Every inductee since the Rock Hall began in 1986, from Chuck Berry to Carly Simon.
Other awards are great, but getting inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? That’s how you know an artist is a bona fide legend, not just someone with one or two moments in the sun.
Every year since 1986, Rock Hall — a museum and hall of fame that operates out of Cleveland — has elected a new class of music makers and industry leaders into its hallowed halls. Most inductees are enshrined in the “performers” category, which signifies that an artist’s music has somehow impacted the course of rock n’ roll. But deserving innovators can also be welcomed as “early influences” if their work directly inspired the genre’s evolution, or inducted as Ahmet Ertegun Award winners if they’re a non-performing industry professional who had a hand in developing or furthering the art form.
Since 2000, artists, songwriters and producers have also had the chance to be honored by induction under the “musical excellence” category (previously called the “sidemen” category), which goes to those whose originality has had a dramatic impact on music in general. This category has helped in part to diversify the Rock Hall’s roster, something chairman John Sykes thinks is crucial in holistically celebrating the true meaning of rock n’ roll.
“Rock is a part of rock n’ roll, but rock n’ roll was never one sound,” Sykes told Billboard in May 2023. “It was an amalgam of R&B, gospel and country. Really, all roads lead back to 1955 and the creation and explosion of rock n’ roll.”
Almost 400 soloists, bands, players, DJs and executives have been sworn into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and Billboard is spotlighting them all. See the name of every inductee, from Chuck Berry to Carly Simon, below (members are listed roughly in the order of their induction).
Note: Once the Class of 2023 has been officially inducted into the Rock Hall, their names will be added to this list.
Chuck Berry
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1986
James Brown
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1986
Ray Charles
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1986
Sam Cooke
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1986
Fats Domino
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1986
The Everly Brothers
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1986
Alan Freed
Category: Ahmet Ertegun Award
Induction Year: 1986
John Hammond
Category: Ahmet Ertegun Award
Induction Year: 1986
Buddy Holly
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1986
Robert Johnson
Category: Early Influences
Induction Year: 1986
Jerry Lee Lewis
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1986
Sam Phillips
Category: Ahmet Ertegun Award
Induction Year: 1986
Elvis Presley
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1986
Little Richard
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1986
Jimmie Rodgers
Category: Early Influences
Induction Year: 1986
Jimmy Yancey
Category: Early Influences
Induction Year: 1986
Leonard Chess
Category: Ahmet Ertegun Award
Induction Year: 1987
The Coasters
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1987
Eddie Cochran
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1987
Bo Diddley
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1987
Ahmet Ertegun
Category: Ahmet Ertegun Award
Induction Year: 1987
Aretha Franklin
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1987
Marvin Gaye
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1987
Bill Haley
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1987
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Category: Ahmet Ertegun Award
Induction Year: 1987
Louis Jordan
Category: Early Influences
Induction Year: 1987
B.B. King
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1987
Clyde McPhatter
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1987
Ricky Nelson
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1987
Roy Orbison
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1987
Carl Perkins
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1987
Smokey Robinson
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1987
Big Joe Turner
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1987
T-Bone Walker
Category: Early Influences
Induction Year: 1987
Muddy Waters
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1987
Jerry Wexler
Category: Ahmet Ertegun Award
Induction Year: 1987
Hank Williams
Category: Early Influences
Induction Year: 1987
Jackie Wilson
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1987
The Beach Boys
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1988
The Beatles
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1988
The Drifters
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1988
Bob Dylan
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1988
Berry Gordy Jr.
Category: Ahmet Ertegun Award
Induction Year: 1988
Woody Guthrie
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1988
Lead Belly
Category: Early Influences
Induction Year: 1988
Les Paul
Category: Early Influences
Induction Year: 1988
The Supremes
Dion
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1989
The Ink Spots
Category: Early Influences
Induction Year: 1989
Otis Redding
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1989
The Rolling Stones
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1989
Bessie Smith
Category: Early Influences
Induction Year: 1989
The Soul Stirrers
Category: Early Influences
Induction Year: 1989
Phil Spector
Category: Ahmet Ertegun Award
Induction Year: 1989
The Temptations
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1989
Stevie Wonder
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1989
Louis Armstrong
Category: Early Influences
Induction Year: 1990
Hank Ballard
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1990
Charlie Christian
Category: Early Influences
Induction Year: 1990
Bobby Darin
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1990
The Four Seasons
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1990
The Four Tops
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1990
Gerry Goffin and Carole King
Category: Ahmet Ertegun Award
Induction Year: 1990
Holland-Dozier-Holland
Category: Ahmet Ertegun Award
Induction Year: 1990
The Kinks
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1990
The Platters
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1990
Ma Rainey
Category: Early Influences
Induction Year: 1990
Simon and Garfunkel
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1990
The Who
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1990
LaVern Baker
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1991
Dave Bartholomew
Category: Ahmet Ertegun Award
Induction Year: 1991
Ralph Bass
Category: Ahmet Ertegun Award
Induction Year: 1991
The Byrds
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1991
Nesuhi Ertegun
Category: Ahmet Ertegun Award
Induction Year: 1991
John Lee Hooker
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1991
Howlin' Wolf
Category: Early Influences
Induction Year: 1991
Ike and Tina Turner
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1991
The Impressions
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1991
Wilson Pickett
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1991
Jimmy Reed
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1991
Bobby "Blue" Bland
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1992
Booker T. and The MG's
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1992
Johnny Cash
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1992
Leo Fender
Category: Ahmet Ertegun Award
Induction Year: 1992
Bill Graham
Category: Ahmet Ertegun Award
Induction Year: 1992
The Isley Brothers
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1992
Elmore James
Category: Early Influences
Induction Year: 1992
Jimi Hendrix Experience
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1992
Professor Longhair
Category: Early Influences
Induction Year: 1992
Doc Pomus
Category: Ahmet Ertegun Award
Induction Year: 1992
Sam and Dave
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1992
The Yardbirds
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1992
Ruth Brown
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1993
Dick Clark
Category: Ahmet Ertegun Award
Induction Year: 1993
Cream
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1993
Creedence Clearwater Revival
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1993
The Doors
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1993
Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1993
Milt Gabler
Category: Ahmet Ertegun Award
Induction Year: 1993
Etta James
Category: Performers
Induction Year: 1993
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