ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME 2023 INDUCTEE ANNOUNCEMENT

Photo By Jason Davis

New York, NY – May 3, 2023 – Today, The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation announces its 2023 Inductees in the following categories: 

Performer Category 

Kate Bush 
Sheryl Crow 
Missy Elliott 
George Michael 
Willie Nelson 
Rage Against the Machine 
The Spinners 

Musical Influence Award 

DJ Kool Herc 
Link Wray 

Musical Excellence Award 

Chaka Khan 
Al Kooper 
Bernie Taupin 

Ahmet Ertegun Award 

Don Cornelius 

The announcement was streamed on Apple Music 1 during a one-hour special with hosts Ebro Darden, Rebecca Judd, Matt Wilkinson, Brooke Reese, and Kelleigh Bannen with special guests Sheryl Crow and Bernie Taupin. 

“This year’s incredible group of Inductees reflects the diverse artists and sounds that define rock & roll,” said John Sykes, Chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. “We are honored that this November’s Induction Ceremony in New York will coincide with two milestones in music culture; the 90th birthday of Willie Nelson and the 50th Anniversary of the birth of Hip Hop.” Read the full press release here.

RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE Issues Statement On 2023 ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME Induction.

Just hours after the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame announced this year’s inductees, including RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE, the band has released a statement thanking the Rock Hall for the induction, and recounting the long, radical journey that led up to the honor.

“It is a surprising trajectory for us to be welcomed into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame,” vocalist Zack De La Rocha, bassist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk wrote.

“In 1991 four people in Los Angeles formed a musical group to stand where sound and solidarity intersect. We called ourselves RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE. A band who is as well known for our albums as we are for our fierce opposition to the US war machine, white supremacy and exploitation. A band whose songs drove alternative radio to new heights while right wing media companies tried to purge every song we ever wrote from the airwaves. A band who wrote rebel songs in an abandoned, industrial warehouse in the valley that would later dethrone Simon Cowell‘s ‘X Factor’ pop monopoly to occupy the number 1 spot on the UK charts and have the most downloaded song in UK history. A band who funded and organized delegations to stand with Mexican rebel Zapatista communities to expose the Mexican government’s war on indigenous people. A band whose experimentation in fusing punk, rock and hip hop became a genre of its own. A band who shut down the NY Stock Exchange for the first time in its history. A band who was targeted by police organizations who attempted to ban us from sold out arenas for raising our voices to free Mumia Abu Jamal, Leonard Peltier and other political prisoners. A band who sued the US State Department for their fascist practice of using our music to torture innocent men in Guantanamo Bay.

“”Many thanks to the Hall Of Fame for recognizing the music and the mission of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE,” the band added. “We are grateful to all of the passionate fans, the many talented co-conspirators we’ve worked with and all the activists, organizers, rebels and revolutionaries past, present and future who have inspired our art.”