Today the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame took to twitter to announce their annual inductees for the upcoming ceremony (April 8th 2016), see the tweet below:
The wait is over! Meet the #RockHall2016 Inductees: @cheaptrick, @chicagotheband, @_DeepPurple, @SMBofficial + #NWA! pic.twitter.com/50Lg8xnpKt
— Rock Hall (@rock_hall) December 17, 2015
Full list of inductees are: NWA, Cheap Trick, Steve Miller, Chicago and Deep Purple.
NWA are by far and away the youngest group to be put forward this year, with the critically acclaimed hip-hop group having formed in 1986, a good 18 years after progressive rock band Deep Purple had formed (1968).
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website had this to say about NWA:
“N.W.A’s improbable rise from marginalized outsiders to the most controversial and complicated voices of their generation remains one of rock’s most explosive, relevant and challenging tales.”
The five winning inductees came from a widespread shortlist of nominees, including the likes of Janet Jackson, Nine Inch Nails and The Smiths.
Deep Purple are probably the most overdue inductees. The rock band helped define early progressive rock and helped to lay down the tracks for a plethora of metal and rock sub-genres. The fact they remain part of the holy trinity of early English rock along with already inducted Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin.
It was only a matter of time till both Chicago and Cheap Trick got inducted as well; with both being widely critically acclaimed in their respective genres. Especially with Chicago having sold over a 100 million records and Cheap Trick having a day in their home state of Illinois being regarded as ‘Cheap Trick Day’.
If anything it is surprising that Steve Miller has not been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame already! One of music’s most defining characters, in both his solo work and his work with the eponymously titled ‘Steve Miller Band’, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame had this to say on him:
“Miller perfected a psychedelic blues sound that drew on the deepest sources of American roots music and simultaneously articulated a compelling vision of what music – and, indeed, society – could be in the years to come”
For further details on the ceremony and the inductees visit here.
