Rock Report 2/3/22

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has officially unveiled the nominees for the class of 2022, which includes Rage Against the Machine, Judas Priest, New York Dolls, Pat Benatar, MC5 and more.

A total of 17 acts have been nominated (seen below) and, among them, seven are on the ballot for the first time: Eminem, Beck, Duran Duran, Dolly Parton, Lionel Richie, Carly Simon, and A Tribe Called Quest. It is also the first year of eligibility for rapper Eminem.

For the last few years, Shinedown and Three Days Grace have been engaged in a chart battle for the most Mainstream Rock No. 1’s in the history of the Billboard chart, but in August of 2020, Shinedown overtook the Canadian rockers with a record 16th No. 1 thanks to their song “Atlas Falls.” But we’re now back into a tie as Billboard reports that Three Days Grace’s latest single, “So Called Life” has topped the chart.

Three Days Grace had held the mark for a good portion of the run, but Shinedown had caught and overtook them over the course of the two acts previous records. The battle should remain interesting as both acts are set to return with new music this year.

Jon Zazula, founder of Megaforce Records, has died at 69. The news came from a post on his daughter Rikki Zazula’s Facebook.
Zazula founded Megaforce Records in the early 1980s with his wife, Marsha, and helped jumpstart the career of the legendary Metallica when he signed them. He’d been given a copy of the band’s No Life ‘Til Leather demo by a customer at his record stand at a New Jersey flea market and contacted the band in hopes of working together.