It’s 2021, and though rock & roll has long been making strides towards diversity, the makeup of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has seemed as though it was a relic of the past. But now that is changing.

Jay-Z, Foo Fighters and the Go-Gos were elected after their first time on the ballot, leading a class that also includes Tina Turner, Carole King and Todd Rundgren. This class has the most women and people of color in Rock Hall history.

Honorees will be featured in an induction ceremony in Cleveland, Ohio on October 30th in what organizers hope is a return to venues full of live music.

“This diverse class of talented Inductees reflects the Rock Hall’s ongoing commitment to honor artists whose music created the sound of youth culture,” said John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation in a statement that accompanied the announcement. “It will make for an unforgettable live celebration of music in October at this year’s Induction Ceremony in Cleveland.”

After Jann Wenner stepped down as Hall chairman and was replaced by Sykes, a cofounder of MTV, in 2020, industry pundits speculated it would lead to more diverse future ballots and apparently it has.  

Jay-Z is a 23-time Grammy winner and the first rap artist in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. His discography includes “Hard Knock Life,” “99 Problems” and “Empire State of Mind.” He has had 14 Number 1 albums.

Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl, who was inducted with the band in 2014, returned to center stage after Kurt Cobain’s death with his band the Foo Fighters, whose hard-rocking sound produced hits like “Best of You,” “Everlong” and “Times Like These.”

The Go-Gos hailed from the punk rock scene in Los Angeles, California, and had a string of ’80s hits that included “We Got the Beat,” “Our Lips Are Sealed” and “Vacation.”  The Go-Gos had never been nominated before, despite making history when Beauty and the Beat became the first (and still only) album by an all-female band who wrote all their songs and played all instruments on the album to hit Number 1 on the Billboard 200.

Tina Turner, has one of rock’s most inspiring comeback stories. After spitting with husband and musical partner Ike Turner, (with whom she was inducted already) she became a star in her own right in the 1980s with songs like “What’s Love Got to Do With It,” “Private Dancer” and “We Don’t Need Another Hero.”

Carole King spent much of her career composing hit songs for others, as celebrated in the Broadway musical Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, and like Turner was inducted before with her songwriting partner Gerry Goffin. Her 1971 solo album Tapestry became one of music’s best-selling albums of all time., spawning hits like “It’s Too Late,” “You’ve Got a Friend” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman.”

Todd Rundgren is a power-pop pioneer known for melodic hits such as “Hello It’s Me,” “I Saw the Light” and “We Gotta Get You a Woman” as well as more upbeat fare like “Bang the Drum All Day.”

To be eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame, an individual artist or band must have released its first commercial recording at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination.

Artists that were passed over this year include Afrobeat trailblazer Fela Kuti, first-wave British metal band Iron Maiden, new wave mavericks Devo, socially-conscious ‘90s rockers Rage Against the Machine, glam-band the New York Dolls, The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul Mary J. Blige, soul divas Dionne Warwick and Chaka Khan, and British avant singer-songwriter Kate Bush. Several of them had been nominated before but all must await another chance at entry.

The category awards include German techno architects Kraftwerk, who are at long last being recognized in the Early Influence category. They were nominated and passed over in the Performer category six times. Kraftwerk’s fellow 2021 Early Influence Award recipients are “Father of the Delta Blues” Charley Patton and soul/jazz poet Gil Scott-Heron, who is considered by many music historians to be the first rap artist.

Another rap pioneer, LL Cool J, failed to make it past the nomination stage as a performer despite being up for it six times, including this year. He will finally enter the Hall when he receives the Musical Excellence Award. This year’s other two Music Excellence honorees are late musicians keyboardist Billy Preston and Randy Rhoads, guitarist for Ozzy Osborne. The 2021 Ahmet Ertegun Award, which recognizes non-performing industry professionals, will go to label executive, entrepreneur, concert organizer, and film producer Clarence Avant, whose career was the subject of the 2019 documentary The Black Godfather.

The inductees usually perform at the ceremony. The hall is hoping for one of the first big concerts since the live music business almost completely shut down because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We really see it as a true celebration of the reopening of music — not only in America but in the world,” said Sykes.

The 36th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place October 30th at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, and will air on HBO and stream on HBO Max at a later date.