Breaking Down the 2025 Rock Hall Class: Shoe-Ins and Surprises

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Every year at this time, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announces their list of inductees. Every year at this time, people argue about it. This year is no exception. Some controversy always erupts. So much of it is around the definition of ‘Rock and Roll’. We can just forget about the name on the building. It’s not just about just rock and roll anymore. Here are your 2025 inductees. They will be honored live on Saturday, November 8th at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California. Let the debate begin!

Bad Company

Long overdue induction! Paul Rodgers is an iconic voice in rock history. Bad Company’s self-titled debut album was recorded in 1973  and contained 8 songs. Four of which have become classics. Bad Company was a British super group of sorts. Comprised of former Free, King Crimson, and Mott the Hoople members. Seasoned musicians from established groups joining forces. Led Zeppelin’s charismatic manager, Peter Grant, took over their management. Between their iconic songs and tremendous exposure, Bad Company hit BIG. Their first 4 albums still get staples played on your Classic Rock stations. If there is to be a ROCK AND ROLL Hall of Fame, Bad Company deserves to be represented. 

Thom Bell

Whenever a new induction list comes out, there are always a few lesser-known names on it. Thom Bell is someone I did not recognize. I sure am glad he was inducted because it gives me the chance to learn about him. It turns out, I have been a big fan of his work! Bell is one of the architects behind “The Philadelphia Sound” genre of the late 1960s-1970s.  Also called Philly Soul, this was a unique sound coming from a relatively small group of musicians. Soul music that integrated funk and lush horn and string arrangements. Thom Bell was a producer, songwriter,, and arranger of some of soul music’s greatest acts. He was one of the more prolific architects of the Philly sound. He was responsible for an unprecedented ‘groove’ in American music that set a standard. Groups like the Delfonics, Stylistics, The O’Jays and The Spinners all had classic hit songs crafted by Thom Bell! These songs defined a city, a generation and a movement!

Chubby Checker

This was a courtesy induction. Chubby Checker is an important figure in early Rock and Roll, but his accomplishments don’t rise to the HOF level. He had tremendous success with a dance song, a genre still popular today, called “The Twist” in 1960. He was just 18 years old and the song was a cover from the year before. He appeared on TV’s “American Bandstand” many times and the song became a sensation. Checker never moved on from this success. Even though he complained that the song’s popularity stifled his growth as a musician. He could not escape being “the Man who taught us how to Twist”. He continued to release ‘dance’ songs and other versions of the “Twist” in order to make a living. His other projects could never get traction. Checker is now 83 yrs old, so it will be nice for him to accept this reward in person. He might feel that it is a little late, though. In 2002, he protested outside the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony, stating that he was being snubbed. Well, 23 yrs later he has been UN-snubbed.

Joe Cocker

Great, great pick of Joe Cocker! Long overdue. Cocker is a unicorn. One of one! Never has anyone taken no vocal skills and awkward movements to such heights. Why is that? It is because Joe Cocker is all about the groove, the pocket. His strange movements and raspy vocals are always tightly wrapped around the music. He is unabashedly uninhibited onstage.   The young Cocker hit the big time by covering the Beatle’s, “With qa Little Help from My Friends” . He drank from the Beatle well a few times. Cocker’s magic lay in his unique approach to the cover songs. For example, Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher released a song on Preston’s 1974 album, “The Kids and Me”. The song was released as a B side to a single called “Struttin’”. Cocker took that B-side song, slowed it down, and turned it into his biggest hit. In Cocker’s hands,  “You Are So Beautiful” is a soulful, gentle, emotional song. 

Nicky Hopkins

Like Thom Bell, Nicky Hopkins was not someone on my radar. Also like Bell, I was already, unknowingly,  a fan of Nicky Hopkins’ music. This is because Nicky was a piano and organ session player for the most popular bands of the British Invasion. He initially played with the Kinks, on four studio albums (1965-68). His name found it’s way to Mick and the Rolling Stones. Hopkins played on ALL the Stones’ studio albums from 1967 through 1981 (except “Some Girls” in 1978).  He was asked to JOIN the Who in 1965 while recording their debut album, “My Generation”. He declined. However, he did become an official member of the Jeff Beck Group. He played on Beatle albums and Beatle solo records. I was very excited to learn that Hopkins jumped the pond and landed in the SF Bay Area. This was at the height of “The Summer of Love”. He played with some local heroes like, The Steve Miller Band and the Jefferson Airplane. He spent the rest of his life in beautiful Mill Valley, just outside of San Francisco. A well-deserved Hall of Famer! 

