For the first time in Rock & Roll Hall of Fame history, the Induction Ceremony will be streamed LIVE on November 3, 2023 on Disney+

Inductees Sheryl Crow, Missy Elliott, Chaka Khan, and Willie Nelson will perform, as well as special guests Brandi Carlile, H.E.R., St. Vincent, and more. Purchase tickets HERE.

38th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony to take place Friday, November 3rd at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York

CHAKA KHAN – MUSIC EXCELLENCE
Funk queen, rock goddess, jazz singer, disco diva – Chaka Khan embodies and transcends these. With a voice of seductive fire and sweet smoke, Khan came to prominence with the innovative funk/rock group Rufus in the 1970s. Equally ferocious and feminine, she was Rufus’ secret weapon. At a time when audiences for rock and soul were splitting into different camps, Khan’s voice and presence represented the racial and social integration at the heart of rock & roll.

With her incredible vocal range and mastery of dynamics, Chaka Khan has recorded long-lasting, powerful music for close to five decades. After Rufus’ long run of hits, Khan broke out on her own in 1978 with Ashford & Simpson’s “I’m Every Woman,” a successful mix of rock and disco. Throughout her career, Khan mastered the rhythms of every era, from funk to rock to hip-hop; she also showcased her jazz roots on albums like Echoes of an Era (1982) and ClassiKhan (2004). Her landmark solo album, 1984’s I Feel for You, featured the creative and exciting mix of funk, synth dance rhythms, and hip-hop of the Prince-penned title track and the stunning ballad “Through the Fire.” Khan continues to be one of the most prolific and eclectic singers around, covering songbook standards and soul classics to equal acclaim, and earning the 2008 Grammy for best R&B album with Funk This, her tenth Grammy win. Khan’s most recent album, Hello Happiness, was released in 2019.

Inspired by pioneering female artists like Aretha Franklin and Joni Mitchell, Chaka Khan remains one of the mightiest and most influential voices in music. It is impossible to imagine today’s streetwise but sensual hip-hop-soul divas without Khan’s influence paving the way for other formidable women like Mary J. Blige, Erykah Badu, and Janelle Monáe, as well as versatile, powerhouse vocalists like Sam Smith. Khan’s work has endured for decades and continues to inspire fellow artists and fans alike.

CHAKA KHAN RECEIVES THE 2016 SHE ROCKS “LEGEND” AWARD

KATE BUSH
A spellbinding visionary, the singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Kate Bush created a unique space in rock. She used lush soundscapes, radical experimentation, literary themes, sampling, and theatricality to captivate audiences and inspire countless musicians.

Kate Bush steered the course of her career from its infancy, fighting her record label for control of her eclectic musical aesthetic and maintaining control by establishing a home recording studio and publishing and management companies for her work. The Emily Brönte-inspired debut single “Wuthering Heights” from inaugural album The Kick Inside (co-produced by Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour) made Bush an overnight sensation and the first female artist to reach Number One on the U.K. charts with a self-written song. The album was soon followed by Lionheart and Bush’s only concert tour, which combined music, dance, theater, poetry, mime, burlesque, and magic. Described by the press as an “extraordinary, hydra-headed beast,” the tour was cited by Elton John as “a benchmark for people’s shows in the future.” Following a 12-year hiatus, Kate Bush released the critically acclaimed double album Aerial (2005), at once multilayered, experimental, and genre-breaking. In 2014, she returned to the stage for a concert residency at London’s Hammersmith Apollo. Tickets sold out in 15 minutes, and the ensuing acclaim drove eight of her albums to chart simultaneously – another first for women in rock. In 2022, the TV show Stranger Things prominently featured Bush’s emotional 1985 song “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God),” ushering in yet another Kate Bush renaissance and creating a new generation of fans. The song shot to Number One on the U.K. singles chart and into the Top Ten in the U.S., while Spotify streams of the song increased 9,000 percent.

