36th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony to take place October 30 in Cleveland, Ohio; Tickets on sale in July
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame reveals its 2021 Inductees, celebrating the most diverse list of Inductees in the history of the organization. They are:
Performer Category:
· The Go-Go’s
· Tina Turner
· Carole King
· JAY-Z
· Foo Fighters
· Todd Rundgren
Early Influence Award:
· Kraftwerk
· Charley Patton
· Gil Scott-Heron
Musical Excellence Award:
· LL Cool J
· Billy Preston
· Randy Rhoads
Ahmet Ertegun Award:
· Clarence Avant
“This diverse class of talented Inductees reflects the Rock Hall’s ongoing commitment to honor artists whose music created the sound of youth culture”, said John Sykes, Chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. “It will make for an unforgettable live celebration of music in October at this year’s Induction Ceremony in Cleveland.”
To be eligible, artists are required to have released their first record 25 years prior to induction. Two-time Inductees include Carole King, previously inducted with Gerry Goffin in 1990, and Tina Turner, previously inducted with Ike and Tina Turner in 1991. The Foo Fighters, The Go-Go’s, and JAY-Z were on the ballot for the first time. Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) will become a two-time Inductee having previously been Inducted with Nirvana in 2014.
The 36th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place on Saturday, October 30, 2021 at 8 p.m. ET at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio with a radio simulcast on SiriusXM’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Radio channel 310. The Induction Ceremony will air at a later date on HBO and stream on HBO Max.
THE GO-GO’S
As the most successful all-woman rock band of all time, the Go-Go’s performed catchy, well-crafted songs that formed a bridge between the brash urgency of L.A. punk and the dark melodies of new wave pop.
Formed out of the diverse and egalitarian punk scene in Los Angeles in 1978 with Belinda Carlisle on lead vocals and Jane Wiedlin on rhythm guitar and vocals, the core lineup of the band solidified over the next few years with the additions of lead guitarist and keyboardist Charlotte Caffey, drummer Gina Schock, and bassist Kathy Valentine. Known for their raw and energetic live shows, the Go-Go’s circumvented record label sexism and signed with IRS Records in 1981. Their debut album Beauty and the Beat was released later that year and became the first (and, to date, only) album by an all-woman band that played its own instruments and wrote its own songs to top the Billboard albums chart.
Despite a shift toward a more melodic new wave sound, the band’s D.I.Y. punk roots remain evident in hits like “We Got the Beat” and “Our Lips Are Sealed.” The group’s second and third studio albums, Vacation (1982) and Talk Show (1984), furthered their success with the singles “Vacation” and “Head Over Heels.” In heavy rotation on MTV, their songs (primarily composed by Caffey, Wiedlin, and Valentine) had weighty lyrics belied by their sunny melodies and a timelessness that set the band apart from many of their 1980s counterparts.
Though the band broke up in 1985, the Go-Go’s have reunited periodically since 1990 to record and tour. In recent years, the band’s music has been celebrated with the Broadway musical Head Over Heels and chronicled in the Showtime documentary The Go-Go’s (2020). For the documentary’s soundtrack, the band reconvened virtually to record their first new song in 19 years, “Club Zero.” The Go-Go’s influence is seen in countless artists, including Bikini Kill, Green Day, and Nirvana.
Selected discography:
“Screaming” (Live, 1979) • “Blades” (Live, 1980) • “We Got the Beat” (Stiff Records single version, 1980) • “Our Lips Are Sealed,” Beauty and the Beat (1981) • “Vacation,” Vacation (1982) • “Head Over Heels,” Talk Show (1984) • “The Whole World Lost Its Head,” Return to the Valley of the Go-Go’s (1994) • “Unforgiven,” God Bless the Go-Go’s (2001) • “Club Zero,” Beatnik Beach Summer (2020)
Inductees: Charlotte Caffey, Belinda Carlisle, Gina Schock, Kathy Valentine, Jane Wiedlin
Influences: Beach Boys, Germs, Buzzcocks
Legacies: Green Day, Nirvana, Bikini Kill
