R&B and the Rock Hall (Updated 2022 Inductees)

 On October 31, 2006, I posted An All R&B RHOF Ballot  on this blog. It was an update of a 1999 post with the same name that was on my now defunct first attempt at a blog, Tom Lane's Music Page.  The original post in '99 had 15 names. Seven years later none of those names got inducted.  For the '06 post, I added 4 more names.  Since then only 3 out of 19 have been inducted (Lionel Richie got in as a solo act): "5" Royales and Donna Summer.  And of the remaining 19 names, only 8 have been nominated as of the 2022 ballot. 

Nowadays, we are lucky if we get one R&B act inducted.  Lucky if we get more than 3 nominated.  There were 2 out of 17 nominated in 2022. With only Lionel Richie inducted as a performer. Things were better in the side categories. Jimmy Jam/Terry Lewis inducted as Musical Excellence. Elizabeth Cotten as Early Influence. Sylvia Robinson as Non-Performer. Harry Belafonte as Early Influence.  I'm talking R&B names.  Rap acts weren't mentioned in my '06 post.  Right now we are averaging one Rap nominee a year. 

The argument I've heard as to why R&B acts are having a hard time getting in is that the R&B from acts eligible from the 80's was too slick.  Whereas early R&B was more impassioned, grittier and not as Pop-oriented as the music of the 80's.  And don't forget the dreaded "Disco" word, which doomed Chic's chances.  Probably Rufus/Chaka Khan too.  And kept Donna Summer out of the Hall until after she died.  These were R&B acts who hit big during Disco's peak. 

But the reality is that the voting bloc seems uninterested in R&B acts.  As more Classic Rock era acts got inducted, the voter roles swelled.  And they are voting in their own peers. While R&B acts like the Spinners, Meters and Chaka Khan have been passed over. Don't forget it took Janet Jackson three tries to get in. Just think, seven members of Nine Inch Nails have been added as voters.  So, what to do?  Add more NomCom members who know their R&B history.  Look for more voters who have written about R&B.  And add more R&B performers as voters. 

How important a role has R&B played in Rock history?  Consider the influences of some of the big name inductees like Elvis Presley, Beatles, Rolling Stones.  Then consider how much of an impact R&B has had on Elton John, Hall & Oates, Elvis Costello, Van Morrison, Rod Stewart, David Bowie.   And recent inductees like the Doobie Brothers, T. Rex, Roxy Music.  R&B continues to inspire many of your favorite artists of today and yesterday.   In 2020, Marvin Gaye's What's Going On was voted the #1 album of all time in a Rolling Stone magazine Top 500 list.  Looking back at the Summer of 2020 and the Black Lives Matter protests around the country, we heard important, historical R&B protest music from Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield, Nina Simone, Sam Cooke and even recent names like Alicia Keys and John Legend.

I'm going to spotlight 34 R&B acts that deserve induction. How about a big induction class of 20?  I've been publishing these this list for years.  Since my 1/2021 post, 6 names have been inducted from that list. At the end of my list I pick some Early Influences, non-performers and a Musical Excellence choice. Anyone who thinks this ballot is too much of a gimmick probably said the same thing about my 2020 all-Women ballot post. Let alone my all-Women 2021 post. And that's fine.  But "see a problem, solve a problem." And that's my focus for this post.

 

And yes, I've included all 17 acts from my dusty old '06 R&B ballot. 

Ashford & Simpson - One big Pop hit on their own, bunch of R&B hits and a string of excellent albums in the late 70's/early 80's.  Recording career underrated.  But it's as songwriters where they made their name.  Inducted into Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002. 

Barry White - Whether you remember him more as a Disco artist than a R&B one doesn't matter.  Because there was no mistaking a Barry White record.  And that distinctive sound stood out on his greatest records.

Billy Preston - From his session work to appearing on the Beatles' Let It Be, and then to an early 70's run of solo hits, Preston would make a strong candidate for the Musical Excellence category. 

Chantels - One of the first Girl Groups, most likely chances hurt because they only had 4 Top 40 Pop hits. But they have been nominated twice before.  The last in 2010. 

Chuck Willis - One of the best singer/songwriters from the 50's.  He passed away in 1958 at the age of 32.  Nominated 6X, last in 2011. 

Commodores- Lionel Richie was inducted as a solo act in 2022.  But the Commodores are still waiting.  One of the biggest R&B crossover acts of the 70's/80's.

Diana Ross - I've probably overused the word Icon to describe certain names that the Hall has snubbed.  Here's another one. Just like Stevie Nicks, Ross had enormous success as a solo act. 

Dionne Warwick - Burt Bacharach and Hal David should be in as songwriters.  And Dionne, who was the greatest interpreter of the Bacharach/David songbook, should be in as well.  Past her Bacharach/David peak of the 60's she continued to have hits into the 80's. Nominated twice in 2021, 2022.