FUN FACT: Nicky played on fellow inductee Joe Cocker’s song ,”You Are So Beauutiful”

Carol Kaye

Only music insiders knew of Carol Kaye. That was until the long-overdue documentaries started popping up about “The Wrecking Crew”. The Wrecking Crew were a group of Los Angeles session players who shaped popular music in the 60’s and 70’s. The group played on just about every record coming out of Los Angeles during that time. Carol Kaye was part of this group. Carol Kaye was the only female in the Wrecking Crew. Considering it was the 1960’s, this was unique if not incredible! Kaye is famous for her bass playing with the Wrecking Crew as well as The Beach Boys. As part of the Crew, she was trusted to find her own way on a song. She was a master at evaluating the song and inserting just the right bass lines. She was a favorite of famed producer Phil Spector as well as Quincy Jones. Her bass can be heard on over 10,000 recordings in a career of over 65 years. The bass lines you hear on famous songs like ‘The Beat Goes On’ and ‘Good Vibrations’ are Kaye’s. Everyone from Sinatra to Zappa leaned on Carol Kaye for their bottom end.

FUN FACT: Carol was a guitar player first. Good enough to get studio work. One day, the bass player didn’t show up and Carol was asked to sit in on the bass. She was good, very good. She decided to pursue the bass because it was much easier, logistically, to handle. She didn’t have to carry around multiple instruments like she did with guitars. She became a world-class bass player…out of convenience!

Cyndi Lauper

Hall of Fame inductees must have a uniqueness about them. Something that makes them stand out. Cyndi Lauper fits that bill perfectly.  She hit the scene in 1983 with her album, ‘She’s So Unusual‘. It was the first debut album by a female to contain four top-five hits on the Billboard Hot 100. The songs were poppy, edgy and catchy. Her look was different. The fashion clothes and ‘new wave’ haircut were striking in the early 80’s. The cover was not the whole book in Cyndi’s case. She shocked people with her powerful four-octave vocal range. Lauper’s debut record was award winning and the timing was perfect for someone like her. MTV was still new and a visual stunner like Lauper quickly became a hit. Cyndi Lauper was no flash-in-the-pan either. She went on to even greater heights by composing for musicals. She received numerous awards (especially for her work supporting LGBT rights). She appeared in numerous acting roles on TV, in theater and film. 2025 marks Cyndi’s farewell to touring as she bops around the country saying “Thank you” to her millions of fans.

Outkast

Outkast was a hip hop duo out of Atlanta, formed in 1992.   Big Boi (Antwan Patton) and André 3000 (André Benjamin, formerly known as Dré) were high school students when they formed Outkast. The group offered a new twist to the growing hip hop community. Their first single, “Player’s Ball” (1993) hit #1 on the Billboard Hot Rap Tracks chart. It was also near the top of the R&B chart for six weeks.  The twist was the use of live instruments rather than song- samples.  When the debut album came out, it was embraced. Titled ‘Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik (1994), this collection of songs introduced a southern hip hop style. This style differed from the violent gangsta rap dominating the airwaves. It focused on more traditional themes like love and relationships. The genius of Big Boi and Andre 3000 continued to morph their sound over the years. They tried their hands at film production and soundtrack work with the 2006 film Idlewild. Outkast took hip hop to new heights. For me, personally, I noticed Outkast well after they hit it big. I first saw Andre 3000 when he sang “Hey Ya!”

FUN FACT: : “Hey Ya” came off of an Outkast double album, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. The album featured one disc of Big Boi songs and one was all ‘Dre. Plus, they each produced each other’s album. Outkast thinking outside the box….again!

Salt – N – Pepa

Salt -N-Pepa Formed in 1985 in New York. They became the first female rap group to achieve gold and platinum status. It was their debut record, ‘Hot, Cool & Vicious’, dropped on December 1 1986. The group consisted of Cherly James (Salt), and Sandra Denton (Pepa) plus Deidra Roper (DJ Spinderella). Subsequent releases were met with even more excitement and by 1993, their 4th album, ‘Very Necessary’ broke them BIG TIME. The album sold 7 million copies. This made them the first female rap act (group or solo) to have a multi-platinum certified album. The single, “None of Your Business” won a Grammy . Which made them the first female rappers to win a Grammy (followed by Queen Latifah later the same night). Salt-n-Pepa’s career can not be discounted. They enjoyed tremendous success and broke some new ground for women in a traditionally male dominated arena. They dressed like women and had a distinctive fashion style. Are they Hall of Fame worthy? Honestly, I have my doubts. They released a total of 5 albums over an 11 year period. They won only one Grammy (plus one for Lifetime Achievement). Important yes! Hall of Fame, not for me. 

