inductee

Call him what you will—Mr. Excitement, the black Elvis—Jackie Wilson can't be put into words.

Jackie Wilson

Jerry Wexler

Muddy Waters' playing was revelatory, his singing unrivaled. You could call his the guitar that launched a thousand bands.

Muddy Waters

T-Bone Walker was the pioneer of the blues, shaping the genre with his trailblazing use of early electric guitars.

T-Bone Walker

Big Joe Turner's mastery of every genre including blues, jazz, R&B and swing gave way to his uptempo party hits.

Big Joe Turner

Smokey Robinson put Motown on the map with his gorgeous, passionate ballads, but he also acted as producer, songwriter, talent scout and vice-president.

Smokey Robinson

Carl Perkins transformed his humble sharecropper roots into jumping, jiving rockabilly hits. His song "Blue Suede Shoes" launched a label and a movement.

Carl Perkins

Warbly yet forceful, vulnerable yet strong, grandiose yet intimate—Roy Orbison's voice happens once in a generation.

Roy Orbison

Ricky Nelson jumped from a career in TV into the music world, where he blew skeptical rock and rollers away with his own rock chops.

Ricky Nelson

Clyde McPhatter injected R&B with the unrestrained emotional zeal of gospel music.

Clyde McPhatter

Throughout B.B. King's fifty-year career of new influences, collaboration and incessant touring, the blues have been his home.

B. B. King

Louis Jordan topped the R&B charts for a total of one hundred thirteen weeks, an unheard of accomplishment.

Louis Jordan

Explore **The Hall of Fame**

“Hey, Good Lookin’,” “Cold, Cold Heart,” “You Win Again,” “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” – these songs are among the classics of country music, and every one was written and sung by Hank Williams...

download

**Impact**

download-1

Seymour Stein

**Influence**

**Induction**

**Candid. Passionate. Captivating. Hank Williams set the stage for the modern country star.** Williams sang brutally honest songs about his life in the language of the everyman. His straightforward approach earned him a following that has stayed loyal throughout the years.

This is the signature that appears on the inductee’s plaque at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to officially commemorate their induction.

sealed with a **signature**

Candid. Passionate. Captivating. Hank Williams set the stage for the modern country star.

Inductees

Hank Williams

Community Events

Films

Free events

Free with admission

Inductee Events

Interviews

Live Music

Members only

Special Events

Union Home Mortgage Plaza 
1100 Rock & Roll Blvd. 
Cleveland, Ohio 44114

Get the **latest** on Inductees, events, discounts **and more**

{{year}} Induction | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

This award is given to artists, musicians, songwriters, and producers whose originality and influence have had a dramatic impact on music.

Ahmet Ertegun Award

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announces the {{year}} Inductees for music’s highest honor.

{{year}} **Inductees**

This award recognizes individuals who have dedicated their lives to crafting influential, important music infused with originality, achieving a level of timeless distinction.

Musical Excellence

This award acknowledges artists whose music and performance style have directly influenced, inspired, and evolved rock & roll and music impacting culture.

Musical Influence

Celebrating the iconic artists who have created music whose originality, impact, and influence has changed the course of rock & roll.

Performer

Don’t just read about Rock & Roll, **feel it**

Find your favorite artists

Explore Inductees by induction year

This year's Inductees

Performances, interviews, & more

Discover Rock & Roll’s influence across eras

sc-ms-jackson-square

Sorry Ms. Jackson: A Hip-Hop Symphony

sc-woman-to-woman-1_1

A Rock B-Side Turned West Coast Anthem

sc-heart-of-glass-square

From CBGB’s to Hip-Hop’s Mainstream

sc-dear-mama-square

A Mother’s Love Scored in Soul and Hip-Hop

sc-love-tomorrow-square

From Teen Pop to Timeless Standard

sc-starting-something-square

The MJ Anthem That Took Over the Dancefloor

sc-seventeen-square

The Guitar Riff That Shaped Generations

More from 
**the Hall**

Music’s Highest Honor. The Hall of Fame features the Inductee Signature Gallery and the New Inductee exhibit.

