Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees include Cyndi Lauper, Chubby Checker, but not Mariah Carey

Bad Company, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, Outkast, Soundgarden and The White Stripes are this year’s inductees into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, organizers announced Sunday night.

Two nominees with Long Island connections missed out: Mariah Carey, the Huntington pop diva, and Billy Idol, the England-born punk rocker who lived in Patchogue and Rockville Centre in his youth. This was the first nomination for Idol but the second for Carey, who was first put forward for the 2024 class of inductees.

The wide-ranging nominees reflect the Rock Hall’s ongoing efforts to stay relevant in an era when rock, strictly defined, no longer rules the musical roost. In the Hall’s earliest days, the induction of a pop-oriented singer like Queens-raised Lauper, known for her 1980s hits "Girls Just Want to Have Fun” and "Money Changes Everything,” might have raised eyebrows, but in recent years both Whitney Houston and Dolly Parton have also been welcomed. Outkast, the duo behind the 2003 monster hit "Hey Ya!,” is the latest of many hip-hop acts to break into the Rock Hall, including Run-D.M.C., Eminem and Roosevelt icons Public Enemy.

"Each of these inductees created their own sound and attitude that had a profound impact on culture,” John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, said in a statement. "Their music gave a voice to generations and influenced countless artists that followed in their footsteps.”

Some of the inductees will be posthumous ones. Bassist Raymond "Boz” Burrell, of the English supergroup Bad Company (whose members came from the bands Free, Mott the Hoople and King Crimson), died in 2006. Chris Cornell, who lent his voice to Soundgarden’s grunge-era anthems "Black Hole Sun,” "Spoonman” and others, died in 2017. Cocker, the English rock-and-soul singer known for his gravelly covers of "With a Little Help from My Friends,” "Feelin’ Alright” and "Unchain My Heart,” died in 2014. Cocker had a devoted fan in Long Island’s Billy Joel, who doggedly lobbied the Rock Hall to induct him. This year marked Cocker’s first nomination.

Checker, an early rock figure best known for his enduring 1960 cover of "The Twist,” is alive at 83 years old. The White Stripes, formed by relative youngsters Jack and Meg White in 1997, released a string of raw, blues-drenched albums such as "White Blood Cells” and "Icky Thump” that helped keep indie rock alive into the 2000s.

The Rock Hall’s musical influence awards will go to the female hip-hop duo Salt-N-Pepa, known for such effusive hits as "Push It” and "Shoop,” and Warren Zevon, the sardonic singer-songwriter behind "Werewolves of London,” a staple of late-'70s free-format FM radio.

Awards for musical excellence will go to the Philadelphia soul producer Thom Bell, the prolific keyboardist Nicky Hopkins (whose credits range from The Beatles to the Steve Miller Band) and Carol Kaye, the rare female rock bassist who has performed on an estimated 10,000 recordings. The Ahmet Ertegun Award will be given to Lenny Waronker, co-founder of DreamWorks Records.

The 2025 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held Nov. 8 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles and will stream live on Disney+, followed later by a broadcast on ABC. The ceremony will eventually stream on Hulu.

By Rafer Guzmán

rafer.guzman@newsday.com