Well, we've made it to 2026, and that means resolutions have already met with their demise. It also means the Assembly Of The Giant Hoagie looms nigh. Soon, the forces will descend like an avalanche with the ballot for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's Class Of 2026. Within a month or so we'll know who's on the shortlist, and months later, who's on the even shorter list. It's a new year, a new cycle, a new batch of predictions that almost certainly miss in some hilariously spectacular ways. And here I am to be part of the bread and circuses of it all.
To be honest though, I'm not sure if it's the new schedule we've had, or the fact that it's taken so long to get the Songs Of Proof for 2024 and 2025 up, but I'm just not as thrilled. Maybe I didn't give myself enough rest between posts, but time waits for no man, let alone little old me. So forge on we must. Last year was a huge year for the Rock Hall, in my opinion. Between Outkast, Bad Company, Carol Kaye, and Thom Bell all getting in, a lot of the names that various segments have been clamoring for have finally gotten their just due. And for me personally, my former number one snub, Chubby Checker, has been enshrined. For me, how big a snub an artist is proves to be some mathematical combination of merits and time elapsed. Chubby was a very symbolic figurehead for a moment in the history of rock and roll, so despite not being number one on the Merits list this last go-around, he was my number one snub for the fact that I still felt he was very deserving and had been waiting since the beginnings of the Hall. And now he's in.
So maybe I'm expecting to be let down this year after a huge win this past cycle. You can't always get what you want, after all. Last year saw me getting what I wanted with not just Chubby, but six of the seven acts that I voted for daily in the fan vote got enshrined. And Thom Bell and Carol Kaye. Big year for me. So it'd be foolish to think that my new number one snub--the Marvelettes--will be nominated, but I do think there will be a nominee from the same era. The Hall can be very reactive in their nominations, whether it be from who performed at the last ceremony, who passed away, who had a documentary come out about them, who received another prestigious music industry award, or who had a new moment of pop cultural relevance. I suspect the Hall will try to tap at least a couple of those avenues. I'm not entirely sure that John Sykes will finally get his way and get Bryan Adams on the ballot, though. We'll put that one in the maybe column. I do think they're going to put Beck back on the ballot. John will ask the committee to remember how much Bryan did for the ceremony, and the members will hem and haw, and then someone will remember, "Oh Beck was there too! How about him?" And that will be how the story goes.
As I said, the Nominating Committee tends to be very reactive to things going on, and another such incident was the way "Pretty Little Baby" took off during the spring of this past year. I'm a little torn on whether or not that will yield a nomination for Connie Francis, but Chubby Checker did prove that there was a desire to honor pre-Beatles artists via the ballot, so I'm gonna shoot a shot that it could be in the cards for her, despite her passing away this past year as well.
Looking back to previous ballots and see who has a chance to return, I both hope and believe we'll see a third consecutive nomination for both Oasis and Mariah Carey. Of the two, I think Mariah is more likely to return if the NomComm is thinking heavily about who is likely to show up and perform, whereas Oasis is being a tease at best about whether or not they'd show up and perform. Either way, I'm willing to predict both to come back. Looking back at the past few ballots, in addition to those two and Beck, I think Iron Maiden has a decent chance to return. They gave them a break and put Ozzy on to show that metal could get in via the ballot, then pushed for Soundgarden, a representative of a harder style of rock, that being grunge, and now I think they'll go back to metal and push again for Iron Maiden. Also, now that Outkast is in, the direction for hip-hop representation on the ballot is uncertain. So, I'd like to think this guess is as good as any other, that they'll try to give as clear a lane as possible and make one last attempt for Eric B. And Rakim before relegating them to a category induction, most likely Musical Influence.
But so far, I've only predicted one name that hasn't been on the ballot before; however, the ballot is usually largely comprised of first-timers, so let's start looking at who some of those newly nominated acts may be. First, we start in the classic rock lane. With Bad Company inducted, the classic rock community may divaricate on who should be next. But also with classic rock, it has to be really bad in order to divide against each other, so it may be a fuss over nothing. For those who are thinking about the arena rock, the next name that seems to be at the top of the list is Boston, and those who maybe think we should take a beat to remember that prog is beloved in the classic rock format are clamoring most for Jethro Tull, especially since Jack White accidentally mentioned them twice in his acceptance speech. I say, it will probably be a both/and situation, rather than either/or.
As we look at the "How much time do they have left?" contingency, the big name rising to the top is Phil Collins, and there's no denying that he's had a significant career that really needs to be reckoned with, one way or the other. And while I don't think they'll make the ballot this time around, I'd also like to call attention to the fact that Huey Lewis is in pretty poor health too, and he and the News were a powerhouse, unique-sounding, hitmaking machine of the 1980s, so I hope they're not too far behind.
Overall, I believe the ballot will be 14 names, so the Hall can continue this merry little tradition of inducting half the ballot with the seven-vote system. I'm not mad about it though. It just means I gotta come up with five more names, and statistically, I should try to make them all new names. I'll start with a perennial pick of mine, No Doubt. They're going to get in eventually, right? I do think that after a couple years' teasing about it, it's time for Coldplay to appear on the ballot. Some are suggesting Alicia Keys, but I think they're going to stick with Mariah, rather than make her the next LL Cool J, where they replace her with Alicia one year, then Beyonce the next. Also, the Hall sucks when it comes to non-hip-hop R&B FYE inductees. The last one they had was Prince in 2004, and before that, Sly And The Family Stone in 1993. So Alicia is not a bad prediction by any means, but I can't pull that trigger. Last year saw the appearance of Mana on the ballot, but it did not drive up traffic to the Rock Hall's website from Latin American countries. However, when Nick Bambach had Carlos Alomar as a guest on "Rock In Retrospect," Alomar gave the insight that the lack of enthusiasm for Mana was because they didn't go with Soda Stereo first. The rest of the world perhaps doesn't realize that the Rock Hall doesn't operate and induct chronologically. Some argue that the Rock Hall would be smart to ease into that territory with more accessible acts such as Los Lobos, Selena, or the Miami Sound Machine, but I think the Rock Hall is thinking about what will drive traffic to their website. What will bring the visitors to the site, much like Fela Kuti did on his first nomination. For the traffic, I am willing to go wild and say it'll be Soda Stereo. I'm also going to go with INXS for a first nomination. They're a big name, a band that is undisputed as a rock and roll band, but moves the Hall's median sundial a few ticks forward. A few. For my last pick, I need a left-field choice, possibly more left-field than Soda Stereo. One thing my ballot doesn't have yet is a national treasure--someone like Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson--an artist that if you say you don't like their music, YOU'RE the problem, universally so. There aren't too many currently eligible artists who fit that bill, but among serious music lovers, John Coltrane is such a figure. So, let's pick that name.
There are a few other names that I considered. I think the B-52's are due soon. Alicia will get her nomination once Mariah is in. Bryan Adams... a few years more, maybe? And I'm not sleeping on Linkin Park, either. I just think the NomComm has to get a few more younger voices before that happens. Recapping, my predictions are for:
2. Boston
3. Mariah Carey
4. Coldplay
5. Phil Collins
6. John Coltrane
7. Eric B. And Rakim
8. Connie Francis
9. INXS
10. Iron Maiden
11. Jethro Tull
12. No Doubt
13. Oasis
14. Soda Stereo
As I look this over, this seem like a very unlikely ballot. But I like my reasons for each of them and that those very arguments could actually be made in the room. What do you think? Comment below or scream at me on social media. Ballot coming soon!
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