The Hall of Fame

The Fan Vote joins the ballots of more than a thousand historians, music industry professionals, and artists to select each year’s induction class.

ceremony-default-BL

ceremony-default-BR

ceremony-default-T

ceremony-default-TL

ceremony-default-TR

The Class of {{YEAR}}

plan-hero

Want to learn more? Take a deep dive into our exclusive content on Rock Hall EDU to discover more about your favorite Inductees.  

Rock Hall EDU

171109_HuntCapture_RH_6355

404-bg

**More from** 
the Hall

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame puts the spotlight on the music & artists who’ve stood the test of time. Explore all the ways this museum celebrates the music that connects us all.

Inside The Museum

1984–3

See what's up next on our set list. Choose from live performances, fan experiences, film screenings and much more.

What's Going On?

TS-9650

press-release-default

press-release-search-default

PRESS RELEASE

Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Beatles

John, Paul, George, & Ringo kickstarted the seismic British Invasion that swept the U.S. in the ‘60s and rewrote the rules of what performers could be and do.

The Beatles

AC:DC

Since 1975, AC/DC has carved out a niche between punky hard rock and heavy metal, inspiring countless musicians with crank-up-the-volume radio staples 

AC/DC

gettyimages-185756267-612×612 1 (18)

The Rolling Stones have married their love of blues and American R&B to a vast array of styles and genres. The constant throughline has been the band’s swagger.

The Rolling Stones

Bon Jovi

Bursting out of New Jersey in 1984, Bon Jovi’s irresistible combo of heavy metal and pop brought multiple chart-topping hits and worldwide rock stardom. 

Hard rock and heavy metal as we know it wouldn't exist without Led Zeppelin, one of the most popular and innovative rock bands ever.

Led Zeppelin

download-2

There's a reason the Eagles' "best of" album was the first album ever to be certified platinum.

The Eagles

Prince

Prince redefined artistic possibility, mixing rock, funk, soul, pop and jazz into a genre-defying blend that both challenged and satisfied audiences. 

Queen was one of the most popular, ambitious and beloved classic rock bands ever.

Queen

Bruce

Bruce Springsteen rose from Jersey street poet to socially conscious cultural icon, an artist whose voice spoke to—and for—multiple generations worldwide. 

Bruce Springsteen

Pink

Architects of two major music movements – psychedelic rock and progressive rock – Pink Floyd were renowned for biting political, social and emotional commentary. 

Pink Floyd

Maonna

Madonna demolished pop boundaries, boldly redefining what it means to be a rock star. She proved art could be both controversial and commercially successful.

Madonna

Janis Joplin had one of the most powerful voices of the Sixties. Her voice is equal parts tough and vulnerable, a shout into the void that resonated with a generation.

Janis Joplin

Fleetwood

Fleetwood Mac delivered some of the  most indelible songs of the ‘70s, creating a distinctive “California sound” that endures as a sonic touchstone for countless bands.

Fleetwood Mac

The first female-fronted hard rock band, Heart proved women can rock with the best of them. Heart's mix of hard rock and folk yielded one of the longest lasting and most commercially successful bands of all time.

Heart

Tina Turner worked hard to reimagine the role of a Black woman in rock and roll — one not related to the edges.

Tina Turner

aretha

The first woman inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Aretha Franklin was an artist of passion, sophistication and command, whose recordings remain anthems that defined soul music.

Aretha Franklin

Cher

Pop’s enduring icon – and the only woman with No. 1 hits across seven decades. With her distinctive contralto voice, Cher mastered folk-pop, rock, disco, and electropop.

gettyimages-185756267-612×612 1 (8)

Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott holds the record for most platinum albums by a woman rapper. She forged new paths by unapologetically owning her body and her Blackness. 

