Ready for some good news in the middle of your 9 to 5?
Dolly Parton is going to be in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame after all, the country singer among the list of 2022 inductees in the performer category that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation announced on May 4.
The class also includes Eminem, Lionel Richie, Duran Duran, Eurythmics, Carly Simon, Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo. Judas Priest and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis are the honorees in the Musical Excellence Award category, and Harry Belafonte and Elizabeth Cotten are the recipients of the Early Influence Award. Allen Grubman, Jimmy Iovine and Sylvia Robinson are also the winners of the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
"This diverse group of inductees each had a profound impact on the sound of youth culture and helped change the course of rock & roll," Chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame John Sykes said in a press release. "Their music moved generations and influenced so many artists that followed."
This is a history-making moment as it's the first time that six female acts will be inducted in one class. The ceremony will take place Nov. 5 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
The nominations for the 2022 class were announced in February. But about a month later, Parton shared she was withdrawing from the list of contenders.
"Even though I am extremely flattered and grateful to be nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I don't feel that I have earned that right," she said in a statement shared to Instagram in March. "I really do not want votes to be split because of me, so I must respectfully bow out. I do hope that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will understand and be willing to consider me again—if I'm ever worthy."
The foundation noted it was "proud" to have nominated the 10-time Grammy winner. "All of us in the music community have seen Dolly Parton's thoughtful note expressing her feeling that she has not earned the right to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame," a statement from the foundation read. "In addition to her incredible talent as an artist, her humility is another reason Dolly is a beloved icon by millions of fans around the world."
The foundation also insisted that she would still be in the running for the 2022 class. "From its inception, Rock & Roll has had deep roots in Rhythm & Blues and Country music," the statement continued. "It is not defined by any one genre, rather a sound that moves youth culture. Dolly Parton's music impacted a generation of young fans and influenced countless artists that followed. Her nomination to be considered for induction into to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame followed the same process as all other artists who have been considered. Dolly's nomination, along with the other 16 artists for the class of 2022, was sent out earlier this month to our 1,200 general ballot voters, the majority of whom are artists themselves, for consideration for induction at our ceremony."
Asked in an April interview with NPR what would happen if she was voted in, Parton, replied, "Well, I'll accept gracefully. I would just say thanks and I'll accept it because the fans vote."
She then shed some light on her initial decision. "When I said that, it was always my belief that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame was for the people in rock music, and I have found out lately that it's not necessarily that," Parton explained. "But if they can't go there to be recognized, where do they go? So I just felt like I would be taking away from someone that maybe deserved it, certainly more than me, because I never considered myself a rock artist. But obviously, there's more to it than that."