Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: Thirteen named as class of 2023

NEW YORK (AP) — Missy Elliott, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Kate Bush, Rage Against the Machine, the Spinners and the late George Michael have all been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The Cleveland-based institution announced Wednesday the artists and groups entering the hall as the class of 2023.

DJ Kool Herc and Link Wray will be the recipients of the Musical Influence Award, while Chaka Khan, Al Kooper and Bernie Taupin have been selected to receive the Musical Excellence Award.

This year’s Ahmet Ertegun Award recipient is “Soul Train” creator Don Cornelius.

“When you can go from Link Wray, who was one of the early influencers, to Missy Elliott and Kate Bush and The Spinners and Rage Against the Machine and Willie Nelson, you have a very diverse body of work. What we are always trying to show is that rock ‘n’ roll is a big tent and a lot of people belong,” said Joel Peresman, president and CEO of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation ahead of the unveiling.

Elliott, a four-time Grammy Award winner, becomes the first female hip-hop artist in the rock hall, which called her “a true pathbreaker in a male-dominated genre.” It was her first year of eligibility.

Artists must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years before they’re eligible for induction. Eight out of the nominees were on the ballot for the first time, including Crow, Michael and Nelson.

Bush was a nominee last year but didn’t make the final cut then. She got in this year due to a new wave in popularity after the show “Stranger Things” featured her song “Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God).” The hall hailed her for “using lush soundscapes, radical experimentation, literary themes, sampling, and theatricality to captivate audiences and inspire countless musicians.”

Michael, first as a member of Wham! and then as a solo artist, was cited for “paving the way for a generation of proud LGBTQIA+ artists, from Sam Smith to Lil Nas X to Troye Sivan” and the 90-year-old Nelson was simply described as “an American institution.”

Not earning a spot this time were nominees Iron Maiden, Cyndi Lauper, A Tribe Called Quest, The White Stripes, Warren Zevon, Joy Division/New Order and Soundgarden. Zevon, who died in 2003, has been eligible since 1994; Billy Joel led a push for his entry this year.

Nominees were voted on by more than 1,000 artists, historians and music industry professionals. Fans could vote online or in person at the museum, with the top five artists picked by the public making up a “fans’ ballot” that was tallied with the other professional ballots.

Performer Category

• Kate Bush
• Sheryl Crow
• Missy Elliott
• George Michael
• Willie Nelson
• Rage Against the Machine
• The Spinners

Musical Influence Award

Musical Excellence Award

• Chaka Khan
• Al Kooper
• Bernie Taupin

Ahmet Ertegun Award