This year’s inductees to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame were revealed Wednesday. The full list includes Depeche Mode, The Doobie Brothers, Whitney Houston, Nine Inch Nails, the Notorious B.I.G. and T-Rex, while Jon Landau and Irving Azoff will receive the Ahmet Ertegun Awards.
Judas Priest have been snubbed again for inclusion into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Motorhead, Thin Lizzy, the MC5 and Soundgarden were also denied entry into the Hall. Pat Benatar, Dave Matthews Band, Kraftwerk, Rufus feat. Chaka Khan and Todd Rundgren were also part of the list of nominees announced last year, but they did not receive the votes for induction.
The Rock Hall’s annual “fan ballot” did little to sway the opinion of its voting body, as Dave Matthews Band received the most votes, followed by Pat Benatar. The Doobie Brothers — the only future inductees within the Top 5 — came in third, while Soundgarden and Judas Priest rounded out fourth and fifth place, respectively.
#1: Dave Matthews Band: 1,005,657 votes
#2: Pat Benatar: 882,207 votes
#3: The Doobie Brothers (selected for 2020 induction): 784,729 votes
#4: Soundgarden: 722,931 votes
#5: Judas Priest: 675,434 votes
To be eligible for the Hall of Fame an individual artist or band must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination. Ballots were cast by an international voting body of more than 1,000 artists, including current living Inductees, historians and members of the music industry.
The 35th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will take place in May in Cleveland, Ohio. Tickets will go on sale to the public on February 27. Performances and special guests will be announced later.
The ceremony will be broadcast live on HBO on May 2nd at 8 p.m. ET.
