The 2021 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees have been announced, and for the first time ever, three female or female-led acts are being inducted as performers in a single year: The Go-Go‘s, Carole King and Tina Turner.  And that’s not the only milestone involving women that these inductions represent, as Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Vice President of Education Jason Hanley explains.

“The Go-Go’s are the first inductee that’s an all female band where they played their own instruments,” Hanley explains, noting, “This is a rock and roll band. I mean, the Go-Go’s started as a punk rock band. They ended up being one of the big new wave bands and…the MTV bands.”

As for Carole and Tina, both of them had previously been inducted, but alongside their significant others.  Now, they’re being inducted for their solo success.

“Carole King who’s getting inducted here for her solo work, had previously been inducted with [her ex-husband] Gerry Goffin as a songwriter,” Hanley explains. “Tina Turner…had previously been inducted with Ike Turner for her work in the Ike and Tina Turner Band.”

“Carole and Tina will now be the second two women inducted twice, after Stevie Nicks did it just a few years ago,” Hanley adds.

But Hanley says these three acts aren’t just females who made an impact on rock: They made an impact on rock, period.

He notes, “I think it’s really important, not just that these are women, but [that they] innovated and really did change rock and roll, and [brought] something incredibly new to it.”

This year’s other inductees are Foo Fighters, JAY-Z and Todd Rundgren.   The induction ceremony will be held October 30 in Cleveland, OH; tickets go on sale in July.