When the Steve Miller Band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in 2016, Miller took the opportunity in his induction speech to thank "all the women in my life for pointing me in the right direction" — and, several beats later, implored the Hall to be "more inclusive of women and to be more transparent in your dealings with the public, and most importantly, to do much more to revive music in our schools."

A day before Miller's speech, a widely shared article, "There Are Not Enough Women in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame," went one step further and laid out all of the women not inducted. The piece also noted some even more sobering facts: "Apparently only 37 female performers and bands with women" fit the induction criteria of demonstrating "overall excellence," while "zero of the executives, managers and producers inducted have been women." Progress has been slow, but steady. In 2021, the hall offered its most female-heavy ballot in their entire history with seven out of the 16 artists being women.

It's insulting (if not downright sexist) that so few women have been deemed worthy of a Hall of Fame slot, especially considering the nominations draw from decades of popular music at this point.

And so Ultimate Classic Rock came up with a list of 18 should-be inductees who deserve to be in the Hall because they've contributed to the vibrant pantheon of rock 'n' roll and its offshoots — embodying the "broad umbrella" of influences, as the Rock Hall is fond of saying.

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