The Best Style Moments From the 2022 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees

We are young. Heartache to heartache we stand. Released September 12th, 1983, “Love Is A Battlefield” is considered to be one of the best songs of the 1980s, and the accompanying music video was a staple on MTV. Portraying a teenage runaway rebel, Pat Benatar was 1980s rock at its finest with her vests, headbacks, and animal prints. 

Duran Duran is certainly tough when it comes to narrowing down just one moment, but ultimately we decided to go with their 1982 hit music video “Hungry Like the Wolf.” From the detective outfits to the jungle/outdoorsy/nature Steve Irwin before Steve Irwin debuted looks, “Hungry Like the Wolf” is a classic.

Take Eminem, and then multiply him by about 100. That’s exactly what happened at the 2000 VMAs when Eminem and 100 of his clones started his “The Real Slim Shady” performance outside of Radio City Music Hall, eventually walking inside and onto the stage to conclude the performance with his single “The Way I Am.” A memorable moment for sure.

For this article, it came down to the music videos for “Sweet Dreams” and “Here Comes the Rain Again.” It was another tough choice, but we went with “Sweet Dreams” because the video is just so great. We could do an entirely separate article on the style of Annie Lennox alone because she is such a style icon.

Lennox was one of the first female artists to really adopt the androgynous full-force, and that was evident in the “Sweet Dreams” video where she rocked a suit and short orange buzz cut. Shoutout to Dave Stewart who rocked some sick looks as well.

They call Dolly’s style “country-glam,” and it’s always been a killer. It’s hard to believe that Dolly is just now getting into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and it was honestly a shock to us that she hadn’t already been inducted. Better late than never, however. We’ll go with “9 to 5,” which got her an Academy Award nomination (the song originally appeared on the film soundtrack for the movie 9 to 5 in which she starred alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin). 1980s country-glam indeed. 

We didn’t know whether to pull something from The Commodores or Lionel Richie’s solo career. We decided to go with the music video for “All Night Long,” because it’s just so much fun, and full of early 1980s fashion. There are certain songs that are an automatic guarantee to make everybody get up and dance, and “All Night Long” is one of them.

It’s so great to see Carly Simon being given her flowers. A true performer with a raspy gifted voice, and an awesome pianist and guitar player. Released in 1972, “You’re So Vain” is one of Simon’s biggest hits, and while she’s given so many great renditions, for the style element, we’ll go with the music video which had some neat looks.

Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis picked out their signature look (a suit and tie, hat, fedora, and shades), and have stuck with it through so many memorable eras. For this article, we chose Janet Jackson’s debut 1987 Grammy Performance of “What Have You Done for Me Lately,” because it was also Jimmy and Terry’s debut Grammy performance alongside her. What a moment.

Having been in action for over fifty years, Judas Priest is widely regarded as being one of the best heavy metal rock bands to ever do it (and rightfully so), and their impact on heavy metal fashion is one that has influenced many of the rock acts that have come after them. While they have tons of moments to choose from, the style in 1982’s “ You’ve Got Another Thing Comin” was downright epic.

Have you ever attended or watched a sporting event where you heard “Day-O!!” blasting on the intercom and wondered where it came from? Well that, ladies and gentlemen, comes from Harry Belafonte’s 1956 hit “Day-O” (The Banana Boat Song), and we found this gem from 1960 of Harry performing the song in Tokyo. Look at his style. Smooth and suave.

Unfortunately, Elizabeth Cotten isn’t here to see this achievement, but this is a very important moment for her family. Cotten was a self-taught left-handed guitarist who learned how to play a guitar meant for right-handed players (which meant the guitar was played upside down). Let’s take a moment to acknowledge not just her talent, but her elegant preppy fashion sense.

Hey lawyers gotta get some style love too. Grubman has been regarded as one of the best entertainment lawyers over the decades, and while he usually almost always wears a suit (at least publicly), he wears it well.

And entrepreneurs gotta get style recognition as well. The co-founder of Interscope Records, Iovine has put together some nice fits over the years too. 

Sadly Sylvia isn’t here to see this accomplishment either. Robinson was many things, a singer, producer, writer, record label founder, and plenty more, being equally good at everything she did. Regarded as the “mother of hip-hop,” Sylvia’s style was just as creative and impressive as she was.