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“Pop Music’s Best Year Ever” brought the game-changing releases from superstars like Prince, Van Halen, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, and Madonna.

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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

Parliament and Funkadelic were the mind-blowing, soul-expanding musical equivalent of an acid trip.

Parliament-Funkadelic

Sly and the Family Stone were a brief glimpse of utopia. Their songs were more than danceable hits—they were a force for positive change.

Sly and the Family Stone

Through every shunt, turn, sidetrack, and triumph, Neil Young has been relentlessly prolific - one of the few artists whose mistakes we're willing to hear.

Joni Mitchell

Mahalia Jackson's passionate contralto brought sensuality and forceful expression to gospel music.

Mahalia Jackson

Jimi Hendrix was the most gifted instrumentalist of all time.

Jimi Hendrix Experience

Glamorous. Futuristic. Alien. Mortal. You can never fully encapsulate the many faces of David Bowie.

David Bowie

Stevie Wonder was quite literally born to make music—he was discovered at age 12.

Stevie Wonder

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

Earth, Wind & Fire

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

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

Michael Jackson

Curtis Mayfield may be a rare double inductee, but his music is also a two-for-one deal: sharp social commentary mixed with compulsively danceable grooves.

Curtis Mayfield

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20-year-old Prince’s breakthrough hit took him to American Bandstand and the Hot 100, and gave a glimpse of genius to come.

I Wanna Be Your Lover

With its distinctly rock edge, this song showcased Prince’s versatility, pop sensibility, and falsetto. Later covered by Mitch Ryder and Cyndi Lauper. 

When You Were Mine

This pioneering new-wave funk tune addressed sexuality, race and religion, and sent Prince to the No. 1 spot on the dance chart.

Controversy

At No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100, this was Prince’s highest charting single at that point, from the first album featuring his band the Revolution.

Little Red Corvette

First cut in ‘85 with his band the Family, then a global hit by Sinéad O’Connor in ‘90, Prince recorded this duet with Rosie Gaines in ‘93.

Nothing Compares 2 U

Bold, Sensual, Virtuosic Genius

Prince’s uniquely shaped Cloud guitar became his signature axe beginning with the original white Cloud model designed and custom made in Minneapolis for him to play in the 1984 film Purple Rain. 

Its spiral shape around the guitar jack and the intricately carved upper horn were replicated for Prince’s subsequent Cloud guitars, in various colors, including this Cloud #2 royal blue Angel 6-string.

Prince

Inductee Hero

Alicia Keys

“In the same way that the Beatles and the Rolling Stones dominated the 1960s, Prince’s music, alongside that of Michael Jackson and Link Wray, absolutely dominated the airwaves and clubs of the 1980s”

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**Impact**

Career Spotlight Film - featured during their induction ceremony in 2004.

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**Influence**

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Beyoncé

Bruno Mars

The Weeknd

Janelle Monáe

Lenny Kravitz

Anderson .Paak

D’Angelo

**Induction**

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**Prince redefined artistic possibility, mixing rock, funk, soul, pop and jazz into a genre-defying blend** that both challenged and satisfied audiences. As a visionary composer and mesmerizing performer, he set new standards, mastering multiple instruments and styles. In the studio, he pioneered new approaches, delivering material addressing both sexuality and spirituality with equal passion. Ever-changing and fiercely independent, he inspired generations of artists to take risks and embrace their authentic vision.

This is the signature that appears on the inductee’s plaque at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to officially commemorate their induction.

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

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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.

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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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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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PRESS RELEASE

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

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

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

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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

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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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.

Induction

Inducted by Outkast and Alicia Keys

Acceptance Speech

Impact

Bold, Sensual, Virtuosic Genius

Bold, Sensual, Virtuosic Genius

I Wanna Be Your Lover

When You Were Mine

Controversy

Little Red Corvette

Nothing Compares 2 U

Prince's Cloud

Prince showed us how music can be the closest expression of freedom. His music defied all the rules and taught us to let go of boundaries.

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Influence

sealed with a signature

Shop Prince

Shop Prince

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the hall

explore the hall of fame

explore the hall of fame

Induction

Inducted by Outkast and Alicia Keys

Acceptance Speech

Impact

Bold, Sensual, Virtuosic Genius

Bold, Sensual, Virtuosic Genius

I Wanna Be Your Lover

When You Were Mine

Controversy

Little Red Corvette

Nothing Compares 2 U

Prince's Cloud

Prince showed us how music can be the closest expression of freedom. His music defied all the rules and taught us to let go of boundaries.

more from theRock & RollHall of FameArchives

Influence

sealed with a signature

Shop Prince

Shop Prince

more from the hall

explore the hall of fame

explore the hall of fame

more from
the hall