Judas Priest, Devo, Pat Benatar Lead 2022 Rock Hall Nominees

Judas Priest, Devo and Pat Benatar are among the 17 nominees nominated for the 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class.

“This year’s ballot recognizes a diverse group of incredible artists, each who has had a profound impact on the sound of youth culture,” John Sykes, Chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said in a statement announcing the nominees. “Their music not only moved generations but also influenced the sound of countless artists that followed.”

Ten of this year’s nominees – including the three aforementioned acts – have appeared on the Hall of Fame ballot in previous years: Rage Against the Machine, Kate Bush, Eurythmics, New York Dolls, Dionne Warwick, Fela Kuti and MC5. The latter act has the most nominations to their name; this marks the sixth time they’ve been up for induction.

Seven artists are first-time nominees: Beck, Duran Duran, Eminem, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, Carly Simon and A Tribe Called Quest.

Artists become eligible for the Rock Hall 25 years after releasing their first commercially available recording. Rapper Eminem is the lone artist on the 2022 list nominated in his first year of eligibility.

Judas Priest have long been touted as one of the Hall’s most snubbed artists. Singer Rob Halford hasn’t been bashful about how deserving he believes the heavy metal icons are.

“I think if any metal band deserves to be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, it’s Priest, and beyond that, there needs to be more metal there because there’s not enough,” he noted during a 2020 interview.

While most consider metal to be a genre overlooked by the Hall, country artists can stake a similar claim. Though acts who toed the line between rock and country – like Johnny Cash and the Everly Brothers - have earned enshrinement, many of the genre’s biggest acts, including Garth Brooks and Willie Nelson, remain out. To that end, Parton’s nomination is notable. The beloved singer has been eligible since 1989 but had been shut out of the nomination process until now.

Fans will be able to vote for their favorite nominees on the Rock Hall’s website beginning today through April 29. The top five artists, as selected by the public, will make up the “fans’ ballot” which will then be counted among the more than 1,000 ballots sent out to artists, historians and members of the music industry.

The 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class of 2022 will be announced in May. Though details on the ceremony have yet to be revealed, Rock Hall ceremony director Joe Gallen said last month that the event would be held in Los Angeles for the first time since 2013. “I can’t say the venue for sure yet, but definitely L.A. it looks like in early November,” Gallen said on an episode of the Who Cares About the Rock Hall? podcast.