The 2015 nominee list for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has been announced, and there are a wide variety of artists up for induction next year. 15 acts have been revealed as candidates for induction into the Hall of Fame: N.W.A., Green Day, Nine Inch Nails, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Lou Reed; The Smiths; The Spinners, Sting, Chic, Kraftwerk, The Marvelettes, Bill Withers, War, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.
Chic has been nominated several times, but has yet to be inducted; while this marks Sting’s first year of being nominated as a solo artist. If inducted, N.W.A. would join other seminal rap acts like Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, Run-D.M.C. and Public Enemy in the Rock Hall.
Artists are eligible for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25 years after their first release. Fans have been included in the voting process for the past three years.
“[These artists] represent the myriad places where rock ‘n’ roll converges with blues, electronic, dance, Motown, R&B, funk and other genres,” Joel Peresman, the head of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said via statement. “Rock ‘n’ roll incorporates the styles of so many different kinds of music and that’s what makes this group of nominees — and this art form — so powerful and unique.”