Grace Jones - The unforgettable image she projected as a Disco/Dance diva has obscured her contributions to both genres.  Then in the 80's her records became an eclectic mix of reggae/rock/soul. 

                 

Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes - Powered by the dynamic lead vocals of Teddy Pendergrass, they had some of the best Philadelphia International records of the 70's.

  

Joe Tex - One of the best Southern Soul singers of the 60's/70's.  Nominated 5X, last in 2017. 

Johnnie Taylor - One of the signature voices during Stax's peak years.  Taylor had a long career (over 40 years) singing Gospel, Deep Soul, Disco and then in the 80's until his death, Chitlin' Circuit Soul.  Kind of underrated, but has the hits and longevity to make a good case for induction.  

Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds - A triple threat as a singer/songwriter/producer,  who was all over the Pop & R&B airwaves during his peak in the 90's. Inducted into Songwriters Hall in 2017.  

                                     

Kool & The Gang - One of the great, longest-running R&B outfits ever.  Started out as Funk pioneers, then morphed into Pop chart mainstays in the 80's.  Inducted into the Songwriters Hall in 2018. 

Labelle - The Labelle records in the 60's, sound nothing like what they would become.  Patti Labelle, along with Nona Hendryx and Sarah Dash cut a visually electric R&B/Funk/Rock vibe in the 70's.

Luther Vandross - One of the biggest R&B vocalists of the 80's/90's. Probably the best R&B singer of his generation. 

Mariah Carey - Her chart stats are unassailable.  And she wasn't always a critical favorite.  But once she got out of Whitney Houston's shadow, it was obvious that she was a unique voice and songwriter.  Inducted into the Songwriters Hall in 2020.

Marvelettes - I often think that Motown fatigue is what has kept the Marvelettes out of the Hall.  They've been nominated twice before (2013, '15). 

Mary J. Blige - "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul".  Her music straddled the line perfectly between those 2 genres. Has definitely earned her royal crown.  Nominated once in 2021.

Mary Wells - Motown's first female star.  Career deserves a reappraisal.  Left Motown in 1964, and never regained that early success.  But what's left behind are some of Motown's best early songs. Nominated twice way back in 1986, '87. 

Meters/Neville Brothers - The great New Orleans R&B/Funk band had fine hits of their own and were also renown for backing up the likes of Dr. John and Paul McCartney.  A 4X nominee, last in 2018.  Meters founder Art Neville was also in the Neville Brothers.  Along with Dr. John, they are a seminal band who helped popularized the New Orleans sound. One could make a good case for Aaron Neville's solo career as well. 

Ohio Players - Funk gets little love in the Rock Hall.  P-Funk and Earth, Wind & Fire are in.  Isleys had some funky records. But that's it. Here's one the premiere Funk bands of the 70's. Also had two #1's on the Pop charts.   

Pointer Sisters -  Read this by Nick Bambach.  Explains better than me why they belong.

Rick James - He called his records "Punk-Funk" and that is an apt description for his best records during his 70's/80's run.  Not many crossover records, but always a presence on the R&B charts.

Roberta Flack - Her 1969 album, First Take, ended up at #451 on the new Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums.  Definitely a pioneer of the Quiet Storm format.  African-American women are not an easy sell for voters.  But Roberta has had a long, acclaimed career.    

Rufus & Chaka Khan - By now her name is a familiar one on the Rock Hall ballot. Nominated last year with Rufus. On the ballot 3X solo and 4X with Rufus.  One of R&B's most powerful vocalists of her era.

Sade - She took the Quiet Storm format that Roberta Flack helped launch, to another level when she broke through in the 80's. 

Spinners - Some would say the greatest R&B vocal group of the 70's.  Most of their biggest songs & albums in the 70's Produced and co-written by the great Thom Bell.  Nominated 3X, last in 2016. 

Toots & The Maytals - OK, not completely R&B. But the most R&Bish Reggae band of all time.  And vocally, the great Toots Hibbert definitely followed the paths of James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding and many other R&b singers of the 60's. 

War - A 3X nominee, last in 2015.  One of the most durable chart acts of the 70's.  A mix of Rock, Jazz, Soul, Funk. 

Early Influences

Big Mama Thornton

Billy Ward & The Dominoes

Cab Calloway

Clovers

Ella Fitzgerald

Memphis Minnie

Roy Brown

Wynonie Harris

Ahmet Ertegun Award (Non-Performer)

Don Cornelius

Estelle Axton

James Bracken & Vivian Carter

Thom Bell

Musical Excellence

Willie Mitchell (Producer, performer best known for his years at Hi Records and writing/producing hits for Al Green).