The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has announced its long list of nominees for the class of 2020. First-time nominees include the Notorious B.I.G. (in his first year of eligibility), Whitney Houston, Soundgarden, T. Rex, Motörhead, Dave Matthews Band, Thin Lizzy, the Doobie Brothers, and Pat Benatar. Nine Inch Nails, MC5, Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode, Rufus with Chaka Khan, Todd Rundgren, and Judas Priest have been nominated again.
Find the full list of nominees below. Once again, fans can vote for their favorites via the Rock Hall website, and the inductees will be announced in January.
Artists who became Rock Hall eligible for the first time this year but weren’t nominated include Oasis, Weezer, Aaliyah, Daft Punk, Elliott Smith, Sleater-Kinney, and Wilco. An artist becomes eligible 25 years after their first commercial record was released.
Previous nominees who didn’t make the cut this year include Rage Against the Machine, Kate Bush, the Replacements, Bad Brains, the Smiths, Eric B. & Rakim, Jane’s Addiction, John Prine, Eurythmics, LL Cool J, and Gram Parsons.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class of 2019 was Radiohead, the Cure, Janet Jackson, Roxy Music, Stevie Nicks, Def Leppard, and the Zombies. Most of Radiohead declined to show up for the ceremony, Jackson urged the Rock Hall to “induct more women,” and Stevie Nicks shared the stage with Harry Styles.
Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor has, in the past, expressed his lack of interest in the Rock Hall. When he was asked last year about being snubbed, he replied, “I don’t give a fuck.” Months later, he gave a speech at the Rock Hall ceremony inducting the Cure. “I remember distinctly saying to myself, among other things, how can I even take this awards ceremony seriously if they’ll open their doors to X, Y and Z and not acknowledge the Cure,” Reznor said. “Let’s just say I’ve never been as happy to eat my words as I was tonight.”
Last month, Rolling Stone co-founder Jann Wenner announced that he would leave his post as the chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation on January 1, 2020. He was one of the Rock Hall’s co-founders in 1986.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2020 Nominees:
Pat Benatar
Dave Matthews Band
Depeche Mode
The Doobie Brothers
Whitney Houston
Judas Priest
Kraftwerk
MC5
Motörhead
Nine Inch Nails
The Notorious B.I.G.
Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
Todd Rundgren
Soundgarden
T.Rex
Thin Lizzy