The legendary Dionne Warwick has been chosen as part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class of 2024. Yet, she recently expressed surprise at being considered for the honor. Speaking with Rolling Stone, Warwick shared that she wasn’t initially sure why she was chosen for the Hall of Fame.
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“I was here at home when I was receiving all kinds of calls, congratulating me,” she told the outlet. “And I had no idea as to what they were congratulating me for. They’re saying, ‘Oh, you’ve been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.’ I said, ‘I have?’”
She went on to admit that while she’s had a prolific career, with more than 30 hits on the Top 40 charts, she never really considered herself a candidate for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“I’ve never considered myself a rock and roller,” she said. “I guess everybody else did, except me. Which is OK, you know. I’ll be a rock and roller if that’s what you want me to be.”
Warwick will be entering the Hall of Fame with the prestigious Musical Excellence Award, but confessed she didn’t really know the difference between her honor and the regular induction into the hall.
“I haven’t a clue as to what the difference is,” she revealed. “It’s all kind of new to me. I watched a couple of these shows where the people were put into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame thing, but never saw myself as one of those to be considered.
[RELATED: ‘American Idol’ Reveals 2024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees: See Full List]
Dionne Warwick Joins the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Musical Excellence Award
Dionne Warwick is not the only inductee earning the honor of the Musical Excellence Award, though. She is joined by the band MC5, and posthumously by Norman Whitfield and Jimmy Buffett. The 2024 inductees and award recipients were announced during a recent episode of American Idol, where contestants performed songs exclusively by the inductees.
Additionally, Alexis Korner, John Mayall, and Big Mama Thornton will receive the Musical Influence Award, while Suzanne de Passe will be honored with the Ahmet Ertegun Award. The inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame include Mary J. Blige, Cher, Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Kool & the Gang, Ozzy Osbourne, and a Tribe Called Quest.
Half of the inductees this year are first-time nominees—Cher, Foreigner, Frampton, and Kool and the Gang. The other inductees have been nominated before, with Ozzy Osbourne joining the hall for the second time after he was inducted with Black Sabbath in 2006.
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