Kate Bush and her entrancing vocals have influenced artists ranging from Johnny Rotten to Tori Amos to Big Boi. Bush threw open doors for female artists to experiment more radically with their music, image, and theatricality, inspiring Björk, Solange, St. Vincent, and numerous others. She is not only a rock superstar, but a legend.

Sheryl Crow
Sheryl Crow’s voice is forever woven into the tapestry of American music. Through her powerhouse solo performances, collaborations with industry icons, and early session musician work, Crow’s influence reverberates through classic 1990s rock, pop, country, folk, blues, and the work of countless singer-songwriters. Crow got her big break singing backup for Michael Jackson’s Bad world tour in 1987. From there she became a session musician, providing backing vocals for Stevie Wonder, Belinda Carlisle, and Don Henley – while simultaneously writing songs for Celine Dion, Tina Turner, and Wynonna Judd. Signed to A&M as a solo artist, Crow released her 1993 debut album Tuesday Night Music Club – now a revered classic that resulted in three of her nine Grammys, including Best Female Rock Vocal and Record of the Year for “All I Wanna Do.” Crow produced and played several of the instruments on her 1996 self-titled sophomore album, which was another commercial hit and won two additional Grammys. Her success continued into the 2000s with Platinum albums C’mon, C’mon (2002) and Wildflower (2005) and Gold certified Detours (2008).

Throughout her career, Sheryl Crow has collaborated with some of the biggest names in rock and country music – Keith Richards, Prince, Johnny Cash, and Loretta Lynn to name a few – drawing a who’s-who of artists to work on her self-identified final album, 2019’s Threads. The supergroup-level collaborations Crow created between veteran and younger artists culminate in an album that encapsulates her spiritual, political, and musical worldviews. Threads includes the socially conscious “Story of Everything” featuring Chuck D, Andra Day, and Gary Clark, Jr., the rootsy “Prove You Wrong” with Stevie Nicks and Maren Morris, and Eric Clapton, Sting, and Brandi Carlile covering George Harrison’s devotional “Beware of Darkness.” The vast catalog of this soulful rock superstar earns Sheryl Crow the title given to her by country singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton: “One of the best that we’ve ever had… and may ever have.”

MISSY ELLIOTT
Songwriter, groundbreaking producer, label executive, and video trendsetter, Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott was crucial to crafting the Virginia Beach sound that took over the airwaves in the late 1990s and 2000s. She established herself as an in-demand songwriter and producer and founded her own record label, all before breaking out as a Platinum-selling solo star. Elliott forged new paths for women in the music industry and society at large through her behind-the-scenes mastery and unapologetic ownership of her body, her sexual desires, and her Blackness in her music.

Missy Elliott’s debut album Supa Dupa Fly (1997) established her sound: futuristic production rife with jarring distortions under her inimitable rap style. She spit out onomatopoetic nonsense, sing-song, and jagged syncopations in a signature urban Southern drawl. On this and subsequent albums like Miss E…So Addictive! (2001) and her self-produced The Cookbook (2005), Elliott took the weird and made it not only accessible, but the most sought-after sound in hip-hop and R&B. Her music video aesthetic proved as deliciously off-kilter as her music with body-morphing visual effects. Elliott sings with a detached head (“One-Minute Man”), sports a retractable head (“Get Ur Freak On”), and exaggerates and celebrates her size with the help of a fisheye lens and a patent-leather inflatable suit (“The Rain”). A true pathbreaker in a male-dominated genre, Missy Elliott was the first woman rapper (and third hip-hop artist) inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and to earn the MTV Video Vanguard Award.

Among her other accolades are four Grammys, two honorary doctorates, and the Woman’s Entrepreneurship Day Music Pioneer Award given by the United Nations. She also holds the record for the most Platinum albums by a woman rapper at six. Elliott has produced and/or written songs for a veritable who’s-who of stars, from Aaliyah and Beyoncé to Eminem and Lizzo.

Earlier this year, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation announced 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