2022 Ballot Predictions

 If the news is true, the Nominating Committee for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame has already met and we are now awaiting the ballot for the Class Of 2022.  So, being a little late to the party, let's do this quickly.  A fellow hobbyist said the three main ways to formulate a ballot are to "read the tea leaves," to pick whom you personally want to see, or to make a protest ballot.  I'm going to blend all three together this time and pick a bit of all three.  So whom do I slot in the categories of Predict, Prefer, and Protest?

Predict:

Eminem:  As problematic as he is and has been, he's a lock.  First name you see when you point your telescope to the stars to look at the future.  

Duran Duran: I don't know how much John Sykes personally likes Duran Duran, but this has to be an act you have to keep an eye out for to see how thoroughly he is executing his vision of moving forward and really working on the MTV-era artists.

Rufus featuring Chaka Khan: There's a question of whether they'll nominate some iteration of this star's career again, or just keep her off and induct her in the Award For Musical Excellence category.  I think her advocates aren't quite ready to give it a rest yet.  And I think it'll be the group's turn again.

Rage Against The Machine:  I see the Hall making efforts to clear the lane for their friend Tom Morello, to make sure he gets in.

Alanis Morissette:  With the 25th anniversary of Jagged Little Pill, the documentary about her (even if she's upset about it), and the ongoing demand for more women in the Hall... it's gotta add up right?

Meat Loaf:   Only because of the proximity of his death and the meeting of the Committee.  I'm sure he had to be on someone's mind at the meeting.

Prefer:

Sheryl Crow:  Not one you'd think of me as being a fan of--even I'm a little surprised to be honest, but with two of my appointment-listening podcasts having Sheryl Crow episodes recently, I've gone back and realized, yeah, she should be on there.

Jewel:  I've been in love with her voice ever since I first heard it: I was in the laundry room in Landon Hall in 1999, and it was in a TV commercial on CTN where she was promoting her then-new album, available at Target.  Admittedly a longshot, but hey, we can have a left-field pick, right?

"Weird Al" Yankovic:  Despite some naysaying going on, he's an MTV-era artist, he's a generational chameleon who is for all ages, and he's really a cultural zeitgeist kind of artist.  If you know more than the food songs, you're probably a fan of his, regardless of how you feel about his merits.

the Pointer Sisters:  Now that Carole and Tina have their second inductions, and the Go-Go's are in, this seems to be the female act we as a community should be rallying around to get inducted, expending our energy towards.  We all want them in, let's make it a focus.  

the Spinners:  Not my favorite '70s soul group, but they are an awesome group that needs to get in.  So many great smooth, yet funky tunes.  

the Monkees:  My bread and butter is the AM gold of the '60s and the Monkees were a big part of that, as well as having a Renaissance in the '80s in the early days of MTV.  Sykes could have a soft spot for that, right?

Protest:

Pat Benatar:  I'm sorry, how the hell did she miss last time she was nominated?

the Marvelettes:  The early years of the Hall really focused on rock and roll as an elevation of Black culture.  The Sykes era so far seems to be focusing on rock and roll as the rise of youth culture.  Motown was the first record industry empire that really found a way to marry the two together, and it would be a huge insult to that legacy to induct any act from this legendary family of artists as an Early Influence, and that includes the pride of Inkster, Michigan.

the Crystals:  Having just watched the documetnary 20 Feet From Stardom, I'm even more glad Darlene Love got in as a Performer, when you consider how her rise to stardom was suppressed by an abusive egomaniac.  The Ronettes and the Crystals were both also suppressed by this man who wanted to make sure he was thought of first.  The Ronettes and Darlene have gotten their due, let's get these women in too, and let's include the Blossoms as included members.  All three eras.

Salt-N-Pepa:  Both the ideas that we can have only one rapper Performer inductee a year is absurd, and so is the notion we can't have any female rappers in.  Let's shoot them both down by trying to get this outfit in.

Chubby Checker:  Seemingly, the only African-American musician important enough to be included in the musical Cold War synopsis called "We Didn't Start The Fire," as well as the only rock-era artist with a song to hit #1 on the Hot 100 in two separate chart runs, the first rock and roll star to play the Superbowl halftime show, and respected enough by his peers to be invited onstage to jam with them at the first Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony.  The man deserves much more than the Singles category treatment.

Diana Ross:  It's important that we support getting more women inducted, but I believe it's also important to up the representation of women in the Clyde McPhatter Club.  There are still several women worthy of being inducted twice, and Diana Ross is the most likely and most obvious choice to be the next one.

It's hard to call this a ballot prediction, and I admit that having Meat Loaf as the closest thing to a representative of what constituted "classic rock" when I worked in radio is a bit of a gamble.  But I tend not to do too well in predicting the ballot anyway, and I couldn't decide on a single direction.  But who said I had to?  It's been a spell since we've had eighteen names on the ballot, so it seemed like a good number to go with.  There are names I wanted to include, but in the interest of keeping it evenly divided between the three divisions, cuts had to be made.  Had I gone more with more "Predict" choices, there'd be some more repeat nominees listed, and even some heavy metal.  More "Prefer" choices would have seen a bigger swelling of  '60s and even '50s acts.  More "Protest" picks would have basically been a repost of previous thoughts, though Carole King and Tina Turner are now off that list.  All that's left is to sit by and wait for the announcements.