Dolly Parton Among 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Inductees
Dolly Parton is among the influential performers who will be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2022.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced its latest batch of inductees on Wednesday morning (May 4). Parton will be inducted into the Hall in the Performer category alongside Pat Benatar, Duran Duran, Eminem, Eurythmics, Lionel Richie and Carly Simon.
Judas Priest and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis will be inducted in the Musical Excellence Award category, and Harry Belfonte and Elizabeth Cotton will be inducted in the Early Influence Award category. Additionally, Allen Grubman, Jimmy Iovine and Sylvia Robinson will be inducted in the Ahmet Ertegun Award category.
“This diverse group of inductees each had a profound impact on the sound of youth culture and helped change the course of rock & roll,” Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Chairman John Sykes says in a press release. “Their music moved generations and influenced so many artists that followed."
2022 marks the first time that six women have been inducted into the Hall of Fame as part of the same class. Parton was initially hesitant to accept the nomination; in mid-March, she said she would "respectfully bow out" of consideration, since she did not believe she had earned the nomination and didn't want to split the vote. However, the ballots had already gone out before her remarks, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame subsequently reaffirmed her nomination, saying, "From its inception, Rock & Roll has had deep roots in Rhythm & Blues and Country music. It is not defined by any one genre, rather a sound that moves youth culture."
Parton changed her tune in an interview with NPR's Morning Edition in late April. Asked what she would do if she won, she said, "Well, I'll accept gracefully. And I'll accept it because the fans vote."
"When I said that, it was always my belief that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was for people in rock music," she explained. "And I have found out lately that is not necessarily that ... I just felt like I would be taking away from someone that maybe deserved it, certainly more than me because I never considered myself a rock artist. But obviously there's more to it than that."
Parton and the rest of the Class of 2022 will be formally inducted at the 37th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, which is slated to take place on Nov. 5, 2022, at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
See Dolly Parton's Life and Career in Pictures