The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has inducted its 2026 class of 18 musical luminaries at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
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Hall → induct → Angeles
Here’s a look at this year’s Rock Hall class, a few of their defining songs and who inducted them.
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who → ’ → them
The 75-year-old English singer, songwriter and drummer is already in the hall as a member of Genesis and now gets in again for a solo career that brought some of the biggest hits of the 1980s.
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that → get → 1980s
Collins was inducted by Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker, who also played Collins’ famous drum fill as Cynthia Erivo sang “In the Air Tonight” in tribute.
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Erivo → induct → tribute
Wu-Tang Clan is an epic hip-hop coalition from Staten Island — made up of RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa and previously, the late Ol’ Dirty Bastard.
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Clan → make → RZA
They’ve been hip-hop innovators since their 1993 debut album, “Enter the Wu-Tang.”
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They → enter → Tang
Key songs: “C.R.E.A.M.,” “Protect Ya Neck,” “Wu-Tang Clan Ain’t Nuthing Ta F’ Wit.”
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Clan → protect → Wit
The group was inducted by Chris Rock.
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group → induct → Rock
The many members performed a medley of their hits, including “C.R.E.A.M.” and late member Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s “Shimmy Shimmy Ya,” backed by a big jazz band.
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members → perform → band
Luther Vandross
Vandross was an R&B singer whose velvet-voiced love songs made him one of the definitive voices of the 1980s and ’90s.
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him → make → 1980s
Vandross died in 2005.
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Vandross → die → 2005
He was inducted by Oprah Winfrey.
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He → induct → Winfrey
Usher sang a medley of his songs, including “Here and Now” and “So Amazing.”
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Usher → sing → songs
A trailblazing Brooklyn rapper in the late 1980s, MC Lyte became the first female rapper to release a full solo album, “Lyte as a Rock.”
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Lyte → trailblaze → Rock
Her hard-edged rhymes brought a political consciousness that was growing in hip-hop at the time.
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that → bring → time
She enters the hall as a recipient of the Early Influence Award and was inducted by rapper Remy Ma.
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She → enter → Ma
She accepted the honor in person.
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She → accept → person
Sade
Sade is a British band most prominent in the 1980s that blended jazz, smooth-and-sultry R&B and sophisti-pop, led by a Nigerian-born singer of the same name.
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that → blend → name
She did not appear.
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She → appear → ?
Sade was inducted by singer Andra Day.
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Sade → induct → Day
Singer Sienna Spiro sang their biggest hit, “Smooth Operator.”
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Spiro → sing → hit
He was honored for bringing the Beatles, Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, James Brown and the Doors to American living rooms, and for consistently featuring Black artists despite network pressure to keep television segregated.
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He → honor → television
He died in 1974.
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He → die → 1974
Sullivan was inducted via video montage and got into the hall as a recipient of the Ahmet Ertegun Award for non-performers who shaped rock and roll and youth culture.
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who → induct → rock
These artists will be inducted later in the evening:
Billy Idol
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artists → induct → evening
The 70-year-old punk-coded English rock singer had major hits through the 1980s.
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singer → cod → 1980s
He will be inducted along with his longtime guitarist Steve Stevens.
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He → induct → guitarist
The Brit-pop lords of the 1990s are led by famously feuding brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher.
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lords → lead → Noel
Key Songs: “Wonderwall,” “Live Forever,” “Don’t Look Back in Anger.
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Songs → live → Anger
Joy Division and New Order
The two British rock bands will get a rare joint induction that makes sense given their members and circumstances.
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that → get → members
Joy Division was a dark and seminal post-punk band formed in 1976.
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Division → form → 1976
When their charismatic lead singer, Ian Curtis, died in 1980, the remaining members formed New Order.
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members → die → Order
Key songs: “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” “Blue Monday,” “Bizarre Love Triangle.”
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Love → tear → Us
The scorching rock band led the new wave of British heavy metal and became the quintessential metal band of the 1980s.
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band → scorch → 1980s
The 56-year-old New Jersey-born Queen Latifah achieved unprecedented success for a female rapper, becoming a star at 19 with the release of her 1989 album “All Hail the Queen” and the single “Ladies First.”
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All → bear → Queen
Key songs: “U.N.I.T.Y.,” “Ladies First,” “When You’re Good to Mama.”
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You → ’re → Mama
She enters the hall as a recipient of the Early Influence Award.
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She → enter → Award
The queen of salsa and innovator and spreader of Afro-Cuban sounds and one of the most popular Latin artists of the 20th century, the Havana-born singer Cruz is the first member of the Hall of Fame who sang primarily in Spanish.
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who → bear → Spanish
She died in 2003.
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She → die → 2003
She enters the hall as a recipient of the Early Influence Award.
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She → enter → Award
…and 20 more, not listed.
The Aporia
