Saturday, May 31, 2025

Morgan Wallen “What I Want” debuted at #1

What I Want

Morgan Wallen with Tate McRae

Writer(s): Morgan Wallen, Tate McRae, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, Ryan Vojtesak, John Byron, Joe Reeves (see lyrics here)

Released: May 16, 2025

First Charted: May 28, 2025

Peak: 1¹ BB, 1⁶ ST, 16 AC, 5 A40, 1³ CW, 30 UK, 2 CN, 13 AU (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.2 UK, 2.35 world (includes US + UK)

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 25.85 video, 323.61 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

Country artist Morgan Wallen was born in 1993 in Tennessee. He released his first album, If I Know Me, in 2018. That album and its two follow-ups were certified for a total of 22 million, generating nine top-ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and six #1 songs on the country chart. In 2024, Wallen started releasing singles from his fourth album, I’m the Problem. Though four singles from that album, he racked up a total of fourteen top-ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and nine #1 country songs.

“What I Want,” the album’s fifth single, found Wallen topping both charts for the fourth time. The duet with Tate McRae marked his first collaboration with a female singer. The Canadian pop star broke through in the United States with her 2023 song “Greedy,” a #3 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Wallen’s sister, Ashlyne, introduced him to her music. ^SF

Although the song wasn’t written with a female singer in mind, Wallen said she “absolutely crushed every single part of the song.” ^SF CountryCentral.com named “What I Want” the Best Collab of 2025. ^CC

The song is “is an emotionally candid ballad” where two people “agree to a fleeting connection without the weight or risk of a deeper relationship.” ^SF They “bring their own baggage together, realizing that they ask more of each other and, as a result, let each other off the hook” ^WK for a “no-strings attached romance without expectation or regret.” ^SF

Resources:

^CC CountryCentral.com (12/15/2025). “Morgan Wallen’s ‘What I Want’ feat. Tate McRae is voted Best Collab of 2025” (facebook post)
^SF Songfacts
^WK Wikipedia

Monday, May 12, 2025

Dave's Music Database: Songs of the Year (1800-2024)

DMDB Songs of the Year:

1800-2024

These are the best songs for each year from 1800 to present, according to Dave’s Music Database. Rankings are determined by aggregating multiple best-of lists along with chart data, sales figures, radio and video airplay, and streams.

Check out other “songs of the year” lists here.

2024: Shaboozey “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
2023: Miley Cyrus “Flowers”
2022: Harry Styles “As It Was”
2021: The Kid Laroi with Justin Bieber “Stay”
2020: Dua Lipa with DaBaby “Levitating”
2019: The Weeknd “Blinding Lights”
2018: Lil Nas X with Billy Ray Cyrus “Old Town Road”
2017: Ed Sheeran “Shape of You”
2016: The Chainsmokers with Halsey “Closer”
2015: Wiz Khalifa with Charlie Puth “See You Again”
2014: Mark Ronson with Bruno Mars “Uptown Funk!”
2013: Pharrell Williams “Happy”
2012: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis with Wanz “Thrift Shop”
2011: Gotye with Kimbra “Somebody That I Used to Know”
2010: Adele “Rolling in the Deep”
2009: Black Eyed Peas “I Gotta Feeling”
2008: Beyoncé “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”
2007: Rihanna with Jay-Z “Umbrella”
2006: Gnarls Barkley “Crazy”
2005: Kanye West & Jamie Foxx “Gold Digger”
2004: Usher, Lil Jon & Ludacris “Yeah!”
2003: OutKast “Hey Ya!”
2002: Eminem “Lose Yourself”
2001: Nickelback “How You Remind Me”
2000: U2 “Beautiful Day”
1999: Santana with Rob Thomas “Smooth”
1998: Britney Spears “Baby One More Time”
1997: Celine Dion “My Heart Will Go On”
1996: Spice Girls “Wannabe”
1995: Oasis “Wonderwall”
1994: Boyz II Men “I’ll Make Love to You”
1993: Beck “Loser”
1992: Whitney Houston “I Will Always Love You”
1991: Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
1990: Sinéad O’Connor “Nothing Compares 2 U”
1989: Madonna “Like a Prayer”
1988: Tracy Chapman “Fast Car”
1987: Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine”
1986: Bon Jovi “Livin’ on a Prayer”
1985: USA for Africa “We Are the World”
1984: Prince “When Doves Cry”
1983: The Police “Every Breath You Take”
1982: Michael Jackson “Billie Jean”
1981: Journey “Don’t Stop Believin’”
1980: AC/DC “You Shook Me All Night Long”
1979: Pink Floyd “Another Brick in the Wall Part II”
1978: Gloria Gaynor “I Will Survive”
1977: Bee Gees “Stayin’ Alive”
1976: Eagles “Hotel California”
1975: Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody”
1974: Lynyrd Skynyrd “Sweet Home Alabama”
1973: Lynyrd Skynyrd “Free Bird”
1972: Stevie Wonder “Superstition”
1971: John Lennon “Imagine”
1970: Simon & Garfunkel “Bridge Over Troubled Water”
1969: The Rolling Stones “Honky Tonk Women”
1968: The Beatles “Hey Jude”
1967: Aretha Franklin “Respect”
1966: The Beach Boys “Good Vibrations”
1965: The Rolling Stones “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
1964: The Righteous Brothers “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’”
1963: The Beatles “I Want to Hold Your Hand”
1962: Ray Charles “I Can’t Stop Loving You”
1961: Ben E. King “Stand by Me”
1960: Ray Charles “Georgia on My Mind”
1959: Bobby Darin “Mack the Knife”
1958: The Platters “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”
1957: Elvis Presley “Jailhouse Rock”
1956: Elvis Presley “Heartbreak Hotel”
1955: Mitch Miller “The Yellow Rose of Texas”
1954: Bill Haley & His Comets “We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock”
1953: Hank Williams “Your Cheatin’ Heart”
1952: Jo Stafford “You Belong to Me”
1951: Les Paul & Mary Ford “How High the Moon”
1950: Patti Page “Tennessee Waltz”
1949: Gene Autry & the Pinafores “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
1948: Pee Wee Hunt “Twelfth Street Rag”
1947: The Harmonicats “Peg O’ My Heart”
1946: Nat “King” Cole “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)”
1945: Les Brown with Doris Day “Sentimental Journey”
1944: Bing Crosby “I’ll Be Seeing You”
1943: Harry James with Helen Forrest “I’ve Heard That Song Before”
1942: Bing Crosby with the Ken Darby Singers & the John Scott Trotter Orchestra “White Christmas”
1941: Artie Shaw “Stardust”
1940: Coleman Hawkins “Body and Soul”
1939: Judy Garland “Over the Rainbow”
1938: Artie Shaw Begin the Beguine
1937: Fred Astaire “They Can’t Take That Away from Me”
1936: Billie Holiday “Summertime”
1935: Fred Astaire “Cheek to Cheek”
1934: Guy Lombardo “Winter Wonderland”
1933: Ethel Waters “Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)”
1932: Fred Astaire “Night and Day”
1931: Duke Ellington “Mood Indigo”
1930: Ted Lewis “On the Sunny Side of the Street”
1929: Fats Waller “Ain’t Misbehavin’”
1928: Cliff Edwards “I Can’t Give You Anything But Love”
1927: Gene Austin “My Blue Heaven”
1926: George Olsen with Fran Frey, Bob Rice, & Edward Joyce “Always”
1925: Bessie Smith with Louis Armstrong “St. Louis Blues”
1924: Isham Jones “It Had to Be You”
1923: Van & Schenck “Carolina in the Morning”
1922: Henry Burr “My Buddy”
1921: Al Jolson “April Showers”
1920: Al Jolson “Swanee”
1919: Henry Burr with Albert Campbell “Till We Meet Again”
1918: Original Dixieland Jazz Band “Tiger Rag”
1917: American Quartet “Over There”
