The 2022 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has been announced. Lionel Richie, Harry Belafonte, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis are among the 14 acts to be inducted.
Also inducted are producer Sylvia Robinson and blues musician Elizabeth Cotten. Both are being admitted into the HOF posthumously. Greg Harris, president and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, announced on Wednesday morning that the induction ceremony will take place on Nov. 5 in Los Angeles.
Richie, formerly of The Commodores, enjoyed explosive solo success after departing from the group in the early ’80s. Thanks to hits like “Truly,” “Hello,” “All Night Long,” and “Dancing On the Ceiling,” Richie sold millions of records, won four Grammy Awards and a Best Original Song Oscar for “Say You, Say Me.” He is inducted as a performer.
Jam and Lewis are inducted into the Musical Excellence category. The duo is among the most successful and prolific songwriting and production teams in American music history. While known best for their work with fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Janet Jackson, Jam and Lewis also crafted hits for acts including Alexander O’Neal, Usher, Human League, Michael Jackson, Patti LaBelle, and Mary J. Blige.
Belafonte, along with Cotten, is being inducted as an Early Influencer. Belafonte played a significant role in incorporating calypso and West Indian music into the mainstream in the ’50s, particularly with his hit “The Banana Boat Song.” Cotten was an influential blues and folk guitarist and banjo player, who popularized the style of playing the melody and bass line simultaneously in the early 20th century.
Robinson will receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award. The late singer/songwriter was the visionary who founded Sugar Hill Records and produced landmark rap songs like The Sugar Hill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight,” Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five’s “The Message,” and The Sequence’s “Funk You Up.”
Other inductees this year include Eminem, Dolly Parton, Eurythmics, Duran Duran, Pat Benatar, and Carly Simon. Heavy metal band Judas Priest is in for Musical Excellence with Jam & Lewis. Other 2022 recipients of the Ahmet Ertegun Award are Interscope Records founder Jimmy Iovine and entertainment lawyer Allen Grubman.
Artists who were nominated this year but were not selected include A Tribe Called Quest, Dionne Warwick, and Rage Against the Machine. Inductees were determined by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame voting body as well as a fan poll.
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