Beyoncé, Berry Gordy, Clive Davis & More Among 2023 Nominees for Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame

Beyoncé, Berry Gordy, Clive Davis, Anita Baker and George Clinton are among 60 nominees for the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame Class of 2023.

More than 230 artists and others have been inducted since 2013. The roster includes James Brown, Prince, B.B. King, The Temptations, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, Jackie Wilson and Whitney Houston.

Most of this year’s nominees are Black, but the list also includes Davis, who has signed and championed many Black artists, including Sly & the Family Stone, Whitney Houston and Alicia Keys, throughout his long career; Burt Bacharach, the peerless composer who wrote hits for Dionne Warwick, Patti LaBelle, Chuck Jackson and many more; Daryl Hall & John Oates, the blue-eyed-soul duo that topped Hot Soul Singles (as the chart was called in 1982) with “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do),” and Average White Band, which had such hits as “Pick Up the Pieces” and “Cut the Cake.”

Most of the nominees are primarily known as artists, but the list also includes record executives Gordy, Davis and Dick Griffey; songwriters Bacharach, David Porter and Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff; radio personalities Jeff Fox, King Arthur and Jae The Gospelkidd; music and event producers and promoters Robert Brown and Sweet Boogie Productions; Malaco Records, the Mississippi-based indie label that signed Johnnie Taylor Bobby Bland, Denise LaSalle, Dorothy Moore, Tyrone Davis and more; and The Recording Academy.

The latter nomination will be welcome news to the Academy, which has been criticized by such major figures in the culture as Magic Johnson and Spike Lee for perceived disrespect. The criticism flows from frustration that Beyoncé has been nominated four times for album of the year (as a lead artist), but has yet to win what is widely regarded as the Grammys’ top award.

Most of the nominees are individuals, but the list includes 14 groups – New Edition, Jr. Walker & the All Stars, The Isley Brothers, Bell Biv Devoe, SWV, Xscape, Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, Earth, Wind & Fire, The Stubbs Girls, Blue Magic, Jodeci and The Controllers – as well as Hall & Oates and AWB.

Fans may vote now at rbhofvote.com. Voting is set to run through April 24. This year’s inductees will be announced at a press conference on May 1.

The National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame Foundation had its groundbreaking ceremony on Sept. 30, 2022, in Marks, Miss.

The foundation will honor four individuals with the following awards, to be given annually — The LaMont D. Robinson Founders Award, The Aretha Franklin Lifetime Achievement Award, The Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame Living Legend Award and The Mary Wilson Global Music Industry Award.

The foundation has also developed another annual musical event coming in 2024, the R&B Music Honors, that will honor and showcase the best of today’s R&B music.

Here’s the complete list of 2023 nominees for the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame. The capsule descriptions of each nominee are provided by the organization.