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10 Women Artists Who Have Yet to be Inducted into the Rock Hall

From May 2011 to February 2012, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame featured an exhibit called “Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power.” From September 2012 to August 2014, the…

Carole King, Tina Turner and Annie Lennox
Theo Wargo, Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

From May 2011 to February 2012, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame featured an exhibit called "Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power." From September 2012 to August 2014, the exhibit traveled around to various museums in the United States. It made its final stop at The Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Mich. where I was given a private tour of the collection from over 70 different performers, from Janis Joplin and Tina Turner to Chrissie Hynde and Stevie Nicks.

While the exhibit's artifacts dated back to the 1920s and traveled through to the present day, my tour guide made sure to point out that one "unusual" woman from the 1980s was partially responsible for the exhibit’s existence. On a visit to the Rock Hall, Cyndi Lauper took a tour of the museum, and she noticed that something was missing. "She very simply said, ‘Where the women at?!," said my tour guide, and that was the impetus for that exhibit.

Frankly, the same question can be posed about the Rock Hall inductees in general.

Rock Hall's chairman John Sykes has made a point in a number of interviews to point out how the Rock Hall needs to evolve. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Sykes said, "...it’s time to take the Hall to 2.0. That means a more diverse board, that means more women, people of color, people who reflect the kind of music that’s now being inducted. We have to look and feel like the artists that come into our Hall. That’s just the natural transition."

Eventually, we'd like to see the ten women artists in the gallery below inducted. They all more than deserve it, and there are plenty of others that still do.

Cyndi Lauper

GettyImages-1158600785-e1571151337797.jpgNicholas Hunt/Getty Images

The Runaways

GettyImages-97808498.jpgStephen Lovekin/Getty Images

NEW YORK - MARCH 17: Musicians Joan Jett and Cherie Currie attend the premiere of "The Runaways" at Landmark Sunshine Cinema on March 17, 2010 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images)


Mary J. Blige

GettyImages-1168558842.jpgEthan Miller/Getty Images

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - AUGUST 16: Recording artist Mary J. Blige performs at The Joint inside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino on August 16, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)


Melissa Etheridge

GettyImages-974991628.jpgPaul Morigi/Getty Images

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 14: Melissa Etheridge performs at the 2018 National Geographic Awards at GWU Lisner Auditorium on June 14, 2018 in Washington, DC. The award ceremony was part of the week-long National Geographic Exlorers Festival. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for National Geographic)


Cher

GettyImages-1045022306.jpgScott Barbour/Getty Images

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 03: Cher performs during her Here We Go Again Tour at Rod Laver Arena on October 3, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)


Salt-N-Pepa

GettyImages-546302732.jpgMichael Loccisano/Getty Images

NEW YORK, NY - JULY 11: (L-R) DJ Spinderella and Cheryl "Salt" James and Sandra "Pepa" Denton of Salt-N-Pepa attend the VH1 Hip Hop Honors: All Hail The Queens at David Geffen Hall on July 11, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for VH1)


Diana Ross (Solo work)

GettyImages-3075038.jpgShowBizIreland/Getty Images

DUBLIN, IRELAND - MARCH 10: Singer Diana Ross performs at The Point Theatre March 10 2004 in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo by ShowBizIreland/Getty Images)

Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights