Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame Announces Its 2022 Inductees, Including Dolly Parton!

On Wednesday morning, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced its inductees.

President and CEO Greg Harris posted a two-minute video to its Twitter account, where he revealed that he was standing inside the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, while he was making the morning announcement.

Before he listed the nominees, Harris praised the “extremely diverse” of individuals and bands who were chosen based on the impact that they’ve made to the rock and roll scene.

“It’s an extremely diverse group of individuals and bands who’ve had a significant impact on rock and roll, the music that connects us all,” he said.

The class of 2022 in the Performers category included Pat Benatar, Duran Duran, Eminem, Eurythmics, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, and Carly Simon.

In addition, they were inducting Judas Priest and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis in the category of Musical Excellence.

Allen Grubman, Jimmy Iovine, and Sylvia Robinson were honored with the Ahmet Ertegun Award. Elizabeth Cotton and Harry Bekafonte were honored for Early Influence.

“Congratulations to our newest Inductees and welcome to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,” Harris continued. “We’re excited to celebrate with you on Saturday, November 5th, in Los Angeles.”

Last month, the “Jolene” singer made headlines when she humbly asked to withdraw her nomination. “Dolly here!” she began. “Even though I am extremely flattered and grateful to be nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I don’t feel that I have earned that right. I really do not want votes to be split because of me, so I must respectfully bow out.”

“I do hope that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will understand and be willing to consider me again – if I’m ever worthy,” the ever-humble Dolly continued. “This has, however, inspired me to put out a hopefully great rock ‘n’ roll album at some point in the future, which I have always wanted to do! My husband is a total rock ‘n’ freak, and has always encouraged me to do one.”

“I wish all of the nominees good luck and thank you again for the compliment,” she concluded. “Rock on!”

However, a few days later, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced that they were unable to withdraw her nomination.

“All of us in the music community have seen Dolly Parton’s thoughtful note expressing her feeling that she has not earned the right to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame,” the message began. “In addition to her incredible talent as an artist, her humility is another reason Dolly is a beloved icon by millions of fans around the world.”

“From its inception, Rock and Roll has had deep roots in Rhythm & Blues and Country music,” they went on. “It is not defined by any one genre, rather a sound that moves youth culture. Dolly Parton’s music impacted a generation of young fans and influenced countless artists that followed. Her nomination to be considered for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame followed the same process as all other artists who have been considered.”

“Dolly’s nomination, along with the other 16 for the class of 2022 was sent out earlier this month to our 1,200 general ballot voters, the majority of whom are artists themselves, for consideration for induction at our ceremony,” they added.

They concluded the message, saying, “We are in awe of Dolly’s brilliant talent and pioneering spirit and are proud to have nominated her for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”

Although she initially didn't want to be included, it seems that she's since changed her mind. In late April, the Dollywood founder was talking to NPR about her upcoming collaboration with James Patterson, titled “Run, Rose Run.” When asked about the nomination, Dolly said that she’ll “just say thanks and I’ll accept it because the fans vote.”

In a separate interview, she had said, “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.”