Cher, Mary J. Blige and Foreigner become members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Rock Hall also honors the late Jimmy Buffett, MC5, Dionne Warwick and Norman Whitfield with the Musical Excellence Award. Alexis Korner, Big Mama Thornton and John Mayall were selected as recipients of the Musical Influence Award. And former Motown executive Suzanne de Passe will receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award, which honors the impact of non-performing professionals on the business side of the industry.

“Rock ‘n’ roll is an ever-evolving amalgam of sounds that influences culture and moves generations,” John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said in a statement. “This diverse group of inductees each broke musical barriers and influenced countless artists who followed in their footsteps.”

To be eligible for induction, a musical act must have released its first commercial recording at least 25 years before the year of nomination. This year, four of the eight inductees in the artist category were on the ballot for the first time: Cher, Frampton, Foreigner and Kool & the Gang. It also marked Osbourne’s first introduction as a solo act (he had previously joined the venue in 2006 as part of Black Sabbath).

Nominees not selected for induction this year: Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Jane’s Addiction, Oasis, Sade, Eric B. & Rakim and Sinéad O’Connor, whose death last year prompted reflections on her legacy and contributions to the industry .

In recent years, Rock Hall has reckoned with increasing pressure to diversify its roster of inductees to include more women and artists of color. According to a New York Times report last year, women accounted for fewer than 100 of the nearly 1,000 honorees inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame since 1986.

Cher, 77, alluded to this gender gap during an appearance on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” last year, criticizing the Rock Hall for repeatedly overlooking her despite a seven-decade dominance that she said is only becoming matched by the Rolling Stones. which were inaugurated in 1989).

“It took four to be one of me. …And I’m not in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” the Grammy-winning artist told Clarkson. “You know what, I wouldn’t be in it right now if they gave me a million dollars. I’m not joking.”

The 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will air live on Disney Plus from the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland on October 19.