The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has selected the musical acts that will make up its Class of 2020.
After weeks of voting, the inductees announced today include Whitney Houston, The Notorious B.I.G., Depeche Mode, Nine Inch Nails, The Doobie Brothers, and T-Rex, as well as prolific music managers Jon Landau and Irving Azoff.
The musical acts were chosen from a ballot of 16 nominees announced in October. Of those nominees, Pat Benatar, Dave Matthews Band, Judas Priest, Kraftwerk, MC5, Motörhead, Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, Todd Rundgren, Soundgarden and Thin Lizzy did not receive enough votes to make the final cut.
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Hall of Fame voters weighed several factors, including an artist’s musical influence, length and depth of career, innovation, and style. Fans were also allowed to vote online.
Here’s video of the nominees:
Congratulations to your @KlipschAudio #RockHall2020 Inductees. Performers: @depechemode, @thedoobiebros, #WhitneyHouston, @nineinchnails , #TheNotoriousBIG and #TRex & Ahmet Ertegun awards #JonLandau and @IrvingAzoff More info: https://t.co/HFHCXkPgVJ pic.twitter.com/ShSbL9XsRo
— Rock Hall (@rockhall) January 15, 2020
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on Saturday, May 2, 2020 at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio. The ceremony will be broadcast live for the first time on HBO on May 2nd at 8 p.m. ET. Performances and special guests will be announced later. Below are details on the 2020 class, from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame website.
Depeche Mode
Known for their dark, industrial love songs for the modern era, Depeche Mode earned a massive following by pushing sonic and lyrical boundaries with new synthesizer technology and captivating live performances.
The Doobie Brothers
With their hard-rocking rhythms, dual drummer power, and tight three-part vocal harmonies, The Doobie Brothers have been a mainstay in the rock & roll landscape for nearly five decades.
Whitney Houston
Celebrated as the “greatest singer of her generation,” Whitney Houston’s accomplishments in music were unparalleled.
Nine Inch Nails
NIN juxtaposes the brutal and delicate, chaos and order, nihilistic despair and spiritual rapture.
The Notorious B.I.G.
Biggie Smalls aka The Notorious B.I.G. prophesied his short but impactful career with albums “Ready to Die” and “Life After Death” – two of hip-hop’s most influential albums.
T. Rex
T. Rex was a rock and roll comet that graced Earth and left behind a new rock style that inspired generations of musicians.
Irving Azoff
A hardworking pioneer in the music industry, Azoff is often cited as the ultimate rock manager and has brought many successful bands to light in the past decades.
Jon Landau
Starting as a pioneer rock journalist in the mid-Sixties, Landau contributed to the earliest rock publications, including Crawdaddy! The Phoenix and Rolling Stone. Later, Landau became a long-time co-producer and manager of Springsteen.
