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Short-lived but influential, the Yardbirds blazed a trail for new genres and gave some of rock's best guitarists their start.

The Yardbirds

Sam and Dave's work with producer Isaac Hayes and backing band Booker T. and the M.G.'s made them a formidable team.

Sam and Dave

Doc Pomus was a bonafide hit machine: "Save the Last Dance for Me," "This Magic Moment" and "Viva Las Vegas" are just a small sample of the anthems he wrote.

Doc Pomus

Professor Longhair rattled the keys with a mélange of boogie-woogie, New Orleans parade beats and Caribbean rhythm.

Professor Longhair

Jimi Hendrix was the most gifted instrumentalist of all time.

Jimi Hendrix Experience

Everyone who puts a slide on their guitar owes a debt to Elmore James. Raw, stimulating electric—his was the lick that basically defines blues rock.

Elmore James

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Jim Stewart

Booker T. & the MG’s grew out of a pair of boyhood friendships in Memphis...

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**Impact**

Booker T. Jones Interview - 2013 Induction Ceremony

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**Influence**

**Induction**

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**The groovy forefathers of Southern soul.** With their interracial lineup and experience playing with such icons as Otis Redding, the Staple Singers and Aretha Franklin, Book T and the M.G.’s have made history in more ways than one.

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Al Jackson Jr

Booker T. Jones

Donald 'Duck' Dunn

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Steve Cropper

Booker T. and the MG's are the groovy forefathers of Southern soul.

Inductees

Booker T. and the M.G.’s

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This award is given to artists, musicians, songwriters, and producers whose originality and influence have had a dramatic impact on music.

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{{year}} **Inductees**

This award recognizes individuals who have dedicated their lives to crafting influential, important music infused with originality, achieving a level of timeless distinction.

Musical Excellence

This award acknowledges artists whose music and performance style have directly influenced, inspired, and evolved rock & roll and music impacting culture.

Musical Influence

Celebrating the iconic artists who have created music whose originality, impact, and influence has changed the course of rock & roll.

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Sorry Ms. Jackson: A Hip-Hop Symphony

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A Rock B-Side Turned West Coast Anthem

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From CBGB’s to Hip-Hop’s Mainstream

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A Mother’s Love Scored in Soul and Hip-Hop

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From Teen Pop to Timeless Standard

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The MJ Anthem That Took Over the Dancefloor

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The Guitar Riff That Shaped Generations

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Music’s Highest Honor. The Hall of Fame features the Inductee Signature Gallery and the New Inductee exhibit.

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The Fan Vote joins the ballots of more than a thousand historians, music industry professionals, and artists to select each year’s induction class.

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The Class of {{YEAR}}

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The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame puts the spotlight on the music & artists who’ve stood the test of time. Explore all the ways this museum celebrates the music that connects us all.

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See what's up next on our set list. Choose from live performances, fan experiences, film screenings and much more.

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Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Beatles

John, Paul, George, & Ringo kickstarted the seismic British Invasion that swept the U.S. in the ‘60s and rewrote the rules of what performers could be and do.

The Beatles

AC:DC

Since 1975, AC/DC has carved out a niche between punky hard rock and heavy metal, inspiring countless musicians with crank-up-the-volume radio staples 

AC/DC

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The Rolling Stones have married their love of blues and American R&B to a vast array of styles and genres. The constant throughline has been the band’s swagger.

The Rolling Stones

Bon Jovi

Bursting out of New Jersey in 1984, Bon Jovi’s irresistible combo of heavy metal and pop brought multiple chart-topping hits and worldwide rock stardom. 

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Hard rock and heavy metal as we know it wouldn't exist without Led Zeppelin, one of the most popular and innovative rock bands ever.

Led Zeppelin

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There's a reason the Eagles' "best of" album was the first album ever to be certified platinum.

The Eagles

Prince

Prince redefined artistic possibility, mixing rock, funk, soul, pop and jazz into a genre-defying blend that both challenged and satisfied audiences. 

Queen was one of the most popular, ambitious and beloved classic rock bands ever.

Queen

Bruce

Bruce Springsteen rose from Jersey street poet to socially conscious cultural icon, an artist whose voice spoke to—and for—multiple generations worldwide. 

Bruce Springsteen

Pink

Architects of two major music movements – psychedelic rock and progressive rock – Pink Floyd were renowned for biting political, social and emotional commentary. 

Pink Floyd

Maonna

Madonna demolished pop boundaries, boldly redefining what it means to be a rock star. She proved art could be both controversial and commercially successful.

Madonna

Janis Joplin had one of the most powerful voices of the Sixties. Her voice is equal parts tough and vulnerable, a shout into the void that resonated with a generation.