Soundgarden

Soundgarden –  A band out of Seattle that formed in 1984 but didn’t hit it big until 10 years later. Soundgarden is considered one of four bands on the Mt. Rushmore of grunge music. Along with Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Alice In Chains. Soundgarden DID come from the Pacific Northwest where grunge first took hold. As a band, Soundgarden took grunge music to new levels not touched by the other three ‘founders’.   Grunge as a genre was an answer rock’s  ‘hair metal’ movement. Gone were the fancy costumes, primped up hair, and men wearing makeup that took over the 80’s in rock. Grunge spoke to the people who wanted their rock stars to look like they them. Having combed hair and leather pants meant NOTHING to them. To express yourself with loud, aggressive play and angst-filled lyrics felt more real to the young people. Soundgarden is important in this arena because they were the first. The other three bands developed after Soundgarden started the grunge ball rolling. Despite this Soundgarden was not the FIRST grunge band to break through to the mainstream. They became well known because they were the first to break the grunge mold. Their 4th album , ‘Superunknown’ (1994) was their biggest success.  The album pulled from the band’s alt-metal past but also included influences from heavy metal, hard rock,  and psychedelia. The album was said to have “both redefined and transcended grunge”. After Soundgarden’s induction into the Hall,  the only remaining Mt. Grungemore band left is Alice in Chains.

Lenny Waronker

Lenny Waronker is receiving an award in the Ahmet Ertegun Award category for non-performing industry professionals. He was the son of Liberty Records record label founder, Simon Waronker. He parlayed his experience working for his pop into a career that brought him to the heights of Warner records. 

The White Stripes

If being unique is a prerequisite to getting into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, then The White Stripes fit the bill. There are not many 2-person bands that would even be considered, let alone inducted. There are even fewer two-person bands that say they are siblings when they are actually married.  Jack and Meg White were not siblings, they were married. Strange? Perhaps. Unique? Definitely! The group formed in 1997 in Detroit with Meg on drums and vocals and Jack on guitar, keyboards,piano and vocals.  The two met while Jack was in high school and quickly began tripping around the Detroit underground music scene. Jack was a drummer at the time and actually got gigs. After several years of dating, Jack and Meg married in 1996. On a lark, Meg started playing Jack’s drums. This opened Jack up to stretch his blues/punk muscle on the guitar and The White Stripes were hatched. The year was 1997. Things started happening quickly for the group and by 1999 they had a record deal. It wasn’t an overnight success for The White Stripes. Their second LP ‘De Stijl” did marginally better than their first, ‘The White Stripes”. It was the ‘White Blood Cells’ album in 2001 that really started the ball rolling. This album was their first to chart in the US and it sold 1.1 million copies! However, on April Fool’s Day 2003, the album ‘Elephant‘ was released and The White Stripes hit a new level. Over 2 million sold, Number 1 album in the UK, #6 in the US. 4X Platinum! Two more albums came before they called it quits. Their last being in 2007, titled ‘Icky Thump’. Jack White is still very much in the music business with his OWN record label, “Third Man Records”. White Stripes music can be heard in movies and TV soundtracks. Critics and musicians often refer to Jack and Meg as pioneers. But not brother and sister.

FUN FACT: Jack White’s real last name is Gillis. He took Meg’s last name when they married

Warren Zevon

The late Warren Zevon (January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) is being inducted under the special category of Musical Influence. Zevon is one of those artists whose name is always raised for the Hall but the honor has eluded him until now. It’s hard to argue against Zevon’s inclusion in the Hall. His career was a long, slow-burn. After a short stint as a duo, with a high school friend, Violet Santangelo, he turned to being a session musician and jingle writer. He wrote songs that other artists covered and even had one in the film ‘Midnight Cowboy’. Zevon released an album in 1970 that garnered ‘less-than-zero’ interest. He was discouraged and decided to leave the country and clear his head by visiting a friend in Spain. When he returned stateside, he roomed with a couple who were in a band that was blowing up. This couple was Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac. Being in Los Angeles at this time in history was very fortunate for Zevon. He befriended Jackson Browne, who produced his first album to chart in the us, ‘Warren Zevon’(1976). The album displayed Zevon’s unique writing ability and critics picked up on it as a ‘masterpiece’. And so it began for Zevon. His next record, ‘Excitable Boy’ (1978), produced again by Browne, was the breakout! The single “Werewolves Of London” was a big hit and continues to be a classic in American pop. The bottom line with Zevon is his tremendous songwriting ability versus his chaotic life of addiction and illness. He had more comebacks than a boomerang. and was close to David Letterman. He was loved by  many. An important voice during an important time in American music. Welcome to the Hall Warren!

FUN FACT Zevon coordinated with several well-known authors on his song writing. Hunter S. Thompson, Carl Hiaasen and Mitch Albom to name a few