by David C. Barnett
The 2017 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees represent a wide-ranging group of performers who come from the worlds of grunge, rap, soul and pop.
To qualify for induction, a performer’s first recording must be at least 25 years old. Seattle rockers Pearl Jam and rapper Tupac Shakur made the list on their first year of eligibility. Nearly half of this year’s nineteen nominees made the list for the first time, including Journey, Steppenwolf, Bad Brains, Jane's Addiction, Electric Ligh Orchestra, Depeche Mode and Joan Baez, who's been eligible for 30 years.
Some artists have been nominated more than once, like Yes, Kraftwerk, the Zombies, Janet Jackson, Chaka Khan, MC5, Joe Tex, the Cars and the J. Geils Band, but the record holder is Chic, who’s been up for consideration 11 times.
Approximately 800 music industry insiders will trim the list down to about a half dozen finalists who will be inducted in New York, next April. The induction ceremony comes back to Cleveland in 2018.
