Having covered the artists inducted into this year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the Performers category, I’ll now turn my attention to those selected for Musical Excellence.

I only recently learned the major difference between these two classifications, and it turns out it’s a big one: inductees in Musical Excellence are selected by a committee rather than being voted in by the Hall’s larger membership.

This backdoor entry into the Hall was introduced in 2000 as the Sideman category. It was intended as a way to give recognition to behind-the-scenes talents who would likely never move through the traditional balloting process due to lack of name recognition.

It operated that way for a decade but in 2010 it was renamed the Musical Excellence category and was soon applied to high-profile performers as well as those in supporting roles. It essentially became a shortcut for the Hall’s leadership to admit artists they felt had been overlooked or didn’t stand a good chance of making it in through voting.

Lots of room for shenanigans there, no doubt, but this is a body that has never been without its controversies.

At any rate, Jimmy Buffett seems like an artist who — if nominated — would have made it into the Hall on his first ballot. But despite being eligible since 1995, he never got the chance.

After his death in September of 2023, I’m not sure why the Rock Hall didn’t add him to the 2024 ballot. Maybe they were worried he wouldn’t advance. Instead, they chose to induct him into the Musical Excellence category, guaranteeing him a posthumous slot.

All of these technicalities aside, Buffett no doubt belongs in the Hall of Fame. Here’s a man who not only wrote and recorded successful albums for more than 50 years, but launched an entire lifestyle brand around his music. He’s one of the few artists whose music is considered a way of life.

He only had one top ten hit on the Hot 100 (‘Margaritaville,’ at #8) but he has released at least a dozen (as the blockbuster greatest hits album puts it) “songs you know by heart.” With or without Rock & Roll Hall of Fame recognition, Jimmy Buffett will be remembered fondly for decades to come.