Tag Archives: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

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Song of the Day #5,498: ‘We Belong’ – Pat Benatar

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has had a spotty reputation when it comes to inducting women. Only 25 solo women have been inducted into the Hall as performers since its 1986 inception. The Hall has been making up for that oversight in recent years, with 10 of those coming in the last five years.

Last year saw the induction of Pat Benatar, the artist responsible for such hits as ‘Love is a Battlefield,’ ‘Hit Me with Your Best Shot,’ and ‘We Belong.’ Interestingly, Benatar was added to the Hall alongside her longtime husband and guitarist, Neil Giraldo, so she may not qualify as a “solo” inductee even though all of her albums were released under her name alone.

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Song of the Day #5,497: ‘Coat of Many Colors’ – Dolly Parton

Getting back to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class of 2022, we arrive at a musical legend whose excellence nobody can deny: Dolly Parton. Parton is the first female country artist inducted into the Hall.

Parton herself questioned whether she belonged in the Rock Hall and initially declined the nomination, stating that she wasn’t “worthy” of the honor. That’s not how the admission process works, however, so she made it on the ballot whether she wanted to or not. Eventually she embraced the honor and performed, with typical charm and humility, at the induction ceremony.

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Song of the Day #5,494: ‘Here Comes the Rain Again’ – Eurythmics

The British New Wave duo Eurythmics has been eligible for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inclusion since 2007, and were nominated once before in 2018 before making the cut in 2022.

Lead singer Annie Lennox and multi-instrumentalist/producer Dave Stewart co-wrote and recorded a string of innovative hits and released eight studio albums over a decade. They were truly an 80s band, debuting in 1981 and calling it quits in 1989 (they reunited ten years later for one more album).

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Song of the Day #5,493: ‘When I’m Gone’ – Eminem

Eminem was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, becoming the sixth rapper to make it on his first ballot (Missy Elliott became the seventh, and first woman, a year later).

Once you have accepted that the functional definition of “rock & roll” refers not to a specific style of music popularized in the 1950s but rather all of the elements that led to and sprung from that music — and that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame rightly celebrates musicians in such genres as jazz, soul, disco, R&B, pop, and rap — Eminem’s inclusion is a no-brainer.

Only the “rap isn’t rock” purists could begin to argue otherwise.

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Song of the Day #5,492: ‘Ordinary World’ – Duran Duran

Seven performers were inducted into the 2022 class of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Alphabetically, the first of them was 80s New Wave sensation Duran Duran.

The English quintet was the best-selling band from the “Second British Invasion,” which found synth-driven pop acts delivering songs that would come to define the sound of 80s music. That sound was derided by many critics at the time, but has come to be much appreciated (and copied) in recent decades. They have been eligible for the Rock Hall since 2007 but went un-nominated until last year.

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