Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2017 announced

Back in October, the nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class of 2017 was announced. The lengthy list mostly included first-time nominees and others who have been nominated for the honor before. On Tuesday (Dec. 20), the official list for the class of 2017 was announced. Pearl Jam, Joan Baez, Tupac Shakur, Journey, Electric Light Orchestra, Yes, and Chic’s Nile Rodgers will be inducted into the Ohio-based museum in the spring of 2017.

Rodgers will receive the prestigious ‘Award For Musical Excellence’ while, sadly, this will mark the 11th time Chic has been snubbed for the honor. “It’s sort of bittersweet. I’m quite flattered that they believed that I was worthy, but my band Chic didn’t win,” Rodgers said in a recent interview with Rolling Stone. “They plucked me out of the band and said, ‘You’re better than Chic.’ That’s wacky to me. I am flattered and I think it’s cool, but I feel like somebody put me in the lifeboat and told my family they can’t get in.”

In a stunning twist, this year marked the first time inductees Tupac and Pearl Jam were eligible to be nominated for the honor. In order to be eligible for the Hall of Fame, a nominee’s first recording (or debut album) must have been released at least 25 years ago. The inductees beat out the likes of Bad Brains, Depeche Mode, The Cars, Jane’s Addition, and more. The inductees were selected by more than 900 voters from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame which includes artists, historians and music industry professionals.

For the past five years, fans have been able to cast their vote with the “fan ballot.” Electric Light Orchestra, Journey, Pearl Jam, and Yes won the fan ballot this year alongside The Cars.

The 32nd annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony is set to take place on April 7, 2017 from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Like past years the ceremony will air on HBO at a later date. Ticket details will be announced in January.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Class of 2016 Nominees Announced

It feels like it was just yesterday that we were announcing the nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class of 2015 and now, the class of 2016 nominees have been unveiled. On Thursday (Oct. 8), the official list of nominees which includes 15 potential inductees was released. Making it onto this year’s list are Nine Inch Nails, The Smiths, The Cars, Cheap Trick, N.W.A., Janet Jackson, and more.

Other potential inductees include Chic, Deep Purple, Chicago, Steve Miller, Yes, Los Lobos, The Spinners, The J.B.’s, and season 21 Dancing with the Stars contestant Chaka Khan.

This year’s list marks the second year both Nine Inch Nails and The Smiths are eligible to be inducted into the Hall of Fame while it’s the first year Janet Jackson, The Cars, and Cheap Trick can rightfully be nominated. In a twist, this year marks the tenth time that Chic has been nominated for this honor. (Can we just give it to them already?)

N.W.A.’s nomination comes on the heels of the success of their biography-based film, Straight Outta Compton, while Jackson released her new album, Unbreakable, earlier this month and is currently in the middle of touring in support of the new record.

In order for an artist to be eligible to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, their first recording must have been released at least 25 years ago. But, being nominated is just half the battle for this honor. From now until Dec. 9, a group of artists, historians, and music industry members will get to decide who gets entry to the museum in April 2016.

Recently, fans have been given the opportunity to vote for their favorite artists by using the “fan’s ballot.” The “fan’s ballot” will count as one of the more than 600 ballots used to determine who gets inducted next spring. Currently, fans can head on over to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s official website to cast their votes. The polls will officially close on Dec. 9 with the top five artists being announced later that month.

Last year,  Green Day, Lou Reed (posthumously), Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bill Withers, and The Paul Butterfield Blues Band were inducted into the iconic Cleveland museum.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees Announced

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced today those lucky nominees for the class of 2014. This year’s list includes Hall and Oates, Nirvana, The Replacements, KISS, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Chic, Deep Purple, Peter Gabriel, LL Cool J, N.W.A, Link Wray, the Meters, Linda Ronstadt, Cat Stevens, Yes and the Zombies.

The lucky nominees that get the most votes by the end of the voting period will get the honors of being inducted into the hall of fame. For the second year, the public has been given the chance to also vote alongside artists, historians and music industry insiders of the Rock Hall voting body.

For those that would like to have their voices heard and vote for their favorite nominees, Rolling Stone’s website is currently playing host for the public. According to Rolling Stone, “the top five acts will comprise a “fan’s ballot” that will count as one of the more than 600 ballots that determine the Class of 2014.” Fans have until December 10 to get their vote included in those ballots.

To be eligible for this year’s ballot, those that ended up on the bill had to have released their first single or album in 1988 or earlier than that. If some of the nominees look like they have been nominated once before, many of them have had the honor bestowed on them before.

While some may have seen the ballots once before, some of the nominees such as Nirvana, Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, the Replacements, Linda Ronstadt, Link Wray, Cat Stevens, Yes and the Zombies are getting their names on the ballots for the first time. For those the feel like arguing about Peter Gabriel then yes, he was inducted in 2009 as a member of Genesis.

On a side note, Nirvana is the only act this year to land on the ballot during their first year of eligibility. Their cover of “Love Buzz” by Shocking Blue was their first single, hitting stores in late 1988.