This year there was a lot of criticism of Whitney and Biggie getting in saying they're not rock and roll. The rock hall CEO defended the decision in the interview below saying you could marks an argument there's a direct line from Aretha Franklin and Diana Ross (both inductees) to Whitney Houston
https://variety.com/2020/music/news/rock-roll-hall-fame-2020-greg-harris-interview-1203487021/
Honestly I think they should just rename it the Popular Music Hall of Fame. Then we can finally get rid of this stupid debate on whether something is rock and roll or not. Going forward there's going to be fewer guitar based bands/artists worthy of getting in and more pop acts are going to be nominated. Just open it up to anyone who's had a major impact/influence on popular music. And then retroactively induct who would fit under this new criteria (like Barbra Streisand). Under this scenario Whitney would be a no brainer. She's arguably the greatest female singer of the 20th century. Pretty much every female artist out there now was influenced by her in some shape or form.
If the hall of fame did rebrand who would you induct (that wouldn’t otherwise be nominated)?
https://variety.com/2020/music/news/rock-roll-hall-fame-2020-greg-harris-interview-1203487021/
Honestly I think they should just rename it the Popular Music Hall of Fame. Then we can finally get rid of this stupid debate on whether something is rock and roll or not. Going forward there's going to be fewer guitar based bands/artists worthy of getting in and more pop acts are going to be nominated. Just open it up to anyone who's had a major impact/influence on popular music. And then retroactively induct who would fit under this new criteria (like Barbra Streisand). Under this scenario Whitney would be a no brainer. She's arguably the greatest female singer of the 20th century. Pretty much every female artist out there now was influenced by her in some shape or form.
If the hall of fame did rebrand who would you induct (that wouldn’t otherwise be nominated)?