The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will be inducting eight more acts this year in the performer category. But I’m more interested in those selected in other slots.
Rock Hall 2026 musical influences selections include:
Celia Cruz “pioneered Latin pop for the twentieth century and beyond with her contributions to Afro-Cuban guaracha style as well as the creation and popularization of salsa.” She influenced artists such as Sheila E., Gloria Estefan, and JLo. I own one of her live albums.
“Multi-instrumentalist and Afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti fused music and politics to become a singular global revolutionary voice… Fela fused elements of traditional West African highlife, jazz, and soul music and dubbed this rhythmic hybrid ‘Afrobeat.'”
Fela! The Musical “played to sold-out houses for nearly eighteen months from autumn 2009 to early 2011… During its on-Broadway run, Fela! won three Tony Awards, and the soundtrack album was nominated for a Grammy. The subsequent US and world tour included passionately well-received performances in Lagos and a sold-out three-month run at London’s National Theatre.”
He was previously nominated for the Hall in 2021, coming in second in the fan vote, and in 2022, when he finished 17th and a distant last. I have an album of covers of the musician, Red Hot + Riot: The Music and Spirit of Fela Kuti (2002)
Water No Get Enemy (1975)
Beast Of No Nation (1989)
Dana Owens
“A powerhouse multi-hyphenate, Queen Latifah is a Grammy-winning musician, award-winning actress, producer, record label president, author, and style icon. Though not the first woman rapper, Latifah is the original female superstar from hip-hop’s golden age – a pioneering artist who was the genre’s ‘first feminist’ and has spent her career breaking down barriers for women in the entertainment industry.” She influenced artists such as Missy Elliot, Lauryn Hill, and Lizzo.
I know her best from her various television appearances and her performance in the 2002 movie Chicago.
Ladies First featuring Monie Love
“Hip-hop pioneer and Vibe’s original Queen of Rap, Lana Michele Moorer, better known as MC Lyte, has spent nearly forty years redefining hip-hop. Rapper, songwriter, DJ, actress, television announcer, philanthropist, and entrepreneur, her career is defined by historic firsts. She was the first female rapper to release a full solo album, earn a gold single, and be nominated for a Grammy.” She inspired Latifah, among many others.
I Cram to Understand U (Sam)
Sweethearts of the Rodeo
Gram Parsons was country rock’s great visionary. With a voice that was plaintive, warm, and vulnerable, he bridged the raw directness of honky-tonk with the restless spirit of rock & roll. Parsons called his sound ‘Cosmic American Music’ – an adventurous mix of country, soul, gospel, and rock that introduced audiences to artists and songs they might never have otherwise discovered.” He influenced, among many others, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, and, of course, Emmylou Harris.
Hickory Wind – the Byrds
Return Of The Grievious Angel, featuring Emmylou Harris.
Musical Excellence Award
These tend to be non-performers, such as songwriters and producers.
“Linda Creed wrote some of the most memorable love songs of all time, helping establish the Philly Soul sound with heartfelt, tender lyrics that resonated deeply with listeners. Creed’s vulnerable, poetic lyrics paired perfectly with the lush production of her long-time partner, Thom Bell, helping define a more orchestral and introspective evolution of 1970s soul music.” She died at 37 from breast cancer in 1986.
Betcha By Golly, Wow – the Stylistics
Greatest Love Of All – Whitney Houston
“Known as the Greatest Ears in Town, Arif Mardin was a visionary producer whose work shaped four decades of popular music. A master of orchestration and arrangement, Mardin was renowned for mentoring artists while drawing out their individuality.”
As an ardent reader of liner notes, I’m stunned that he wasn’t already in the Hall. “With over 150 albums to his credit, Mardin contributed to iconic twentieth-century recordings…[He] won twelve Grammy awards, including Producer of the Year in 1975, and was inducted into the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame in 1990.
Young, Gifted, and Black – Aretha Franklin
She’s Gone – Hall & Oates
I Feel For You -Chaka Khan
Gimme Shelter
Jimmy Miller helped define the sound of late-1960s and early-1970s rock. As a producer, he emphasized groove and feel over perfection – encouraging loose, jam-based sessions that captured the recording process at its most alive. He set a blueprint that would inspire generations of producers to chase that same magic.
Between 1968 and 1973, Miller produced five albums for the Rolling Stones: Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main St., and Goats Head Soup.
I’m A Man – Spencer Davis Group.
Dear Mr. Fantasy -Traffic
I Got The Blues – Rolling Stones
“As the co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, the founder of American Recordings, and co-president of Columbia Records, record producer Rick Rubin has had an enormous and lasting impact on American music…. Lauded by MTV in 2007 as ‘the most important producer of the last 20 years,’ Rick Rubin’s legacy is still being created. He remains an in-demand producer.”
Walk This Way – RUN DMC, feat. Aerosmith
Give It Away – Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Mercy Seat – Johnny Cash
Once again, they need to put Estelle Axton, the co-founder of STAX Records, in this category, as I have been nagging about since 2015. As I noted, her brother, Jim Stewart, was inducted in 2002!
Ahmet Ertegun Award
“Television host, newspaper reporter, kingmaker, and civil rights activist Ed Sullivan (1901-1974) had a profound impact on rock & roll music and American culture. With more than a thousand episodes featuring over ten thousand artists across twenty-three years, The Ed Sullivan Show (1948-1971) was a weekly national event – an American family ritual that gave millions their first exposure to Black and international performers.
The Beatles – Ed Sullivan Show full concert (TV Show) February 9th, 1964
The newest standard performer entrants, announced during the live broadcast of the “Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Night” episode of “American Idol” on April 13, are:
- Phil Collins – a reasonable choice; selected on his first try, finishing 2nd in the fan vote
- Billy Idol – I had voted for him in 2025, when he came in 3rd in the fan voting; in 2026, he finished 9th
- Iron Maiden – they had finished 4th in both the 2021 and 2023 fan voting; in 2026, they finished 12th
- Joy Division/New Order – never the top tier in fan voting, but I always voted for them as they finished 9th in 2023, 10th in 2025, and 16th in 2026
- Oasis -the fan vote was 10th in 2024, 13th in 2025, and 15th in 2026
- Sade– she was 11th in the fan vote in 2024, but 7th in 2026; I voted for her
- Luther Vandross – the late, overlooked artist came 5th in the fan vote, which included mine
- Wu-Tang Clan – they finished 8th in their first fan voting; I supported them
My big disappointments were that New Edition (#1 in the fan vote, by over 100,000 votes over Collins) and INXS (6th) did not make it.
The Kennedy Center Honors 2023 was presented on Sunday, December 3. It will air on CBS-TV and stream on Paramount+ on Wednesday, December 27, at 9 pm ET/PT. Honorees for lifetime artistic achievements: actor and comedian