From Billboard: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2024 Revealed on ‘American Idol’. The ceremony takes place Oct. 19 in Cleveland, Ohio.
What’s more rock n’ roll than American Idol? Well, a few things, but the Sunday (April 21) episode of the long-running singing competition series found Ryan Seacrest and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Lionel Richie revealing which artists constitute the Rock Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024.
Four more artists make it into the Rock Hall in the musical excellence category: Jimmy Buffett, the standard bearer of laid-back, good-time rock until his death last September; MC5, the political firebrand proto-punk outfit; elegant, sophisticated pop hitmaker Dionne Warwick; and Motown Sound songwriter and producer Norman Whitfield.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has revealed the names of 16 artists or other musical figures who will be inducted in 2024. It’s a diverse list that stretches from R&B/rock pioneer Big Mama Thornton to pop superstars Cher and Dionne Warwick, and from ’70s-rooted rockers like Peter Frampton, Foreigner and Ozzy Osbourne to ’90s icons the Dave Matthews Band, Mary J. Blige and A Tribe Called Quest.
Surprisingly, Jimmy Buffett pops up among the inductees — unexpected because not only was the late singer/songwriter not on the ballot this year, but he had never even been nominated before. But the Rock Hall’s committee was clearly in a sentimental mood after his death seven months ago, and took the liberty of ushering Buffett in via a separate, non-voted category, for “musical excellence.”
