Remember when Cher loudly declared on television that she wouldn’t join the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame now “if they gave me a million dollars,” and then two months later the Rock & Rock Hall of Fame announced her as a nominee? Well… guess who’s officially been named as an inductee!! And she’s in good company (whether she accepts or not); joining Cher in the Performer Category are Kool & The Gang, Mary J. Blige, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Ozzy Osbourne, and A Tribe Called Quest. Entertainment Weekly is calling this “music’s highest honor,” so naturally it was announced by Ryan Seacrest and Lionel Richie on American Idol this weekend:
Drum roll, please! This year’s inductees into music’s highest honor — the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — are officially announced.
During Sunday’s “Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Night” episode of American Idol, host Ryan Seacrest and judge Lionel Richie revealed that Mary J. Blige, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Kool & The Gang, Ozzy Osbourne, and A Tribe Called Quest are being inducted under the Performer Category, which honors “artists who have created music whose originality, impact, and influence has changed the course of rock & roll,” according to a release.
To be eligible for the Hall of Fame, an individual artist or band must have released its first commercial recording at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination. Four out of the eight inductees in the Performer category were on the ballot for the first time, including Cher, Foreigner, Kool & the Gang, and Frampton.
Cher’s induction comes after she publicly rebuked the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year for never nominating her. “I wouldn’t be in it now if they gave me a million dollars,” she said on The Kelly Clarkson Show in December. “I’m never gonna change my mind,” she declared. “I mean, they can just you-know-what themselves.”
The Rock Hall is also honoring the late Jimmy Buffett, MC5, Dionne Warwick, and Norman Whitfield with the Musical Excellence Award, which is given to “artists, musicians, songwriters and producers whose originality and influence creating music have had a dramatic impact on music.”
Alexis Korner, John Mayall, and Big Mama Thornton earned the Musical Influence Award, which goes to “artists whose music and performance style have directly influenced, inspired, and evolved rock & roll and music impacting youth culture.”
And Suzanne de Passe is being honored with the Ahmet Ertegun Award, which goes to a “non-performing industry professional who’s had a major influence on the growth of the art form.”
Others who were nominated this year but not selected for induction include Mariah Carey, Eric B. & Rakim, Jane’s Addiction, Lenny Kravitz, Oasis, Sinead O’Connor, and Sade.
The 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction will air live on Saturday, October 19, on Disney+, with a special airing on ABC at a later date and available on Hulu the next day.
As of this writing, Cher has not made a public statement in response to the news. And I hope she keeps it that way! Keep ‘em on their toes!! The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame only thinks they’re the ones inviting Cher, when really it’s Cher who makes the rules, and who decides whether or not to call you back. And speaking of rules, I know I’m not the first to say this, but the whole Hall of Fame structure is so needlessly convoluted. With an awards show, I understand announcing a group of nominees, then revealing the winner in each category. But this deal of naming nominees to enter a club, and then cutting out some of that group… Why not just announce and induct the same set of artists at once?? What possible value was there in making the late great Sinead O’Connor a nominee and then not letting her in two months later? Anyway, congratulations to all the inductees — if it means something to you. Something like the more than a million dollars Cher said she couldn’t be bribed with.
Photos via Instagram and credit: imago stock&people / Avalon, VALERIA MAGRI / Avalon, Tony Mottram / Avalon, King Collection / Retna/Photoshot, David Livingston / Wenn / Avalon, Photoshot, PacificCoastNews / Avalon, Ana M. Wiggins / Avalon