1916: Billy Murray “Pretty Baby”
1915: John McCormack “It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary”
1914: Prince's Orchestra “Ballin’ the Jack”
1913: Al Jolson “You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)”
1912: American Quartet “Moonlight Bay”
1911: Arthur Collins and Bryon G. Harlan “Alexander’s Ragtime Band”
1910: Billy Murray with the Haydn Quartet “By the Light of the Silvery Moon”
1909: Harry MacDonough with Elise Stevenson (as Miss Walton) “Shine on, Harvest Moon”
1908: Billy Murray with the Haydn Quartet “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”
1907: Bryon G. Harlan “School Days (When We Were a Couple of Kids)”
1906: Billy Murray “You’re a Grand Old Flag” (aka “The Grand Old Rag”)
1905: Billy Murray “Give My Regards to Broadway”
1904: Billy Murray “Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis”
1903: Haydn Quartet “In the Good Old Summertime”
1902: Arthur Collins “Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home”
1901: Byron G. Harlan “Hello Central, Give Me Heaven”
1900: Steve Porter “A Bird in a Gilded Cage”
1899: Arthur Collins “Hello Ma Baby”
1898: Edison Male Quartette “My Old Kentucky Home”
1897: John Philip Sousa “The Stars and Stripes Forever”
1896: James Black and Katharine Purvis (writers) “When the Saints Go Marching In”
1895: Katherine Lee Bates (m) & Samuel A. Ward (w) “America the Beautiful”
1894: traditional “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad”
1893: George J. Gaskin “After the Ball”
1892: Len Spencer “Ta-Ra-Ra Boom-De-Ay”
1891: Billy Golden “Turkey in the Straw”
1890: John Yorke Atlee “Listen to the Mocking Bird (aka “The Mocking Bird”)”
1889: “Little Annie Rooney”
1888: “Where Did You Get That Hat”
1887: “Away in a Manger”
1886: “Johnny Get Your Gun”
1885: “How Great Thou Art”
1884: “Rock-a-Bye Baby”
1883: “The Farmer in the Dell”
1882: “Wabash Cannonball” (aka “The Great Rock Island Route”)
1881: Charles E. Pratt “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean”
1880: “Funicili Funicula”
1879: “Dem Golden Slippers” (aka “Oh! Dem Golden Slippers”)
1878: “Mary Had a Little Lamb”
1877: “Chopsticks”
1876: “Grandfather’s Clock”
1875: “I’ll Take You Home Again, Kathleen”
1874: “Home on the Range”
1873: “Silver Threads Among the Gold”
1872: “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”
1871: “Onward Christian Soldiers”
1870: “She’ll Be Comin’ ‘Round the Mountain”
1869: “Shoo Fly Don't Bother Me”
1868: “O Little Town of Bethlehem”
1867: “Michael Row the Boat”
1866: “Goober Peas”
1865: “What Child Is This?”
1864: “O Where, O Where Has My Little Dog Gone”
1863: “When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again”
1862: “The Battle Cry of Freedom”
1861: “The Battle Hymn of the Republic”
1860: “Good King Wenceslas”
1859: “Dixie”
1858: “Wedding March from Midsummer’s Night Dream”
1857: “Jingle Bells”
1856: “Listen to the Mocking Bird (aka “The Mocking Bird”)”
1855: “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”
1854: “I Dream of Jeannie with the Light Brown Hair”
1853: “The Yellow Rose of Texas”
1852: “Pop Goes the Weasel”
1851: “The Old Folks at Home (Swanee River)”
1850: “Camptown Races (Gwine to Run All Night)”
1849: “Blow the Man Down”
1848: “Jimmy Crack Corn (The Blue Tail Fly)”
1847: “Oh! Susanna”
1846:
1845: “Paris Qui Rit”
1844: “Buffalo Gals (Buffalo Girls Will You Come Out Tonight)”
1843: “Polly Wolly Doodle (All the Day)”
1842: “This Old Man (Nick Nack Paddiwak)”
1841: “On Top of Old Smoky”
1840: “The Pesky Sargent” (aka “Springfield Mountain” and “On Springfield Mountain”)
1839: “Near the Lake Where Drooped the Willow”
1838: “A Life on the Ocean Wave”
1837: “Shenandoah”
1836: “Corn Cobs Twist Your Hair”
1835: “Down in the Valley (Birmingham Jail)”
1834: “Turkey in the Straw”
1833: “I Saw Three Ships”
1832: “Skip to My Lou”
1831: “My Country ‘Tis of Thee”
1830: “Mary Had a Little Lamb”
1829: “William Tell Overture”
1828: “Jim Crow”
1827: “The Coal Black Rose”
1826: “Hokey Pokey”
1825: “Ave Maria”
1824: “O Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum)”
1823: “The First Noel”
1822: “The Fortune I Crave”
1821: “Invitation to the Dance (Aufforderung Zum Tanze)”
1820: --
1819: --
1818: “Silent Night, Holy Night (Stille Nacht, Heilge Nacht)”
1817: “La Gazza Ladra”
1816: --
1815: “The Blue Bells of Scotland”
1814: “The Star-Spangled Banner”
1813: “Tis the Last Rose of Summer”
1812: “The Battle of the Wabash”
1811: “Au Clair de la Lune (By the Light of the Moon)”
1810: “Hail to the Thief”
1809: --
1808: --
1807: “The Wayfaring Stranger”
1806: “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”
1805: “Little Miss Muffet”
1804: “A Foggy, Foggy Dew”
1803: “Polly Put the Kettle On”
1802: --
1801: “Alknomook”
1800: “Billy Boy”

Resources:

Dave’s Music Database: Top Songs and Albums by Year lists
Dave’s Music Database: Songs of the Year lists
Dave’s Music Database: “Songs-of-the-Decade Lists

First posted 3/31/2019; last updated 5/12/2025.

Dave’s Faves: Songs of the Year

Dave’s Faves:

Songs of the Year, 1900-2024

These are my personal favorite songs for each year from 1900 to present.

Click here to see other Dave’s Faves song lists.

2024: Shaboozey “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
2023: Noah Kahan & Post Malone “Dial Drunk”
2022: Lyle Lovett “12th of June”
2021: John Mellencamp with Bruce Springsteen “Wasted Days”
2020: Fish “This Party’s Over”
2019: Sheryl Crow with Johnny Cash “Redemption Day”
2018: Lady Gaga with Bradley Cooper “Shallow”
2017: Keala Settle with the Greatest Show Ensemble “This Is Me”
2016: Sturgill Simpson “In Bloom”
2015: Michael Franti & Spearhead with Sonna Rele “Once a Day”
2014: The War on Drugs “Under the Pressure”
2013: Charles Bradley “Changes”
2012: Willie Nelson with Lukas Nelson “Just Breathe”
2011: Gotye with Kimbra “Somebody That I Used to Know”
2010: Michael Franti & Spearhead “The Sound of Sunshine”
2009: Pearl Jam “Just Breathe”
2008: John Mellencamp “If I Die Sudden”
2007: Crowded House “Silent House”
2006: Dresden Dolls “Sing”
2005: Sandi Thom “I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker with Flowers in My Hair”
2004: Beck “Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime”
2003: Michael Franti & Spearhead “Everyone Deserves Music”
2002: Michael Andrews & Gary Jules “Mad World”
2001: Alan Jackson “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning”
2000: Eminem with Dido “Stan”
1999: Bruce Springsteen “American Skin (41 Shots)”
1998: Lyle Lovett “Step Inside This House”
1997: Marillion “Estonia”
1996: K’s Choice “Not an Addict”
1995: Melissa Etheridge with Bruce Springsteen “Thunder Road (live)”
1994: Frente! “Bizarre Love Triangle”
1993: Israel Kamakawiwo’ole “Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World”
1992: Shawn Colvin “I Don’t Know Why”
1991: Tori Amos “Me and a Gun”
1990: Toy Matinee “There Was a Little Boy”
1989: Indigo Girls “Closer to Fine”
1988: Kate Bush “This Woman’s Work”
1987: R.E.M. “It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)”
1986: David + David “Welcome to the Boomtown”
1985: Marillion “Kayleigh”
1984: U2 “Bad”
1983: Marillion “Script for a Jester’s Tear”
1982: The Alan Parsons Project “Old and Wise”
1981: Squeeze “Tempted”
1980: Peter Gabriel “Biko”
1979: The Police “Message in a Bottle”
1978: Styx “Renegade”
1977: Styx “Come Sail Away”
1976: Eagles “Hotel California”
1975: Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody”
1974: Harry Chapin “Cat’s in the Cradle”
1973: Eagles “Desperado”
1972: Lou Reed “Walk on the Wild Side”
1971: Led Zeppelin “Stairway to Heaven”
1970: Derek & the Dominos “Layla”
1969: The Rolling Stones “You Can’t Always Get What You Want”
1968: Otis Redding “(Sittin’ on) The Dock of the Bay”
1967: The Beatles “A Day in the Life”
1966: Four Tops “Reach Out (I’ll Be There)”
1965: The Rolling Stones “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
1964: Sam Cooke A Change Is Gonna Come
1963: The Beatles “I Want to Hold Your Hand”
1962: The Contours “Do You Love Me”
