How many Detroit artists are in the R&R Hall of Fame? After some dispute, here's an answer

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30-04-2025

When the White Stripes were named Sunday night among the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's 2025 inductees, there was plenty of celebration from Detroit music fans.
But some of those folks had a bone to pick with the Detroit Free Press. We had described the White Stripes as Detroit's 22nd inductee, complete with a list of those 22 artists, a rundown that starts with the Class of 1987's Aretha Franklin.
"Where's the MC5?" asked many who scanned the list, recalling that band's entry into the rock hall last October. Similar questions came in about Motown's Norman Whitfield, who was honored the same night.
Readers were especially perplexed by the omissions because the Free Press had extensively covered that very ceremony last fall.
Yes, the MC5 and Whitfield weren't in Sunday's list of 22. But there is an explanation — even if, like all things Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, it's ripe for debate.
It's a running tab the Free Press has maintained for many years now. We've updated it each time a hometown artist gets inducted into the rock hall's prestigious performer wing.
The performer field is the one that dominates headlines every year, accompanied by the requisite cheers and arguments among music fans worldwide.
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But beyond that main tier, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has some supplemental categories, like the Award for Musical Excellence — the honor bestowed last year on Whitfield and the MC5.
The award was established in 2000 under the name Sidemen, with Motown bassist James Jamerson among the inaugural honorees. When it was rebranded 10 years later with the 'Musical Excellence' banner, RRHOF officials said it was a way to recognize musicians who might not otherwise get their flowers.
That eventually benefited the MC5: After six unsuccessful nominations in the performer field, the late-great Detroit band was finally ushered into the hall of fame via the Musical Excellence category.
And while it might not be evident when watching the RRHOF's annual ceremony — where Musical Excellence awardees get less pomp and circumstance than others — officials say those recipients are considered fully vested hall of fame inductees.
The number 22 is impressive enough, signifying Detroit's mammoth contribution to music history. (At one point in the early '90s, Motor City artists constituted more than one-fifth of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's total body of performer inductees.)
Still, the Free Press will rethink this one going forward. We certainly don't want to downplay the full scope of Detroit's hall of fame presence.
So as of late April 2025, here's your total number: 29. Below is the list of all the Detroit-related groups and individuals who have made the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame via one route or another.
Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or [e-mail].
(Inducted in the performer wing unless otherwise noted.)
Aretha Franklin — 1987
Marvin Gaye — 1987
Smokey Robinson — 1987
Jackie Wilson — 1987
The Supremes — 1988
Berry Gordy Jr. — 1988 (Ahmet Ertegun Award)
The Temptations — 1989
Stevie Wonder — 1989
Hank Ballard — 1990
Four Tops — 1990
Holland-Dozier-Holland —1990 (Ahmet Ertegun Award)
John Lee Hooker — 1991
Martha and the Vandellas — 1995
Gladys Knight & the Pips — 1996
Little Willie John — 1996
Parliament-Funkadelic — 1997
James Jamerson — 2000 (Award for Musical Excellence)
Benny Benjamin — 2003 (Award for Musical Excellence)
Bob Seger — 2004
Madonna — 2008
The Stooges — 2010
Alice Cooper — 2011
The Miracles — 2012
Eminem — 2022
The Spinners — 2023
MC5 — 2024 (Award for Musical Excellence)
Norman Whitfield — 2024 (Award for Musical Excellence)
Suzanne de Passe — 2024 (Ahmet Ertegun Award)
The White Stripes — 2025 (pending November ceremony)
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How many Detroit artists are in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?