By Mark Kennedy
AP Entertainment Writer
FILE – Mary J. Blige performs at the 2018 Essence Festival at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on July 7, 2018, in New Orleans. Blige is nominated for six Grammy Awards. The 2023 Grammy Awards will air live Sunday, Feb. 5. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP, File) Credit: Amy Harris/Invision/AP
Mariah Carey performs during the Global Citizen Festival on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2022, at Central Park in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
FILE – Lenny Kravitz performs at the iHeartRadio Music Awards on Monday, March 27, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Kravitz is among the 2024 nominees for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File) Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP
FILE – In this Sept. 30, 2010 file photo, singer Sade Adu arrives at the “Keep A Child Alive Black Ball” at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York. When she decided to walk the red carpet at Alicia Keys’ Black Ball for Keys’ Keep a Child Alive charity it was a first for the enigmatic performer. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, file) Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK (AP) — Kool and the Gang, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, Sade and hip-hop groups A Tribe Called Quest and Eric B. & Rakim are among the Black entertainers comprising the 2024 nominees for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Pop goddess Cher, the late Sinéad O’Connor and heavy metal’s so-called Prince of Darkness are also part of this year’s consort, a wide musical net that also includes Britpoppers Oasis.
Ozzy Osbourne, who led many parents in the 1980s to clutch their pearls with his devil imagery and sludgy music, gets the nod as a solo artist, having already gone into the hall with Black Sabbath.
Nominations also were handed to soft rockers Foreigner, singer-guitarist Peter Frampton, alt-rockers Jane’s Addiction and Dave Matthews Band, and dance icons Kool & the Gang.
“Continuing in the true spirit of rock ‘n’ roll, these artists have created their own sounds that have impacted generations and influenced countless others that have followed in their footsteps,” said John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation in a statement.
Ten of the 15 nominees are on the ballot for the first time, including Carey, Cher, Foreigner, Frampton, Kool & the Gang, Kravitz, Oasis, O’Connor, Osbourne and Sade. Sade, whose 1980s soft rock hits include “Smooth Operator” and “The Sweetest Taboo,” is having a moment, having last year been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Carey, with 19 No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, Blige with eight multi-platinum albums and nine Grammy Awards, and Cher — the only artist to have a No. 1 song in each of the past six decades — would help boost the number of women in the hall.
Artists must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years before they’re eligible for induction. The induction ceremony will take place in Cleveland this fall.
Nominees will be voted on by more than 1,000 artists, historians and music industry professionals. Fans can vote online or in person at the museum, with the top five artists picked by the public making up a “fans’ ballot” that will be tallied with the other professional ballots.
Last year, Missy Elliott, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Chaka Khan, “Soul Train” creator Don Cornelius, Kate Bush and the late George Michael were some of the artists who got into the hall.
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Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