1961: Ben E. King “Stand by Me”
1960: Chubby Checker “The Twist”
1959: Wilbert Harrison “Kansas City”
1958: Harry Simeone Chorale “The Little Drummer Boy”
1957: Buddy Holly & the Crickets “That’ll Be the Day”
1956: Elvis Presley “Hound Dog”
1955: Little Richard “Tutti Frutti”
1954: Bill Haley & His Comets “We’re Gonna Rock Around the Clock”
1953: Hank Williams “Your Cheatin’ Heart”
1952: Gene Kelly “Singin’ in the Rain”
1951: Bing Crosby “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas”
1950: Nat “King” Cole “Mona Lisa”
1949: Gene Autry & the Pinafores “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer”
1948: Art Mooney “I’m Looking Over a Four-Leaf Clover”
1947: Hank Williams “Move It on Over”
1946: Nat “King” Cole “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)”
1945: Vaughn Monroe “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”
1944: Woody Guthrie “This Land Is Your Land”
1943: Bing Crosby & the Andrews Sisters “Jingle Bells”
1942: Bing Crosby with the Ken Darby Singers & the John Scott Trotter Orchestra “White Christmas”
1941: Glenn Miller with Tex Beneke & the Four Modernaires “Chattanooga Choo Choo”
1940: Cliff Edwards “When You Wish Upon a Star”
1939: Billie Holiday “Strange Fruit”
1938: Ella Fitzgerald with Chick Webb & His Orchestra “A-Tisket, A-Tasket”
1937: Seven Dwarfs “Whistle While You Work”
1936: Robert Johnson “Cross Road Blues (aka ‘Crossroads’)”
1935: Bing Crosby “Silent Night”
1934: Guy Lombardo “Winter Wonderland”
1933: Ethel Waters “Stormy Weather (Keeps Rainin' All the Time)”
1932: Fred Astaire “Night and Day”
1931: Rudy Vallee “As Time Goes By”
1930: Ben Selvin “Happy Days Are Here Again”
1929: Nick Lucas “Tip Toe Through the Tulips”
1928: Helen Kane “I Wanna Be Loved by You”
1927: Gene Austin “My Blue Heaven”
1926: Gene Austin “Five Foot Two, Eyes of Blue”
1925: Louise Homer “America the Beautiful”
1924: Isham Jones “It Had to Be You”
1923: Isham Jones “Who’s Sorry Now”
1922: Ben Selvin “Chicago (That Toddlin’ Town)”
1921: Marion Harris “I Ain’t Got Nobody”
1920: Al Jolson “Swanee”
1919: Orpheus Quartet “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” (as “Bring Back My Bonnie to Me”)
1918: Ernestine Schumann-Heink “Danny Boy”
1917: American Quartet “Over There”
1916: Prince’s Orchestra “The Star Spangled Banner”
1915: John McCormack “It’s a Long, Long Way to Tipperary”
1914: Arthur Collins & Bryon G. Harlan “The Aba Daba Honeymoon”
1913: Walter Van Brunt “And the Green Grass Grew All Around”
1912: American Quartet “Moonlight Bay”
1911: Arthur Clough & the Brunswick Quartet “Down by the Old Mill Stream”
1910: Billy Murray with the Haydn Quartet “By the Light of the Silvery Moon”
1909: Arthur Pryor’s Band “1812 Overture”
1908: Billy Murray with the Haydn Quartet “Take Me Out to the Ball Game”
1907: Frank Stanley “Auld Lang Syne”
1906: Billy Murray “You’re a Grand Old Flag (aka “The Grand Old Rag”)”
1905: Billy Murray “Yankee Doodle Boy”
1904: Billy Murray “Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis”
1903: Haydn Quartet “In the Good Old Summertime”
1902: Arthur Collins “Bill Bailey, Won’t You Please Come Home”
1901: Harry MacDonough & Grace Spencer “Tell Me, Pretty Maiden”
1900: Vess Ossman “The Old Folks at Home (Swanee River)”

