Missy Elliott, The Spinners, Chaka Khan, DJ Kool Herc & More Inducted Into 2023 Rock Hall

Missy Elliott and The Spinners have been announced as Rock Hall performer inductees, while Chaka Khan, DJ Kool Herc and Don Cornelius receive additional honors.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has announced their 2023 class inductees. On Wednesday (May 3), the prestigious music institution named Missy Elliott, The Spinners, Kate Bush, Willie Nelson, George Michael, and others as part of their performers category. Receiving additional honors (while also being inducted) are Chaka Khan, who will receive the Musical Excellence Award, DJ Kool Herc with the Musical Influence Award, and late Soul Train creator and host Don Cornelius, who will posthumously receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award.

Elliott is the only artist amongst the performer class who was eligible for the first time in 2023. For eligibility into the Rock Hall, an artist’s debut commercial album must have been released 25 years prior to the nomination year. In this case, Elliott’s 1997 LP Supa Dupa Fly turned 25 last year.

Finalists of this year’s Rock Hall nominees are A Tribe Called Quest, The White Stripes, Soundgarden and more, who will have to wait until 2024 for another chance at being selected.

“This year’s incredible group of inductees reflects the diverse artists and sounds that define rock’n’roll,” John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said in a press statement. “We are honored that this November’s induction ceremony in New York will coincide with two milestones in music culture; the 90th birthday of Willie Nelson and the 50th Anniversary of the birth of hip-hop.”

Musicians become eligible for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 25 years after the release of their first recording. While three of the seven inductee spots this year went to female solo acts, that makes only 21% of the 14 total inductees when accounting for all-male groups The Spinners and Rage Against the Machine. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has been criticized many times in recent years, even by inductees like Jannet Jackson and Nirvana, for an overwhelming gender imbalance that they have struggled to correct.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on November 3, and ticket information will be announced.