Every year, the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame reveals a class of eligible nominees for the following year’s induction. While only a handful will actually make it into the hall, the organizers have revealed dozens of performers nominated for the 2017 Hall of Fame class.
On SiriusXM this morning, the official list of nominees was announced. This included newly eligible artists Pearl Jam and Tupac Shakur, previously nominated artists Janet Jackson, Chaka Khan, Kraftwerk, Yes, Chic, The Cars, The Zombies, Joe Tex, J. Geils Band, MC5, and previously eligible artists (on ballot for the first time) Bad Brains, Depeche Mode, Electric Light Orchestra, Jane’s Addiction, Joan Baez, Journey, and Steppenwolf.
The main qualification for Hall of Fame eligibility is that the band or artist’s first album must have been released no later than 25 years ago – in this case, 1991. Pearl Jam and Tupac Shakur both released their debuts in that year, and all of the other bands are older than that.
Of course, fans of certain bands will take objection to this new announcement, including the perennially overlooked Little Feat. Also absent is Phish, who released their first major album, Junta, in 1989.
Voting for the nominees begins on December 5th, but the cumulative fan votes comprise only a single ballot weighed against dozens of music critics and executives. The inductees will be revealed in April of 2017. For more information, visit the Rock Hall website.