The nominations for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s Class of 2022 are in, and the list features Eminem, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, Duran Duran, Beck, Pat Benatar, Carly Simon, A Tribe Called Quest, Kate Bush, Devo, Judas Priest, Eurythmics, Fela Kuti, MC5, New York Dolls, Rage Against the Machine, and Dionne Warwick. The top vote-getters will be announced in May and inducted in the fall.
“This year’s ballot recognizes a diverse group of incredible artists, each who has had a profound impact on the sound of youth culture,” Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation Chairman John Sykes said in a statement. “Their music not only moved generations, but also influenced the sound of countless artists that followed.”
To be eligible for this year’s ballot, each nominee’s first single or album had to have been released in 1996 or earlier. Seven of the nominees (Beck, Eminem, Duran Duran, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, Carly Simon, and A Tribe Called Quest) are on the ballot for the first time, but Eminem is the only one to appear in his first year of eligibility. His debut LP Infinite was released in 1996.
This is the sixth nomination for MC5, the fourth nomination for Rage Against the Machine, the third for Kate Bush, Devo, Eurythmics, Judas Priest, and the New York Dolls, and the second nomination for Pat Benatar, Fela Kuti, and Dionne Warwick.
Once again. the Hall of Fame has named the individual band members that will enter should their group get inducted. For Duran Duran, they selected the classic lineup of vocalist Simon Le Bon, keyboardist Nick Rhodes, guitarist Andy Taylor, bassist John Taylor, and drummer Roger Taylor along with “Ordinary World”-era guitarist Warren Cuccurullo. “Just to make it onto the nominations list is an honor that I never expected to experience,” Le Bon said. “This distinction is due in large part to the fact that we have an army of fans around the world who have unwaveringly supported us for the past four decades.”
For Judas Priest, they picked drummer Les Binks, guitarist K. K. Downing, vocalist Rob Halford, bassist Ian Hill, drummer Dave Holland, guitarist Glenn Tipton, and drummer Scott Travis.
The New York Dolls members selected were singer David Johansen, bassist Arthur “Killer” Kane, drummer Billy Murcia, drummer Jerry Nolan, bassist Sylvain Sylvain, and guitarist Johnny Thunders.
Rage Against The Machine didn’t require the Hall of Fame to make many judgement calls. From day one, they have been bassist Tim Commerford, singer Zack de la Rocha, guitarist Tom Morello, and drummer Brad Wilk. For a Tribe Called Quest, they went with Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Phife Dawg, Q-Tip, and Jarobi White.
The Devo members named by the Hall were guitarist Bob Casale, bassist/vocalist Gerald Casale, singer Mark Mothersbaugh, guitarist Bob Mothersbaugh, and drummer Alan Myers.
The MC5 lineup of bassist Michael Davis, guitarist/singer Wayne Kramer, guitarist/singer Fred “Sonic” Smith, drummer Dennis Thompson, and singer Rob Tyner were picked. And Pat Benatar was named along with her husband and longtime guitarist Neil Giraldo.
The Hall of Fame induction ceremony is often the place where estranged bandmates reunite for the evening. There aren’t many possibilities of that this time around, though it is possible that Duran Duran could play with former guitarists Andy Taylor and Warren Cuccurullo. It’s also an opportunity for Judas Priest to perform with former guitarist K.K. Downing and Seventies drummer Les Binks, and a chance for Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox to play again as Eurythmics.
A voter pool of more than 1,000 artists, historians, journalists, and members of the music industry will select the new class. Starting today, fans will also have a chance to take part in the process by voting at rockhall.com or at an interactive kiosk at the museum in Cleveland. Their selections will count as a single “fan ballot” that gets tabulated along with the others.
In recent years, the Hall of Fame has brought in several acts not on the ballot by giving them The Award for Musical Excellence, The Ahmet Ertegun Award, or the Musical Excellence Award. These picks are made solely by the Nominating Committee, and will be announced in May along with the rest of the class of 2022.
The 2021 class was inducted into the Hall of Fame October 30th, 2021 at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio. They have not yet said where the 2022 ceremony will take place.
Smashing Pumpkins are hoping to bring their A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness production to the Las Vegas Sphere for a one of a kind performance centered around the legendary 1995 album.
Billy Corgan is stepping away from traditional rock venues and leaning into the world of opera with his large scale A Night of Mellon Collie and Infinite Sadness tour, which transforms the band’s iconic record into a full orchestral and operatic experience.
Even though the group has not officially been invited to perform at the cutting edge venue in Las Vegas, Corgan admitted he would immediately embrace the opportunity.
Speaking with KROQ, he explained: “It’s a no-doubter for us. We just haven’t been asked yet.
“See, if the Sphere came to us and said, ‘We’d love you to do all of Mellon Collie with that production.’ Now, that makes sense to me to do something like that, to build the show around the album.
"Then you have a chance to recast the songs and the music in a different dynamic.”
The performance sees Corgan joined by acclaimed solo vocalists and complete orchestras, reshaping some of Smashing Pumpkins’ most beloved songs into expansive classical arrangements.
The project first premiered in Chicago and received overwhelming praise, with audiences and reviewers applauding the powerful reinterpretations of songs such as 1979 and Tonight, Tonight.
Corgan shared that the experience has become one of the most meaningful achievements of his artistic journey.
He said: “The success of translating Mellon Collie into operatic and classical form has been one of the most satisfying experiences of my life. Where on each of the 7 sold out nights in Chicago, we’d finish within the raucous wave of a standing ovation. So to now take it on the road, and to Europe, too says this magical dream doesn’t have to end.”
The production was developed by Corgan alongside Grammy nominated conductor James Lowe, who added: "It has been so gratifying to discover how the nuances and layers of Mellon Collie reveal themselves in fresh new ways in these symphonic, choral and operatic settings. To now have the opportunity to perform this work in Europe with world class musicians in such important venues is nothing short of thrilling."
The lineup features vocalists Ed Parks, Sydney Mancasola, Zoie Reams, Dominick Valdes Chenes and Dean Murphy. The wardrobe for the production was created by House of Gilles designers Gilles Mendel and Chloé Mendel Corgan.
The upcoming run will include several September performances throughout the UK, Belgium, France and Spain, highlighted by two special evenings at London’s Royal Festival Hall.
