Uncovering the Next Generation's Hall of Fame
Dolly vs. the Rock Hall, Part 2
Three days after Dolly Parton stated she wanted out of the induction process this year, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame responded with their own statement denying her request.
Earlier this morning, before the Rock Hall's response, Dolly Parton elaborated about being considered "rock and roll" in an interview on Fox & Friends:
Dolly Parton on Fox & Friends this morning about her request to be removed from the Rock Hall ballot: “I still didn’t feel right about it. It would kind of be like putting AC/DC in the Country Music Hall of Fame. It just felt a little out of place for me.” #RockHall2022 pic.twitter.com/qb6U82nmFi
— Future Rock Legends (@futurerocklgnds) March 17, 2022
Dolly's understandable misperception about the genres the Rock Hall honors is widely held among many people who are casual observers of the institution. Even those who follow the Rock Hall closely may have been surprised to see a superstar country artist on the "Performer" ballot, since up until this year, the Hall of Fame had never nominated most of the greatest country artists of all-time such as Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson, George Jones, The Carter Family, Waylon Jennings, Garth Brooks, Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, and many others. With most of those country legends having been eligible for decades, and a massive backlog of artists in genres they already try to celebrate, there was little indication that the Rock Hall would turn to Nashville when looking for icons to honor.
Assuming voters understand Dolly Parton is still very much on the ballot, she remains one of the biggest favorites for induction this year, and 2022 will mark a new era for Country artists in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Click here to access the 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Ballot Tracker