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Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker and Soundgarden round out this year’s inductees, set to be honored in November at the induction show in Los Angeles.
By Ethan Millman
Music Editor
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has officially unveiled its 2025 class, confirming Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, Soundgarden and The White Stripes as this year’s inductees.
Ryan Seacrest announced the inductees on ABC’s American Idol on Sunday night, the second year in a row the show revealed the Rock Hall class (ABC parent company Disney has the TV rights to the event). Aside from the performer category, Salt-N-Pepa and Warren Zevon are being honored with the Musical Influence award. Thom Bell, Nicky Hopkins and Carol Kaye are getting the Musical Excellence Award, and Lenny Waronker — the producer and executive best known for his longtime stint as the president of Warner Records — is this year’s Ahmet Ertegun Award recipient.
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The induction will take place November 8th at the Peacock Theater, and it will stream live on Disney+ that night. A special will air on ABC at a later date. The Rock Hall will announce on-sale information for tickets for the event at a later date. This will be the fourth time the induction will take place in Los Angeles, and the first time since 2022.
“Each of these inductees created their own sound and attitude that had a profound impact on culture and helped to change the course of Rock & Roll forever,” John Sykes Chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, said in a statement. “Their music gave a voice to generations and influenced countless artists that followed in their footsteps.”
The nominees who missed the cut this year are The Black Crowes, Mariah Carey, Billy Idol, Joy Division/New Order, Maná, Oasis and Phish. The Crowes, Idol, Maná and Phish had never been nominated before. Phish handily won this year’s Rock Hall fan vote (which counts for one ballot in the actual voting process), while Bad Company took second and Idol came in third. Joy Division/New Order were nominated back in 2023, while Oasis and Carey were both nominated for the first time in 2024.
Last year’s Rock Hall class included Cher, Mary J. Blige, Ozzy Osbourne and A Tribe Called Quest.
Artists become eligible for the Rock Hall 25 years after their first commercial release. Checker, Cocker, Bad Company and Outkast are all getting in on their first nominations. Cocker’s induction comes 11 years after the English singer died back in 2014, and eight years after Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell’s tragic death in 2017. Lauper and The White Stripes were both previously nominated in 2023, while this was Soundgarden’s third time on the ballot after nominations in 2020 and 2023. Checker’s waited the longest for an induction out of this year’s class, having released his first album back in 1960.
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