The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced its class of 2021 on Wednesday. The nominees for the organization’s 36th annual ceremony were announced back in February, and included previous nominees Devo, Kate Bush, JAY-Z and Foo Fighters.
The latter two artists made the cut this year, along with four other artists who make this year’s winners “the most diverse list of Inductees in the history of the organization,” according to the Rock Hall’s website. In full, 2021’s winners are: Tina Turner, Carole King, The Go-Go’s, JAY-Z, Foo Fighters and Todd Rundgren.
Tina Turner was the winner of the online fan vote, ousting Fela Kuti, The Go-Go’s, Iron Maiden and Foo Fighters in the final tally. In order to be eligible for induction, 25 years must have passed since the artist’s first record was released.
The Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl is now a two-time inductee after Nirvana was honored in 2014. The band’s Twitter, though, chose to celebrate that “the guitar player from The Germs” (the band’s own Pat Smear) was in the list of winners:
Holy shit! The guitar player from The Germs is in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame!!! pic.twitter.com/HgHrD9HtWP
— Foo Fighters (@foofighters) May 12, 2021
Though last year’s celebrations were canceled due to Covid-19, the organization seems ready to bring its fans and donors back for an in-person show on Oct. 30 at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. The induction ceremony will also be broadcast live on SiriusXM’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Radio, and will be available for viewing at a later date via HBO.
Check out the full list of winners, including those for Musical Excellence, Early Influences, and the non-performing professional honored with the Ahmet Ertegun Award, below, beneath Paste archival audio from a 1995 Foo Fighters performance.
Performer Category:
Foo Fighters
The Go-Go’s
JAY-Z
Carole King
Todd Rundgren
Tina Turner
Musical Excellence Award:
LL Cool J
Billy Preston
Randy Rhoads
Early Influence Award:
Kraftwerk
Gil Scott Heron
Charley Patton
Ahmet Ertegun Award:
Clarence Avant
