The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees for 2017 have been announced! Classic rock acts Journey, Yes, The Cars, Electric Light Orchestra, Pearl Jam, J. Geils Band, Steppenwolf and The Zombies are all included in this year’s list of 19 nominees.
This is the first time for Journey, Electric Light Orchestra, Pearl Jam and Steppenwolf to find their name on the ballot. Folk singer Joan Baez, alternative rockers Jane’s Addiction, synth-pop greats Depeche Mode, hardcore punk band Bad Brains, and late rapper Tupac Shakur are first timers as well.
For an artist or band to be eligible for induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, they must have released their first single or album at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination. This year, the cutoff is 1991 meaning that Pearl Jam will be nominated in it’s first year of eligibility for their debut album Ten, which was released that year.
Other nominees include proto-punk band MC5, electronic pioneers Kraftwerk, late soul singer Joe Tex, and R&B stars Chic, Chaka Khan and Janet Jackson.
You can vote for your favorites at RockHall.com until 11:59 p.m. on Monday, December 5th. The top five artists chosen by the public will make up a “fans ballot” that will be included with the other ballots. The remaining inductees will be announced in December, determined by a voting body of 800 artists, music historians and music industry insiders.
The 2017 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will be held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY in April and will air on HBO.
The entire list of the 19 nominees are below:
Bad Brains
Chaka Khan
Chic
Depeche Mode
Electric Light Orchestra
J. Geils Band
Jane’s Addiction
Janet Jackson
Joan Baez
Joe Tex
Journey
Kraftwerk
MC5
Pearl Jam
Steppenwolf
The Cars
The Zombies
Tupac Skakur
Yes
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