DAVID VANCE
Dionne Warwick, in an ’80s publicity photo.
Dionne Warwick was not among the previously announced 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees. But in a surprise, the East Orange native will be inducted this year, in the Musical Excellence category.
New Jersey will also be represented by Jersey City’s Kool & the Gang, and Mary J. Blige, who grew up in New York but has spent many years living in Bergen County.
Among the other inductees will be Ozzy Osbourne (already in once, as a member of Black Sabbath) and the late Jimmy Buffett (in the Musical Excellence category). Also entering the Hall in the Musical Excellence category will be Norman Whitfield, a Motown songwriter and producer whose credits include “I Heard It Through the Grapevine,” “Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone,” “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” and “Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me).”
The inductees will be:
Performer Category
Mary J. Blige
Cher
Dave Matthews Band
Foreigner
Peter Frampton
Kool & The Gang
Ozzy Osbourne
A Tribe Called Quest
Musical Influence Award
Alexis Korner
John Mayall
Big Mama Thornton
Musical Excellence Award
Jimmy Buffett
MC5
Dionne Warwick
Norman Whitfield
Ahmet Ertegun Award
Suzanne de Passe (Motown Records executive and TV producer)
The ceremony will be held at The Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Oct. 19. It will stream live on Disney+, air on ABC at a later date, and be available on Hulu the next day.
Nominated but not selected for induction this year were Mariah Carey, Eric B. Rakim, Sade, Jane’s Addiction, Oasis, Sinéad O’Connor and Lenny Kravitz.
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