Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts first woman
In 1986 the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced its first group of inductees Buddy Holly Chuck Berry Elvis Presley Fats Domino James Brown Jerry Lee Lewis Little Richard Ray Charles Sam Cooke and the Everly Brothers.Since then the Hall has added a new class of inductees each year expanding by January 2008 to 209 honorees in four categories Performers Non-Performers Sidemen and Lifetime Achievers.The category in which the Hall is most conspicuously lacking however is women.
Of the 159 total inductions in the Performers category 135 have been of solo male performers or male groups.Only 10 solo female performers and 13 groups containing at least one female performer have been added since the Hall admitted its first womanAretha Franklinon January 3 1987.In its second 10 years women fared better with the Hall of Fame as artists like the Jefferson Airplane (1996) Joni Mitchell (1997) Bonnie Raitt (2000) and the Pretenders (2005) became eligible for induction.Still considering how few female artists and groups are likely to be given serious consideration in the coming yearsHeart Joan Jett Chaka Khanthe Halls roster of honorees is a striking reflection of how much rock and roll really has been and continues to be a mans world.For the record the solo women and groups containing women who have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as of 2008 are (in order of induction)Aretha FranklinThe SupremesLaVern BakerIke and Tina TurnerRuth BrownEtta JamesMartha and the VandellasJanis JoplinThe ShirellesJefferson Airplane (Grace Slick)Gladys Knight and the PipsJoni MitchellThe Mamas and the Papas (Cass Elliot and Michelle Phillips)Fleetwood Mac (Christine McVie and Stevie Nicks)The Staple SingersDusty SpringfieldBonnie RaittTalking Heads (Tina Weymouth)Brenda LeeThe Pretenders (Chryssie Hind)Blondie (Debbie Harry)The RonettesPatti SmithMadonna
