The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced its list of the 2017 inductees on Tuesday morning:
Performer Category
Joan Baez
Electric Light Orchestra
Journey
Pearl Jam
Tupac Shakur
Yes
Award for Musical Excellence
Nile Rodgers
Aside from Tupac and Pearl Jam, the roundup is pretty underwhelming, considering the short list of nominees this year. Journey, Electric Light Orchestra, and Joan Baez over Janet Jackson, the Zombies, and Kraftwerk? Weird. Maybe even blasphemous. Meanwhile, Nile Rodgers’ honor, which is not selected by the Rock Hall’s voters, is bittersweet: He told Rolling Stone, “I’m happy but perplexed.” Chic has been nominated 11 times since becoming eligible and has long been considered the Susan Lucci of the Hall of Fame. While Rodgers absolutely deserves the recognition, it’s hard not to feel bad for the rest of his band members, especially his songwriting partner, the late Bernard Edwards (aka the man behind that incredible bass line for “Good Times”). To quote Rodgers, “How did I get plucked out of my band and told I’m cooler than Bernard Edwards and Tony Thompson?”