Missy Elliott

With her prodigious songwriting talent, vocal and instrumental prowess, charisma, and trademark style, Dolly Parton has achieved immense global success as a musician and blazed a trail for generations of artists to come.

Dolly Parton

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts smash genre (and gender) boundaries by fusing punk, glam and heavy metal with '50s and '60s rock & roll.

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

Elvis

The first anointed King of Rock & Roll. Elvis Presley ignited a revolution with his firebrand take on blues, country, R&B, pop, bluegrass and gospel. 

Elvis Presley

Billy Joel comes off as such a determinedly average guy that it's tempting to undervalue his extraordinary gifts.

Billy Joel

The founder and creative beacon of Elektra Records. Jac Holzman's diverse taste and engineering knowledge yielded a catalogue of music ranging from classical to hard rock to simply sound effects, all of the highest quality.

James Brown

Van Halen kicked the American hard rock scene into high gear in the late Seventies, became rock heroes on MTV in the Eighties, and gave rise to a steady stream of shredders and trailblazers ever since.

Van Halen

Michael Jackson redefined both the sound and look of pop, worldwide. Transcending  cultural and racial boundaries, his music continues to influence generations.

Michael Jackson

Jimi Hendrix was the most gifted instrumentalist of all time.

Jimi Hendrix Experience

The window-breaking, earth-quaking, soul-shaking Who.

The Who

The unmistakeable vocal timbre of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2019 Inductee Stevie Nicks’s voice has dominated rock.

Stevie Nicks

gettyimages-185756267-612×612 1 (14)

Earth, Wind & Fire’s distinctive blend of funk, soul, jazz, Africana, and pop melodicism ruled the ‘70s and ‘80s airwaves. 

Earth, Wind & Fire

RUN DMC was a group of firsts. The trio established “street-style,” shattered boundaries between rap and rock and transformed the sound and audience of hip-hop.

RUN DMC

Eminem

Unbridled controversy. Unparalleled talent. Unmatched superstardom. Eminem solidified hip-hop as the most commercially successful music on the planet.

We’re showcasing the iconic SNL film, The Blues Brothers, a spin off from the TV show’s 1978 recurring musical sketch.

Bluesbrothersmovieposter

TBB_header

Join us for our 2025 Fall Film Series, where we explore films that highlight the powerful connection between music and comedy, in celebration of our new exhibit

2025 Fall Film Series: The Blues Brothers

Museum

The 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, set to take place on Saturday, November 8 at Peacock Theater in Los Angeles and live on Disney+.

2018_Ceremony_946386834-scaled

2025 Induction Ceremony

Induction

All-American Rejects vinyl signing

Brand

All-American Rejects Vinyl Signing

We’re showcasing Hairspray – a John Waters classic that tells the story of Tracy Turnblad, an unpopular but optimistic high-school teen in early 1960s Baltimore with dreams of love, equality, and dancing on the Corny Collins Show.

Hairspray

hairspray-1988

Join us for our 2025 Fall Films, where we explore films that highlight the powerful connection between music, cultural moments, and the stories behind our Rock Hall programming.

2025 Fall Film Series: Hairspray

Step behind the music and into the legend—join us at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for an exclusive evening with acclaimed author Alan Light as he dives into the drama, magic, and lasting allure of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours.

Candid. Passionate. Captivating. Hank Williams set the stage for the modern country star. Williams sang brutally honest songs about his life in the language of the everyman. His straightforward approach earned him a following that has stayed loyal throughout the years.

Impact

To Nashville with love

More from
the Hall

Explore The Hall of Fame

Explore The Hall of Fame

Candid. Passionate. Captivating. Hank Williams set the stage for the modern country star. Williams sang brutally honest songs about his life in the language of the everyman. His straightforward approach earned him a following that has stayed loyal throughout the years.

Impact

To Nashville with love

More from the Hall

Explore The Hall of Fame

Explore The Hall of Fame

More from
the Hall