The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Announces the 2015 Nominees

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced their nominees for induction in 2015. Voting is now open at their website for fans to weigh in with their opinion. As usual, there will be much discussion over who has been left-out of the balloting, and why some of those included were selected. This year’s nominees include a wide variety of genres, continuing the sometimes confusing traditions of The Hall.

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The Paul Butterfield Blues Band – American rock and roll collides with Southside Chicago blues.
Chic – A powerful combination of groove, soul and distinctly NYC studio smarts.
Green Day – Perennial punk adolescents, true to the basement and garage-rock band ethos.
Joan Jett and The Blackhearts – A potent mix of hard rock, glam, punk and garage rock that’s relevant in any era.
Kraftwerk – The foundation of all synthesizer-based rock and roll and electronic dance music.
The Marvelettes – Motown’s first official Number One hit makers.
N.W.A. – Massive influence, sonic power and boundary-smashing perspective.
Nine Inch Nails – The sounds and sights of transgressive art launched into the mainstream.
Lou Reed – Forty-plus years shaping the sound and the sense of contemporary music.
The Smiths – Four band-mates, five years, four albums and a vast sphere of influence.
The Spinners – One of the world’s most beloved R&B vocal groups.
Sting – A singular worldview reflected in a broad musical palette.
Stevie Ray Vaughn – A fiery show-stopper who influenced a generation of blues players.
WAR – A steamy mix of blues and soul, rock and R&B, built on a strong Afro-Latin foundation.
Bill Withers – A unique composer and vocalist, with songs that spoke for everyone.

The top five artists, as selected by the public, will comprise a fans’ ballot that will be tallied along with the other ballots to choose the 2015 inductees. There have been 29 previous Induction Ceremonies that produced a total of 726 people in the current Hall of Fame comprised of 304 Inductees, including 108 bands so far. Out of these, 18 have been inducted twice and Eric Clapton stands alone with three inductions.

Located lakeside in Cleveland, Ohio, the Hall of Fame has become a must-see destination for fans of music across the country and around the world. A pilgrimage to “The Hall” provides visual and auditory delights for fans of all genres of music.

(Band descriptions courtesy of The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame)

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