From Chuck Berry to Sheryl Crow, these Missourians call Rock and Roll Hall of Fame home

Aarik Danielsen, Columbia Daily Tribune
·4 min read

Modern American music wouldn't exist without Missouri, this strange and sound meeting place for creative travelers from north, south, east and west.

A quick glance at the names which line the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland bears this out. The Missourians inducted make up a fascinating story within a story about how this sound started, evolved and gets perfected.

For the purposes of this quick tour through the Rock Hall, we're focused only on artists born in Missouri. That means we'll skip (with gratitude) past the likes of:

  • Tina and Ike Turner (1991 inductees), who have a deep history with St. Louis, but neither of whom were born there.

  • Jazz lion Miles Davis (2006 inductee), who was born and grew up just across the border, on the Illinois side of St. Louis.

  • Influential pianist/Chuck Berry musical partner Johnnie Johnson (2001 inductee in the "sidemen" category), who moved to St. Louis at age 28 and would become a fixture in that city till his death in 2005.

With those stipulations in mind, here's a partial list of Missourians residing in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry performs during the 2012 Awards for Lyrics of Literary Excellence at The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library And Museum on February 26, 2012 in Boston.
Chuck Berry performs during the 2012 Awards for Lyrics of Literary Excellence at The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library And Museum on February 26, 2012 in Boston.

Perhaps the most obvious inclusion on this list — among the most obvious in the Rock Hall itself — Berry was one of the fathers of the sound we've come to call rock 'n' roll; born in St. Louis, he became one of the city's true cultural ambassadors. Berry was inducted into the hall with its first class back in 1986 alongside the likes of Elvis Presley, James Brown, Sam Cooke and Buddy Holly; Keith Richards introduced the icon and influence.

Gene Clark of The Byrds

Although Clark only lasted with the Byrds a couple years, it was time enough to write or co-write indelible tracks such as "Eight Miles High" and "I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better." The Tipton native was inducted, along with the rest of the band, in 1991 by Don Henley, the ceremony coming mere months before his death.

Sheryl Crow

Sheryl Crow performs during the 2021 Roots N Blues festival at Stephens Lake Park.
Sheryl Crow performs during the 2021 Roots N Blues festival at Stephens Lake Park.

A true daughter of our state, Crow is among the most recent Missourians to receive hall-of-fame status, inducted in 2023 by actress Laura Dern. The Kennett native and University of Missouri graduate re-envisioned the intersection of rock, folk and country and wrote some of the late 20th and early 21st century's best songs while doing so.

More: MU graduate Sheryl Crow part of 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class

John Edwards of The Spinners

Born in St. Louis, Edwards took a winding path that eventually led him to The Spinners; already more than 20 years into their soul-music run by the time he got there, Edwards handled vocals from 1977 to 2000, earning him a spot in the hall with other members in 2023, inducted by New Edition.

Eminem

FILE: Inductee Eminem attends the 37th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Microsoft Theater on November 05, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.
FILE: Inductee Eminem attends the 37th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at Microsoft Theater on November 05, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.

I know what you're thinking — Eminem is synonymous with Michigan, right? The legendary, battle-tested MC is known for rising up from that state, but Marshall Mathers was born in St. Joseph. A generational hip-hop talent, he was inducted in 2022 by his mentor Dr. Dre.

Michael McDonald

Michael McDonald played keyboards in the legendary Doobie Brothers on their 50th Anniversary Tour.July 1, 2023
Michael McDonald played keyboards in the legendary Doobie Brothers on their 50th Anniversary Tour.July 1, 2023

Hailing from the St. Louis area, McDonald isn't an original Doobie Brother (though he's not far off, having joined five years into the band's tenure). His husky voice and killer keyboards still prove fundamental to the structural integrity of a sound that propelled the Doobies into the Rock Hall in 2020, inducted by country star Luke Bryan.

James Pankow of Chicago

James Pankow (left) and Ray Herrmann preform with Chicago at Ak-Chin Pavilion in Phoenix on June 7, 2022.
James Pankow (left) and Ray Herrmann preform with Chicago at Ak-Chin Pavilion in Phoenix on June 7, 2022.

The horn player and St. Louis native has contributed many, many notes to Chicago's unique, genre-bending success as a founding member and arranger; the band was inducted in 2016 by Rob Thomas.

Herbert Reed of The Platters

Early pioneers on the R&B scene, The Platters created a wonderful mold with songs like "Only You," "The Great Pretender" and "My Prayer"; Kansas City native Reed helped make that possible at the microphone, performing with the group for decades. The Platters were inducted in 1990 by Phil Spector.

Big Joe Turner

Lauded by publications like AllMusic as one of our great "blues shouter(s)," the Kansas City-born Turner reached audiences with cuts like "Chains of Love" and "Shake, Rattle and Roll" while creating from the front of a true musical revolution. Turner's induction came early, in the hall's second class, introduced by Doc Pomus in 1987.

Aarik Danielsen is the features and culture editor for the Tribune. Contact him at [email protected] or by calling 573-815-1731. He's on Twitter/X @aarikdanielsen.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: These 9 Missourians have a home in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

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