2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees Announced
Early ballot of 2017 rock hall nominees Janet Jackson, Tupac Shakur, Journey, Chaka Khan, Chic, Yes, Electric Light Orchestra and the Cars
With a new year comes a new class of graduates into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. And this year’s nominee pool reveals a few first-timers and possibly a few shoo-ins.
Rap icon Tupac Shakur is now eligible and is on the nominee list, so is the dynamically relevant rock band Pearl Jam. Also, up for induction are pop/R&B superstar Janet Jackson, Depeche Mode, Electric Light Orchestra, ’80’s rock band Journey, Jane’s Addiction, Yes, folk legend Joan Baez, the Cars, the Zombies, Steppenwolf, J. Geils Band, soul singer Joe Tex, MC5 and electronica band Kraftwerk,
Disco band and pop-rock legacy torchbearers Chic is also on the list, returning for the eleventh time. It’s a record for Nile Rodgers’ band, for being the nominee with the most mentions. Could No. 11 be their lucky one? Is the Rock Hall of Fame ready to inducted yet another disco icon, like they did Donna Summer? We shall see.
R&B/funk vocalist Chaka Khan has been nominated before, and also with her ’70’s band Rufus. Now Khan once again returns to the ballot.
Last year’s inductees were pretty much ’70’s AM rock gods — with Chicago, Deep Purple, Steve Miller Band and Cheap Trick rushing into the hall, and rap group N.W.A. tagging along. After looking over the list of nominees this year, there could very well be a shake-up. The Cars seems like a smart move, so does Electric Light Orchestra. Nevertheless with more R&B, pop and ’80’s pop-rock choices to play with (Janet Jackson, Chaka Khan, Chic, J. Geils Band, Journey), anything can happen.
The public can participate in the voting process by casting votes through select media outlets, including usatoday.com, Rolling Stone, The Huffington Post, SiriusXM and at rockhall.com. Voting ends December 5 and the top five artists will make up a fan’s ballot, which counts as a single vote.
We want to know what you think. Who do you think will certainly be selected to the Hall? Declare your favorites below in the comments section.
