seen has Kravitz getting in, so I will be crowing about this if I get it right. If I am wrong, I probably will just keep my mouth shut.