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Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
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Jay-Z & Tina Turner among Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees

Cleveland's storied museum just got a little bigger.

Written by
Andy Kryza
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Cleveland’s Rock & All Hall of Fame announced its slate of 2021 inductees today, with a decades-spanning roster of musical icons representing multiple genres set to be immortalized in Cleveland’s most storied institution that isn't Progressive Field.

The performer category this year is particularly wide-ranging this year, with pioneering all-woman ‘80s group The Go-Go’s and the legendary Tina Turner both having a banner year that saw the release of acclaimed documentaries prior to the nomination. They’re joined by guitar legend Todd Rundgren, hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, singer Carole King, and perennial rockers Foo Fighters.

Rapper/actor LL Cool J joins a pair of late legends — multi-hyphenate soul singer Billy Preston and ‘80s guitar maniac Randy Rhoads — in the Musical Excellence category. Meanwhile, German electronic godfathers Kraftwerk, soul poet Gil-Scott Heron and “Father of the Delta Blues” Charley Patton take Early Influence honors. 

The mega-influential music mogul Clarence “The Black Godfather” Avant is also being honored. 

Notably, three of the inductees are already in the Rock Hall: Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl was inducted for his work with Nirvana in 2014, Turner was honored in 1991 for her work with then-husband Ike and King was celebrated alongside Gerry Goffin in 1990. 

This year’s roster was voted on by a panel of some 1,000 insiders. Artists including Rage Against the Machine, New York Dolls, Devo, Iron Maiden, Mary J. Blige and Dionne Warwick were also on ballots, but missed the cut, much to the derision of fans, especially those who had been watching the polls online:

The Go-Go's immediately took to Twitter to celebrate earnestly:

While The Foo Fighters took the occasion to note that the "guitar player from the Germs" — that would be Foo member Pat Smear — has infiltrated the institution.

The induction ceremony is set to take place on October 30 in Cleveland, returning live after last year’s all-digital ceremony that included honorees Nine Inch Nails, Whitney Houston, Notorious B.I.G. and others.

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