BAD COMPANY And SOUNDGARDEN Are Among 2025 ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME Inductees
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BAD COMPANY and SOUNDGARDEN are among the 2025 inductees into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. Other inductees in the Performer category are Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, OutKast and THE WHITE STRIPES.
Salt-N-Pepa and Warren Zevon will be presented with the Musical Influence Award; Philly soul songwriter/producer Thom Bell, keyboardist Nicky Hopkins, and Wrecking Crew bassist Carol Kaye will receive the Musical Excellence Awards; and former Warner Bros. Records president Lenny Waronker will get the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
"Each of these inductees created their own sound and attitude that had a profound impact on culture and helped to change the course of rock and roll forever," said John Sykes, chairman of the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. "Their music gave a voice to generations and influenced countless artists that followed in their footsteps."
The induction ceremony will be held on November 8 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. It will once again stream live on Disney+, and an edited version will air on ABC at a later date.
The 2025 inductees were announced live earlier tonight on ABC by host Ryan Seacrest during the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame episode of "American Idol".
In a recent interview with U.K. radio veteran Paul Stephenson of VRP Rocks, BAD COMPANY drummer Simon Kirke spoke about the British supergroup's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame nomination, which was announced in February 2025 after decades of eligibility. Asked how it feels to finally be nominated, Simon said: "Well, it's the first time we've been nominated, and a very good friend of mine is Nicko McBrain from IRON MAIDEN. And he sent me a congratulatory text. He said, 'By the way, Simon, MAIDEN have been nominated 11 fucking times and we haven't been inducted ever. So our management wrote to the Hall Of Fame and said, 'Stop nominating us. Bollocks. Fuck off.
"What can I say? If I was truly honest, I would say it's about time because we've been around for so long," Simon continued. "And hello? How about FREE, which superseded BAD COMPANY? A lot of people have a lot of affection for FREE.
"As I see it, there are 14 nominees, and it's the first four [in the fan vote] that get inducted," Kirke added. "That's my belief. We are behind PHISH who have a huge social media presence. I've never really heard PHISH, quite honestly — they're like the younger version of the GRATEFUL DEAD, but they've got just under 200,000 [fan] votes. We have about 180,000, so we're second. I'm told by an insider that we are gonna get in. we will actually know on Monday or Tuesday. So, yeah, I've already spoken with Paul [Rodgers, BAD COMPANY singer] about what song we're gonna play, and it's gonna be 'Can't Get Enough'. And, yeah, I'm happy — I'll be happy for Mick [Ralphs, BAD COMPANY guitarist], 'cause Mick had a stroke several years ago and he is in not good shape. And as long as he holds out when we get on that stage in November, we're gonna give a shoutout to Mick. Because he wrote the damn song — he wrote 'Movin' On' and he wrote a lot of the hits and he deserves it."
In a statement to Billboard about BAD COMPANY's nomination, Rodgers said: "BAD COMPANY fans and friends have been lobbying for this nomination persistently for years and they never gave up, so big thanks to them. According to them, BAD COMPANY fits all of the criteria and then some to be inducted."
Kirke, for his part, told the publication: "I think it's been a long time coming. It has rankled me a bit. We've been around a long time and we've influenced a lot of bands, and I think it's a place that we deserve. I'm just pleased that we're at least on the ballot. I'm happy and I'm honored, and fingers crossed that we make it."
SOUNDGARDEN was first nominated for Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame's class of 2020.
When the Seattle grunge legends were nominated for the second time in January 2023, SOUNDGARDEN guitarist Kim Thayil told Billboard: "What was cool about [SOUNDGARDEN's first nomination in 2020] was just the recognition of the acknowledgement. If you're involved with your bandmates and fellow musicians in your peer group, you can sometimes get isolated from the general historical context of how the band has evolved and became part of the broader community of music and musicians. So I think that acknowledgement and that recognition was a reminder that, hey, they work that you did with your partners was part of a continuity and a history of music. That's kind of cool."
Thayil added that it was late SOUNGARDEN singer Chris Cornell who helped the band get some appreciation of the Rock Hall after he inducted HEART in 2013. "He lived the experience and said the enthusiasm of the fans was eye-opening for him, and understanding how important that was… And I think that's always been a context in which SOUNDGARDEN would understand its work; we always wanted to be the kind of band for our fans that we looked up to and inspired us. We wanted to be that kind of band would make decisions with regard to that community that had supported us or that we had worked to build, and I think we did a great job of that."
(Source: www.blabbermouth.net)
