Each year the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts artists who have made a lasting impact in music. More than 600 musicians, historians and other industry players vote on the nominees who must have been in the music industry for at least 25 years. The five 2016 nominees were recently announced:
Cheap TrickInductees: Bun E. Carlos, Rick Nielsen, Tom Petersson, Robin Zander
With their first album cut in 1977, Cheap Trick established a signature sound. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, “Cheap Trick’s records and concerts display a singular musical consistency over almost 40 years. Their American breakthrough, Live At Budokan, is in the running for best live album of all time. Some of their studio albums are better than others, but they have never made anything like a bad one. And they will all rock you ’til your eyes bulge out. Promise.”
Chicago
Inductees: Peter Cetera, Terry Kath, Robert Lamm, Lee Loughnane, James Pankow, Walter Parazaider, Danny Seraphine
Fusing jazz and rock together in a time when the Beatles were still crashing on to the American shores and pyschedelic rock was taking over the basements of teenagers, Chicago Transit Authority broke onto the scene unapologetically in 1969. “Their unmistakable sound and inclusion into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is not only well-deserved, but an honor that has been overlooked,” according to The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Deep Purple
Inductees: Ritchie Blackmore, David Coverdale, Rod Evans, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Glenn Hughes, Jon Lord, Ian Paice
Deep Purple combined outstanding musicianship with dozens of FM radio smashes. Three separate incarnations of the band have made spectacular albums. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, “Deep Purple are and were a band of supremely talented musicians and songwriters.” They’re pioneers of their genre and their groundbreaking albums and ear drum breaking live shoes make them long overdue for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
N.W.A.
Inductees: DJ Yella, Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, MC Ren
“Unexpected. Shocking. Flawed. Revolutionary. Worthy,” is how the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame describes N.W.A. From Compton, CA – N.W.A. sold tens of millions of records and influenced multiple generations the world over. “They made a way out of no way, put their city on the map and solidified the disparate elements of gangsta rap into a genre meaty enough to be quantified, imitated and monetized for generations to come,” said the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Steve Miller
Inductee: Steve Miller
A mainstay of the San Francisco music scene that upended American culture in the late Sixties, Steve Miller perfected a psychedelic blues sound that drew on the deepest sources of American roots music and simultaneously articulated a compelling vision of what music – and, indeed, society, could be in years to come. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, to this day, Steve Miller’s “songs are instantly recognizable when they come on the radio. Their hooks are the very definition of indelible.”
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, presented by Klipsch Audio, will take place on April 8 at Barclays Center (Brooklyn, NY). Tickets are now on sale. The show will premiere on HBO in Spring 2016.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s mission is to engage, teach and inspire through the power of rock and roll. The institution is located in Cleveland, Ohio.
