Music: Tina Turner, Go-Gos Ride Documentary Wave to RHOF Pass

What could be considered a golden ticket to guarantee an artist’s induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? If the Class of 2021 is any

indication, the answer could be the release of a brand-new, feature-length documentary that paints the act’s career in a glowing light. Take Tina Turner and the Go-Go’s, two artists who have been eligible for induction for over a decade but finally got the nod in 2021, just after both artists were the subject of a new movie. It’s impossible to say whether the HBO Max film Tina or Showtime’s The Go-Go’s (neither flick has a compelling title, it has to be said) were decisive factors in their inductions. Voters for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame fill out their ballot based on their own taste, history, and perspective, a combination of factors that vary voter by voter. Having a new documentary celebrating a Rock Hall nominee certainly helps refresh the memory of a RRHOF voter, offering a reminder of why an artist is worthy of induction. Besides, there are some strong indications that the presence of a documentary has helped push certain musicians into the Hall of Fame. The Canadian prog-rock trio Rush made it into the Hall in 2013, a few years after the release of Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage, a documentary that explained the band’s idiosyncratic appeal and enduring friendship to audiences who may not have known much about them outside of “Tom Sawyer.” A more direct line between a documentary and induction can be seen between the Oscar-nominated 2015 film What Happened, Miss Simone? and the 2018 induction of Nina Simone, a jazz vocalist who may have been a towering figure of the twentieth century but who rarely entered discussions about artists overlooked by the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame. -Decider mag