Missy Elliott, George Michael to enter Rock Hall of Fame

NEW YORK

Music's glitterati will fete a new class of legends entering the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Friday, among them Missy Elliott and the late George Michael.

Rock experimentalist Kate Bush, agitators Rage Against the Machine, country icon Willie Nelson, heartland rocker Sheryl Crow and R&B group The Spinners will round out the 2023 class of inductees.

Chaka Khan, Al Kooper and Bernie Taupin will receive the Hall's musical excellence awards. DJ Kool Herc and Link Wray meanwhile will be inducted as "influences" and the late creator of "Soul Train," Don Cornelius, will receive a non-performer honor.

The Cleveland-based Hall of Fame - which surveyed more than 1,000 musicians, historians and industry members to choose the entrants - will honor the acts in a star-studded gala concert at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.

For some time now the institution has defined "rock" less in terms of genre than of spirit, with a number of rap, pop, R&B and country stars included.

Hall of Fame Chairman John Sykes had previously emphasized that this year's crop of musicians "reflects the diverse artists and sounds that define Rock & Roll" - and also noted it coincides with a milestone year that includes the 50th anniversary of the hip-hop genre and country icon Nelson's 90th birthday.

Elliott will become the first woman in hip-hop to enter the music pantheon. The "Lose Control" and "Get Ur Freak On" rapper made the cut in her first year of eligibility.

Artists can be inducted 25 years after their first commercial music release.

Fellow rap star Queen Latifah will induct Elliott, who called the honor "a blessing" in an interview with ABC's "Good Morning America" show.

It's particularly poignant given hip-hop's milestone anniversary, Elliott said: "No matter what people say, the hip-hop world is something special and unique."

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a music industry pillar that, much like the Recording Academy that runs the Grammys, has in recent years worked to revamp its image - long criticized as too masculine and too white.

The likes of Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin and Madonna are members - but women represent fewer than 100 of the nearly 1,000 Hall inductees since 1986.