These Detroit acts are still waiting for their Rock Hall call
Published in Entertainment News
DETROIT — Detroit has produced a robust number of Rock & Roll Hall of Famers, from Aretha Franklin to the White Stripes.
Detroit could almost have its own wing in the Cleveland institution. In all, 29 Motor City acts have entered the Hall, including main Rock Hall inductees (including Marvin Gaye, Bob Seger, the Stooges, Madonna and Eminem) and its various offshoots (including Motown founder Berry Gordy Jr. and songwriters Holland-Dozier-Holland, recipients of the Ahmet Ertegun Award, and MC5, who were inducted under the Rock Hall's Award for Musical Excellence category).
Various other Rock Hallers have Michigan ties: both Anthony Kiedis and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers hail from Michigan, Al Green spent his teenage years in Grand Rapids.
There were no Detroit acts included in Wednesday's list of nominees for the Rock Hall Class of 2026, but here are a handful of Detroit acts who could one day field a call from the Hall:
Diana Ross
Already in as a member of the Supremes (they were inducted in 1988), Ross has had a sparkling solo career in her own right, scoring six No. 1 singles and retaining her status as music's supreme diva for decades. At 81, she still maintains an active touring schedule; she currently has dates slotted through August, although nothing local is on the docket. She was inducted into the Songwriters' Hall of Fame in 1995 as a recipient of the Howie Richmond Hitmaker Award. But the Rock Hall has never considered her as a solo artist.
Mitch Ryder
He's a member of the Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame and the Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, and while he's been frequently cited as a snubbed for years, he has yet to make the Rock Hall ballot. At this point, his best is a side induction, since the modern ballots are brimming with popular acts of the 1990s and forward, names flashier than his, despite his noted influence on acts such as Bob Seger and Bruce Springsteen.
Don Was
The performer, record exec and superproducer of everyone from Bonnie Raitt to the Rolling Stones has been a music industry fixture for decades, and will likely one day slide into the Rock Hall through one of its side avenues, if not as a main ballot inductee.
Anita Baker
The renowned soul singer, who made her debut with 1983's "The Songstress," is an eight-time Grammy winner, and while her recording career has been on hold — her last album was a 2005 holiday set, "Christmas Fantasy" — she did mount a live comeback a few years ago. Baker, who turned 68 last month, has never been nominated for Rock Hall induction.
The Marvelettes
Motown's first act to score a No. 1 song — "Please Mr. Postman" hit the top of Billboard's Hot 100 in December of 1961 — have twice been nominated for Rock Hall induction, in 2013 and again in 2015, but have not yet broken down the door.
Grand Funk Railroad
The Flint rockers had monster hits in the 1970s — including six platinum albums and two No. 1 singles ("We're An American Band" in 1973 and "The Loco-Motion" in 1974) — while being a massive touring draw. So how come they're not already in the Rock Hall? It most likely has something to do with the Rock Hall powers that be never thinking they were cool enough, which is probably why the band has never even made the Rock Hall ballot.
Aaliyah
The life and career of Detroit's "Baby Girl" was cut short when Aaliyah Haughton died in a plane crash in 2001 at the age of 22. But she was well on her way to superstardom and could receive a posthumous Rock Hall induction like Tupac Shaku (inducted in 2017) and the Notorious B.I.G. (inducted in 2020) before her.
Kid Rock
Unlike some inductees and nominees who don't quite live up to the "Rock & Roll" part of the institution's name, that's never been an issue for Kid Rock. But the Rock Hall's overarching politics don't tend to swing the same way as Rock's, which could present a roadblock to him ever entering the door.
Ted Nugent
See above.
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