Janis Joplin

Fleetwood

Fleetwood Mac delivered some of the  most indelible songs of the ‘70s, creating a distinctive “California sound” that endures as a sonic touchstone for countless bands.

Fleetwood Mac

The first female-fronted hard rock band, Heart proved women can rock with the best of them. Heart's mix of hard rock and folk yielded one of the longest lasting and most commercially successful bands of all time.

Heart

Tina Turner worked hard to reimagine the role of a Black woman in rock and roll — one not related to the edges.

Tina Turner

aretha

The first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Aretha Franklin was an artist of passion, sophistication and command, whose recordings remain anthems that defined soul music.

Aretha Franklin

Cher

Pop’s enduring icon – and the only woman with No. 1 hits across seven decades. With her distinctive contralto voice, Cher mastered folk-pop, rock, disco, and electropop.

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Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott holds the record for most platinum albums by a woman rapper. She forged new paths by unapologetically owning her body and her Blackness. 

Missy Elliott

With her prodigious songwriting talent, vocal and instrumental prowess, charisma, and trademark style, Dolly Parton has achieved immense global success as a musician and blazed a trail for generations of artists to come.

Dolly Parton

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts smash genre (and gender) boundaries by fusing punk, glam and heavy metal with '50s and '60s rock & roll.

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

Elvis

The first anointed King of Rock & Roll. Elvis Presley ignited a revolution with his firebrand take on blues, country, R&B, pop, bluegrass and gospel. 

Elvis Presley

Billy Joel comes off as such a determinedly average guy that it's tempting to undervalue his extraordinary gifts.

Billy Joel

The founder and creative beacon of Elektra Records. Jac Holzman's diverse taste and engineering knowledge yielded a catalogue of music ranging from classical to hard rock to simply sound effects, all of the highest quality.

James Brown

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Van Halen kicked the American hard rock scene into high gear in the late Seventies, became rock heroes on MTV in the Eighties, and gave rise to a steady stream of shredders and trailblazers ever since.

Van Halen

Michael Jackson redefined both the sound and look of pop, worldwide. Transcending  cultural and racial boundaries, his music continues to influence generations.

Michael Jackson

The window-breaking, earth-quaking, soul-shaking Who.

The Who

The unmistakeable vocal timbre of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2019 Inductee Stevie Nicks’s voice has dominated rock.

Stevie Nicks

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Earth, Wind & Fire’s distinctive blend of funk, soul, jazz, Africana, and pop melodicism ruled the ‘70s and ‘80s airwaves. 

Earth, Wind & Fire

RUN DMC was a group of firsts. The trio established “street-style,” shattered boundaries between rap and rock and transformed the sound and audience of hip-hop.

RUN DMC

Eminem

Unbridled controversy. Unparalleled talent. Unmatched superstardom. Eminem solidified hip-hop as the most commercially successful music on the planet.

Join us for a special screening of Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party Film!

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Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party Film Screening

Museum

Join us for a special screening of Episode One and the new Episode Nine of “The Beatles Anthology,” Apple Corps’ landmark, UK-produced documentary series exploring the life and times of the most influential and beloved band of all time, as told by The Beatles themselves.

the beatles anthology

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Beatles Anthology Film Screening

Say "Hello" to Beatles Fan Day at the Rock Hall, join us in celebrating the music and lasting impact of 1998 Inductees The Beatles with a day of performances, trivia, book signings, and more!

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Beatles Fan Day

Join us for a special Beatles Fan Day Book Signing & Presentation exploring the Fab Four’s lasting influence on both music and style. Authors Gary Astridge and Deirdre Kelly will share key insights into their work, followed by a Q&A and book signing session.

The groovy forefathers of Southern soul. With their interracial lineup and experience playing with such icons as Otis Redding, the Staple Singers and Aretha Franklin, Book T and the M.G.’s have made history in more ways than one.

Induction

Jim Stewart Inducts Booker T. & the M.G.'s

Booker T. & the M.G.'s Acceptance Speech

Impact

Booker T. and the MGs were the foundation of what was to become known as the Memphis sound.

sealed with a signature

More from
the Hall

Explore The Hall of Fame

Explore The Hall of Fame

The groovy forefathers of Southern soul. With their interracial lineup and experience playing with such icons as Otis Redding, the Staple Singers and Aretha Franklin, Book T and the M.G.’s have made history in more ways than one.

Induction

Jim Stewart Inducts Booker T. & the M.G.'s

Booker T. & the M.G.'s Acceptance Speech

Impact

Booker T. and the MGs were the foundation of what was to become known as the Memphis sound.

sealed with a signature

More from the Hall

Explore The Hall of Fame

Explore The Hall of Fame

More from
the Hall