Resources and Related Links:

Dave’s Music Database: “Dave’s Faves: Song Lists”
Dave’s Music Database: “Dave’s Faves: Albums/Works”
Dave’s Music Database: “Dave’s Faves: Top 100 Acts”
Dave’s Music Database: Other Best-of Song Lists

Last updated 1/1/2025.

Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Blues Hall of Fame

Blues Hall of Fame:

1980-2025

As stated on the website, the Blues Hall of Fame “is a historical record of those who have made the Blues timeless through performance, documentation, and recording.” It was launched by the Blues Foundation in 1980. Inductee categories include performers, non-performers, songs, albums, and literature.

See other Hall of Fames.

The following performers and non-performers have been inducted.

The Aces (2018)
Mary Katherine Aldin (2022, non-performer)
Bill “Hoss” Allen (1994, non-performer)
Luther Allison (1998)
Clifford Antone (2009, non-performer)
Billy Boy Arnold (2012)
Moe Asch (2019, non-performer)

Dave Bartholomew (2007)
Count Basie (2019)
Ralph Bass (2003, non-performer)
Carey Bell (2023)
Lurrie Bell (2024)
William Bell (2025)
Al Benson (2018, non-performer)
Chuck Berry (1985)
Big Maybelle (2011)
Bihari Brothers (2006, non-performer)
Elvin Bishop (2016)
Otis Blackwell (2022, non-performer)
Scrapper Blackwell (2024)
Bobby “Blue” Bland (1981)
Blind Blake (1990)
Mike Bloomfield (2012)
Lucille Bogan (2022)
Booker T. & the MG’s (2019)
Eddie Boyd (2021)
Jimmy Bracken (2011, non-performer)
Billy Branch (2021)
Bruce Bromberg (2011, non-performer)
Lonnie Brooks (2010)
Big Bill Broonzy (1980)
Charles Brown (1996)
Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown (1999)
Roy Brown (1981)
Ruth Brown (2002)
Tommy Brown (2015)
R.L. Burnside (2014)
Paul Butterfield (2006)

Gus Cannon (2010)
Leroy Carr (1982)
Vivian Carter (2011, non-performer)
Ray Charles (1982)
Samuel Charters (2011, non-performer)
Clifton Chenier (1989)
Leonard Chess (1995, non-performer)
Phil Chess (1995, non-performer)
Eric Clapton (2015)
Dave Clark (2013, non-performer)
Otis Clay (2013)
Eddy Clearwater (2016)
Albert Collins (1986)
Johnny Copeland (2017)
James Cotton (2006)
Tommy Couch, Sr. (2016, non-performer)
Ida Cox (2019)
Robert Cray (2011)
Pee Wee Crayton (2019)
Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup (1994)

