The 2012 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class was much larger than most, and that’s because the Hall decided that year to acknowledge backing bands that didn’t make it in with their lead singers.
Six such acts were inducted in 2012, all given the green light by a special committee and not subject to the usual voting process.
Now that I’ve put the 2024 movie year to bed, it’s time to return to music posts. And I’m kicking things off with an installment of my Hall of Fame series.
I’ve been working backward, covering each Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction class from the most recent to the inaugural class of 1986. So far, I’ve made my way back to 2013, so I’ll spend the next three weeks documenting the Class of 2012.
The final inductee into the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class is the sort of artist for whom the Musical Excellence category was designed.
Norman Whitfield is not a performer, and not a name most people would recognize, but his fingerprints are all over some of the greatest songs ever recorded. As a writer and producer, he played a key role in developing the Motown sound.
Dionne Warwick was nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame twice, in 2021 and 2022, but didn’t make the cut either time. The Hall went ahead and inducted her this year in the Musical Excellence category.
I’m shocked Warwick didn’t make it in on those ballots, or years earlier for that matter. She is one of the most successful singers of all time, with dozens of charting singles and more than 100 million album sales worldwide. She’s won a slew of awards, both competitive and for lifetime achievement. And she is the inspiration for a very funny SNL sketch.
The next artist inducted into this year’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in the Musical Excellence category is the hard rock band MC5. The Michigan-based band’s name is short for Motor City 5, a nod to their Detroit origins.
MC5 was nominated for the Rock Hall in six different years between 2003 and 2022 without making the cut, which must have prompted the Rock Hall’s leadership to bypass the voting process to include them.
Meet Me In Montauk 