ROCK HALL ANNOUNCES NOMINEES FOR 2016 INDUCTION

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced its nominees for 2016 induction. They are: The Cars, Chaka Khan, Chicago, Cheap Trick, Chic, Deep Purple, The J.B.’s, Janet Jackson, Los Lobos, Steve Miller, N.W.A, Nine Inch Nails, The Smiths, The Spinners and Yes.

Voting begins now and continues through 12/9; in addition to an international voting membership of musicians, biz folk, historians and other interested parties, fans will help select the inductees—the latter can visit the HOF site and vote for their top five choices. Member and fan voters will be tallied and the induction ceremony will take place in NYC in April. Once again, the event will be taped for later broadcast on HBO.

To be eligible, an act must have released his/her/its first album at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination.

The inclusion of hip-hop firebrands N.W.A in this year’s crop is icing on an incredible cake of a year, as the biopic Straight Outta Compton became a bona fide cultural phenomenon and sparked brisk sales of the group’s catalog.

The presence of Janet Jackson, meanwhile, dovetails nicely with the returning star’s new album, which is due to bow at #1 this week (and sees her collaborating once more with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the team behind her biggest successes).

Prog-rock fans (including our own President Karen Glauber), will rejoice at the presence of Yes. There’s something for pretty much everyone in the other nominees, as the Hall salutes classic-rock stalwarts, inventive pop-rockers, alternative renegades, purveyors of funky soul and inspired roots-rock explorers.

Among the disappointed, however, will be the team of artists who mounted a campaign for singer/songwriter Harry Nilsson’s induction, producing a song and accompanying video that earned national attention. Better luck next year, y’all.