Reverend Gary Davis (2009)
Walter Davis (2005)
Sugar Pie Desanto (2024)
Bo Diddley (2004)
Willie Dixon (1980)
Fats Domino (2003)
Georgia Tom Dorsey (2018)
Dr. John (2007)
Champion Jack Dupree (1993)

David “Honeyboy” Edwards (1996)
Ahmet Ertegün (2007, non-performer)
Sleepy John Estes (1991)
David Evans (2023, non-performer)

William R. Ferris (2024, non-performer)
Aretha Franklin (2019)
Blind Boy Fuller (2004)
Lowell Fulson (1993)

Bob Geddins (2025, non-performer)
Henry Glover (2013, non-performer)
Henry Gray (2017)
Peter Guralnick (2010, non-performer)
Buddy Guy (1985)

John Hammond (2008, non-performer)
John Hammond, Jr. (2011)
W. C. Handy (2010)
Slim Harpo (1985)
Wynonie Harris (1994)
Jessie Mae Hemphill (2025)
Billie Holiday (1991)
Earl Hooker (2013)
John Lee Hooker (1980)
Lightnin’ Hopkins (1980)
Big Walter Horton (1982)
Son House (1980)
Howlin’ Wolf (1980)
Alberta Hunter (2011)
Mississippi John Hurt (1988)
J. B. Hutto (1985)

Bruce Iglauer (1997, non-performer)

Elmore James (1980)
Etta James (2001)
Skip James (1992)
Blind Lemon Jefferson (1980)
Little Willie John (2022)
Blind Willie Johnson (2025)
Buddy Johnson (2012)
Ella Johnson (2012)
Jimmy Johnson (2016)
Lonnie Johnson (1990)
Robert Johnson (1980)
Syl Johnson (2021)
Tommy Johnson (1986)
Willie Johnson (2017)
Eddie “Guitar Slim” Jones (2007)
Louis Jordan (1983)

Mike Kappus (2014, non-performer)
Junior Kimbrough (2023)
Albert King (1983)
B. B. King (1980)
Freddie King (1982)
Bob Koester (1996, non-performer)

Denise LaSalle (2011)
Latimore (2017)
Bettye LaVette (2021)
Sam Lay (2018)
Lead Belly (1986)
Mike Leadbitter (2009, non-performer)
J. B. Lenoir (2011)
Lazy Lester (2012)
Furry Lewis (2012)
Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials (2024)
Horst Lippmann (2012, non-performer)
Little Milton (1988)
Little Richard (2015)
Little Walter (1980)
Robert Lockwood, Jr. (1989)
Alan Lomax (1994, non-performer)
John Lomax (1994, non-performer)

Magic Sam (1982)
Magic Slim (2017)
Taj Mahal (2009)
Cosimo Matassa (2013, non-performer)
John Mayall (2016)
Percy Mayfield (1987)
Jimmy McCracklin (2008)
Fred McDowell (1991)
Brownie McGhee (1997)
Lillian Shedd McMurry (1998, non-performer)
Big Jay McNeely (2014)
Jay McShann (1988)
Blind Willie McTell (1981)
Lester Melrose (1999, non-performer)
Memphis Jug Band (2016)
Memphis Minnie (1980)
Memphis Slim (1989)
Big Maceo Merriweather (2002)
Amos Milburn (2010)
Roy Milton (2006)
Mississippi Sheiks (2008)
Little Brother Montgomery (2013)
Matt "Guitar" Murphy (2012)
Charlie Musselwhite (2010)

Theresa Needham (2001, non-performer)
Robert Nighthawk (1983)
Gene Nobles (1994, non-performer)

Odetta (2024)
Jim O’Neal (2002, non-performer)
Paul Oliver (2008, non-performer)
Johnny Otis (2000)

P-Q

Robert Palmer (2001, non-performer)
Little Junior Parker (2001)
Charley Patton (1980)
“Sunshine” Sonny Payne (2010, non-performer)
Ralph Peer (2020, non-performer)
Pinetop Perkins (2003)
Esther Phillips (2023)
Sam Phillips (1998, non-performer)
Doc Pomus (2012, non-performer)
Bob Porter (2009, non-performer)
John Primer (2023)
Professor Longhair (1981)
Snooky Pryor (2023)

