The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Reveals Class of 2022 (2024)

On Wednesday morning (May 4), the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced which of this year’s nominees will be inducted at the 2022 ceremony on Nov. 5 in Los Angeles.

Rock hitmakers Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo, new wave chart-toppers Duran Duran, hip-hop heavyweight Eminem, synth-pop duo Eurythmics, country legend Dolly Parton, R&B hitmaker Lionel Richie and pop singer-songwriter Carly Simon lead the Class of 2022.

Additionally, heavy metal fixtures Judas Priest and songwriting/production powerhouse duo are also joining the Rock Hall with the “award for musical excellence” (which was originally titled the “sidemen” category when it debuted). Judas Priest is the second band to receive the award for musical excellence; the E Street Band was the first.

“Wow, this is so exciting — at last. At last, you know?” Judas Priest’s Rob Halford told Billboard after receiving the news before the public announcement. “And, glory hallelujah, there’s another metal band in the hall of fame! That’s the blessing we’ve all been waiting for.”

Under the “early influence award” category, the “King of Calypso” Harry Belafonte and folk and blues legend Elizabeth Cotten are joining the RRHOF. Allen Grubman, Jimmy Iovine and Sylvia Robinson are the recipients of the Ahmet Ertegun Award. Robinson is just the fourth woman to receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award. Moreover, she’s the first Black woman and the first woman who was primarily known as a record label executive to receive that award. The first three women to receive the award were songwriters Carole King (1990) and Ellie Greenwich and Cynthia Weil (both 2010).

“This diverse group of inductees each had a profound impact on the sound of youth culture and helped change the course of rock & roll,” said John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in a press statement. “Their music moved generations and influenced so many artists that followed.”

Artists are eligible for Rock Hall nomination 25 years after their first commercial recording came out. Of this class, Eminem, Duran Duran, Richie, Simon and Parton see induction after appearing on the ballot just once. This is also Eminem’s first year of eligibility; 2022 marked the second nomination for Eurythmics and Benatar.

“Being elected to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is an incredible honor. I would like to say THANK YOU to all of the voters, to all of my wonderful fans and to everyone at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Congratulations to all of my fellow 2022 inductees!” Richie said in a statement to Billboard.

Speaking from France where they are continuing their European tour, Duran Duran frontman Simon Le Bon said in a statement, “Here in the wild, beautiful world of Duran Duran, I think we’re all in a little bit of a daze about this. It’s one thing to be nominated — but a totally different thing altogether to be actually voted up for induction into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which is to my mind the closest thing you’ll ever get to a rock & roll knighthood. This truly is a special and most valued kind of recognition for our lifetime’s dedication to new music. We owe a great debt of gratitude to all our fans, and everybody else who kept us in the number one slot for almost the entire duration of the RockHall 2022 Public Vote. We are humbled and truly elated by the depth of your support, and wish to share this momentous day for Duran Duran with all of you.”

The band’s bassist, John Taylor, added: “It’s quite an honor for Duran Duran to be elected into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and not one we ever expected. We have never thought of ourselves as a Rock n’Roll band, more of an ‘ongoing Art Project’, however, I feel a profound sense of gratitude for the acknowledgement this award represents.We are thrilled to see some of our contemporaries joining us this year, Annie and Dave in particular, and would like to thank each and every one of you who took the time to register and vote for us. The overwhelming support that allowed us to win the people’s vote has been incredible. We look forward to performing at the Gala in Los Angeles!”

Meanwhile, Parton’s induction comes after she turned down her nomination for induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March. “Even though I’m extremely flattered and grateful to be nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, I don’t feel that I have earned that right,” Parton said on social media during the voting period. “I really do not want votes split because of me, so I must respectfully bow out.” She later shared in an interview with NPR that she would “accept gracefully.” And now that she’s officially in? She’s doing just what she said she would.

“I am honored and humbled by the fact that I have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Of course I will accept gracefully,” the country icon said in a statement shared to her social media accounts. “Thanks to everyone that voted for me and to everyone at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I will continue to work hard and try to live up to the honor. Love, Dolly.”

The 2022 ceremony will be the first time in the Hall’s 37-year history that six female acts — Benatar, Parton, Simon, Cotten, Robinson and Annie Lennox (who comprised Eurythmics with her partner Dave Stewart) — will be inducted in one class. Before their RRHOF induction, Lennox and Stewart will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on June 16 in New York. They were notified of the award in December 2019, but the ceremony was postponed twice because of the pandemic.

“It’s full circle,” the Eurythmics’ Stewart told Billboard after hearing the news before the public announcement. “We never imagined anything, (Lennox) from Scotland and me from Northern England, that we would ever go to America, much less this. We never imagined that would end up in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”

Ticket information for the 37th annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be available soon. The ceremony takes place on Nov. 5 at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, with a radio simulcast on SiriusXM’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame radio channel. The event will also aira later date on HBO and stream on HBO Max, which you can sign up for here.