Eight years after her tragic passing, Whitney Houston will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The iconic powerhouse vocalist joins fellow 2020 inductees The Notorious B.I.G., Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode, The Doobie Brothers, and British group T. Rex.
The 2020 honorees were selected from a short list that included Pat Benatar, Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, Dave Matthews Band, Thin Lizzy, and Judas Priest, according to The New York Times. Last year’s class included Janet Jackson, Stevie Nicks, Radiohead, Def Leppard, The Cure, The Zombies, and Roxy Music.
Jackson and Nicks at the 2019 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony.
KEVIN MAZURGETTY IMAGES
Nicks used the 2019 induction ceremony as an opportunity to call out the Hall of Fame, which dates back to the late ’80s, urging for more women in its ranks. “What I am doing is opening up the door for other women to go, like, ‘Hey man, I can do it,'” she said, per NYT. Unfortunately, it seems the hall’s voters weren’t listening when it came to this year’s deliberations.
Houston, the only woman in the 2020 class, was just one of three women on the short list, along with Benatar and Chaka Khan. Two years after the Grammys president told women to “step up” in order to win awards, the lack of women in this year’s Hall of Fame class is another frustrating setback for female musicians.
This year’s induction ceremony takes place on May 2 in Cleveland, Ohio, and will be broadcast live on HBO at 8 p.m. ET.
From Harper’s Bazaar US