Ma Rainey (1983)
Bonnie Raitt (2010)
Fritz Rau (2012, non-performer)
Jimmy Reed (1980)
John Richbourg (1994, non-performer)
Don Robey (2014, non-performer)
Bobby Robinson (2006, non-performer)
Fenton Robinson (2023)
Jimmie Rodgers (2013)
Jimmy Rogers (1995)
Art Rupe (2007, non-performer)
Bobby Rush (2006)
Otis Rush (1984)
Jimmy Rushing (2024)

Son Seals (2009)
Eddie Shaw (2014
Johnny Shines (1992)
Dick Shurman (2014, non-performer)
Bessie Smith (1980)
George “Harmonica” Smith (2021)
Mamie Smith (2018)
Otis Spann (1980)
Pervis Spann (2012, non-performer)
H. C. Speir (2005, non-performer)
Victoria Spivey (2021)
Mavis Staples (2017)
Roebuck “Pops” Staples (2018)
Wolf Stephenson (2016, non-performer)
Frank Stokes (2012)
Chris Strachwitz (1999, non-performer)
Bob Stroger (2025)
Hubert Sumlin (2008)
Sunnyland Slim (1991)
Roosevelt Sykes (1999)

T-U

Tampa Red (1981)
Eddie Taylor (1987)
Hound Dog Taylor (1984)
Johnnie Taylor (2022)
Koko Taylor (1997)
Sonny Terry (1986)
Sister Rosetta Tharpe (2007)
Irma Thomas (2009)
Rufus Thomas (2001)
Big Mama Thornton (1984)
Allen Toussaint (2012)
Henry Townshend (2025)
Ike Turner (2005)
Big Joe Turner (1983)

Amy van Singel (2017, non-performer)
Stevie Ray Vaughan (2000)
Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson (2014)

W-X-Y-Z

Joe Lous Walker (2013)
T-Bone Walker (1980)
Sippie Wallace (2003)
Dinah Washington (2003)
Dick Waterman (2000, non-performer)
Muddy Waters (1980)
Johnny “Guitar” Watson (2008)
Pete Welding (1996, non-performer)
Junior Wells (1998)
Jerry Wexler (2006, non-performer)
Peetie Wheatstraw (2008)
Bukka White (1990)
Josh White (2023)
Big Joe Williams (1992)
Jody Williams (2013)
J. Mayo Williams (2004, non-performer)
Robert “Pete” Williams (2014)
Sonny Boy Williamson I (1980)
Sonny Boy Williamson II (1980)
Johnny Winter (1988)
Jimmy Witherspoon (2008)
John W. Work III (2011, non-performer)
O.V. Wright (2024)

Resources/Related Links:

Dave’s Music Database: “Hall of Fames”
Blues Hall of Fame
Non-Performers in Blues Hall of Fame
Performers in Blues Hall of Fame
Wikipedia: Blues Hall of Fame (see inductees listed by year)

First posted 3/1/2017; last updated 5/7/2025.

Saturday, May 3, 2025

The Top 100 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Hopefuls

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:

Top 100 Snubs

Bashing the Rock Hall has become the quite vogue thing to do. Of course, they have inducted hundreds of deserving artists alongside those who raise many music fans eyebrows. However, fans get outraged this time every year when their favorites get snubbed…yet again.

In the true spirit of Dave’s Music Database, the occasion for a list presented itself. Just who are the biggest Rock and Roll Hall of Fame snubs, those acts which fans most think have been overlooked? More than 90 lists were consolidated to create this list of the top 100 overlooked acts which will hopefully someday be enshrined in the Hall. Here we go:

See other Hall of Fames.

1. Iron Maiden
2. Motörhead
3. The Smiths
4. Jethro Tull
5. Pixies
6. Joy Division
7. Sonic Youth
8. Devo
9. King Crimson
10. Chic