The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame holds its 34th annual induction ceremony tonight (Friday) at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. This year's honorees are:
- The Cure
- Def Leppard
- Janet Jackson
- Stevie Nicks
- Radiohead
- Roxy Music
- Zombies
Stevie Nicks, Def Leppard and Roxy Music were on the ballot for the first time. Stevie, who is already in as a member of Fleetwood Mac, will be the first woman enshrined twice.Harry Styles of One Direction-- who was born the year Nicks released her fifth solo album, the ill-fated Street Angel-- will do the honors.
- Seven of Def Leppard's eight members since the band formed in 1977 will be inducted -- singer Joe Elliott, bassis tRick Savage, drummer Rick Allen and guitarists Vivian Campbell, Phil Collen,Pete Willis and the late Steve Clark. They will be inducted by Brian MayofQueen.
- The five original Zombies being inducted are Rod Argent, Colin Blunstone, Hugh Grundy,Chris White and the late Paul Atkinson. They will be inducted by Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles. The group has been active in recent years and will definitely perform.
- The Cure was first nominated in 2012. Ten members of the group will be inducted -- singer-guitaristRobert Smith(the only constant in the lineup), current membersReeves Gabrels,Roger O’Donnell,Simon Gallup and Jason Cooper, and former members Perry Bamonte, Porl Thompson, Lol Tolhurst, Boris Williams and Michael Dempsey. They will be inducted by Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails.
- Radiohead, who were first nominated last year, have not indicated a lot of enthusiasm for the honor and are not likely to turn out in force or perform.David Byrne of Talking Heads, whose 1986 song "Radio Head" supplied the English group with its name, will deliver their induction speech.
- Seven members of Roxy Music -- whose long omission from the Hall is finally being remedied -- are being honored: singer Bryan Ferry, horn player Andy Mackay, guitarist Phil Manzanera, synthesist Brian Eno, keyboard and violin player Eddie Jobson, bassist Graham Simpson and drummer Paul Thompson. They will be inducted by John Taylor and Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran.
- Janet Jackson, voted in on her third nomination, is now the sixth member of the Jackson family to go in the Rock Hall.The Jackson 5are in, as isMichael Jackson as a solo artist. She will be inducted by singer Janelle Monáe.
Ballots were sent to an international voting body of more than 1,000 artists, historians and members of the music industry. Factors such as musical influence, length and depth of career and the body of work, popularity and innovation are all taken into consideration.
Stevie, Def Leppard, The Zombies and The Cure were all in the Top 5 of the Fan Vote.Todd Rundgren came in third, but was not elected this year. The other nominees who fell short this year were LL Cool J, Kraftwerk, The MC5, John Prine, Rufus featuring Chaka Khan,Rage Against the Machine and Devo.
Highlights of the 34th annual induction ceremony will air on HBO on April 27th.