Is the the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ready to make “out with the old and in with the new” its new credo?
Not quite, since 83-year-old “Let’s Twist” singer Chubby Checker was on Tuesday nominated for induction for the first time, along with the late Joe Cocker and the long-dormant English band Bad Company, whose senior surviving members range in age from 75 to 80. But five of the 14 other 2025 nominees announced Wednesday as 2025 nominees — the Black Crowes, OutKast, Mana, Billy Idol and jam-band favorites Phish — have never appeared on the ballot before.
They represent a newer musical generation for the hall, which deems artists eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first commercial recording. The criteria for being nominated and inducted includes musical excellence, impact, longevity and innovation.
Repeat nominees this year include Mariah Carey, Oasis, The White Stripes, Joy Division/New Order, Cyndi Lauper (whose 2024 farewell tour included a memorable November concert at SDSU’s Viejas Arena) and Seattle’s Soundgarden, whose drummer — Matt Cameron — is a San Diego native.
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Cameron was inducted into the hall in 2017 as a member of Pearl Jam, the Seattle band he joined after Soundgarden broke up. Pearl Jam’s lineup includes two other former San Diegans: lead singer Eddie Vedder and lead guitarist Mike McCready.
If Soundgarden is inducted, Cameron will become the first drummer to be inducted into the Rock Hall as a member of two different bands. Ringo Starr has been inducted twice, one as a member of The Beatles and later as a solo artist.
Inductees will be announced in late April, after the more than 1,200 ballots have been cast and tallied. Votes are cast by music industry professionals, including previous nominees, historians and a group of veteran music critics that includes this writer.
Also set to be announced in April are honorees in three special nominee categories that are not voted on — musical excellence, musical influence and the Ahmet Ertegun Non-Performer Award. The musical excellence and influence awards are often presented to artists who have been nominated multiple times but never earned enough votes to gain induction.
The 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held in the fall in Los Angeles at a yet-to-be-announced venue.
The timing of this year’s nominees announcement comes seven months before new nominee Billy Idol’s 2025 concert tour comes to San Diego’s North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre for a Sept. 23 show. That is the same month that the recently reunited Oasis will perform Sept. 6 and 7 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.
