The good, the bad and the ugly of the 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee announcement:

The Good:

• Quincy Jones was finally inducted into the Rock Hall. Whatever history there may or may not have been between Jones and the Rock Hall was set aside to do the right thing.
• Public Enemy getting inducted on the first ballot. It may have seemed like a foregone conclusion, but the Rock Hall sometimes whiffs on these no-brainers.
• Rush getting its first nomination and promptly getting ushered into the Hall of Fame, like they should have been there all along.
• The death of the blackball. Will the inductions of Rush and Jones, and the nomination of Deep Purple, put to rest all of the conspiracy theories about a blacklist?
• No back door inductions. The Rock Hall shouldn’t get credit for not doing something absurd, but we should at least acknowledge that all of the inductees are in their proper categories this year.
• Keeping the induction ceremonies open to the public. Let’s hope this is a permanent change and that New York will get an induction ceremony at Madison Square Garden next year.
• Involving Flea in the induction announcement. It’s a great idea to make a bigger deal out of the Hall of Fame induction process by including enthusiastic Hall of Famers like Flea.
• The predictions. Maybe the Rock Hall is getting a little more predictable, but fellow Rock Hall expert, Tom Lane, nailed all six performer inductees back on October 25th. Amazing. Our predictions are here.

The Bad:

• The snubs. Let’s face it, the Rock Hall could have easily inducted 12 of the 15 nominees. It’s great that the Rock Hall is now inducting six performers instead of the usual five, but the back log of snubbed artists keeps getting longer and longer.
• The ballot rules. Why does the Rock Hall let its Voting Committee only vote for five names when there are going to be six inductees?
• The Rock Hall completely neglected the Early Influence and Musical Excellence categories this year. This is puzzling, since there are still plenty of deserving candidates.
• Speaking of Early Influences, the Rock Hall still hasn’t set up a “Veteran’s Committee” or “Pioneer’s Committee” to properly address the pre-Elvis era. This should be a no-brainer for the Hall of Fame since no one would be opposed to this.
• There likely won’t be a live stream available of the induction ceremony since HBO holds the rights to the edited broadcast. The Rock Hall was ahead of the curve on this back in 2007, but they have given in to their broadcast partners.

The Ugly:

• The comments on the Rock Hall’s Facebook posts.
• The Rock Hall’s handling of the announcement press event. No live video of the announcement? Are you serious?
• Rolling Stone infuriating every other publication by jumping the gun on the announcement embargo.
• The official fan poll. Joel Peresman announced that there were over 500,000 votes from the public, but that only counted as a single ballot among the 600 cast (or is it 500?).
• The 50% “rule.” The Rock Hall still has on its website that inductees are required to appear on at least 50% of the ballots to be inducted. This is demonstrably false.

Like any other year, there are things to criticize about the inductees, but on the whole, this year will be seen as a positive step for the Rock Hall.

Be sure to listen to this segment from NPR where we had the chance to discuss the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominating process.

Performers:

• Heart
• Albert King
• Randy Newman
• Public Enemy
• Rush
• Donna Summer

Non-Performer:

• Lou Adler
• Quincy Jones

Inductees will be honored at the Induction Ceremony in Los Angeles on April 18, 2013. HBO will tape the event and broadcast it on May 18th.

A statement from the late star's family reads: "We are overjoyed the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame has recognized Donna's tremendous musical achievements. Its an honor we know she quietly hoped for and would very much cherish. We are deeply grateful.

”The family cannot fully express the gratitude they feel for the outpouring of love received over the past few months in support of Donna's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame. From fellow recording artists and industry executives to friends and fans from around the world, it will not be forgotten.”

The official Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee announcement will take place at a press event in Los Angeles on December 11th at 2pm EST.

• Public Enemy: A top 50 artist in Rolling Stone’s list of Immortals? That’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer, just like Nirvana will be next year.
• Donna Summer: When the most powerful person in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction process publicly regrets that Summer wasn’t inducted before she died, well, you can be sure she will get in this year.
• Randy Newman: He’s a Tony Award short of the EGOT, he’s obviously an industry pro, and he will fit right in at a Los Angeles induction ceremony.
• Chic: When you have been nominated seven times, it’s not a matter of if you’re getting inducted, it’s a matter of when.
• Rush: This is the seventh year of the Future Rock Legends induction poll, which mimics the voting on the Rock Hall ballot. Every year, the top vote-getter in our poll has been inducted, but we have never felt less confident that the results of our poll have any correlation to the results of the Voting Committee. But our bet is that the Rock Hall won’t give the middle finger to all of the fans by snubbing Rush in the same year they start an official fan poll that Rush absolutely dominated. (Deep Purple is the other overwhelming fan favorite in the polls, but it just doesn’t seem possible both Rush and Purple would be inducted in the same year.)
• Heart: They have been riding a wave of publicity over the past year or so. A Rock Hall induction would be the cherry on top.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is expected to announce the 2013 inductees the week of December 10th.

After over 2250 votes, the top five vote-getters in the Future Rock Legends poll this year were: Rush (on 80% of ballots), Deep Purple (78%), Heart (68%), Public Enemy (43%) and Donna Summer (38%). The rest: Joan Jett & the Blackhearts (34%), Kraftwerk (30%), Albert King (24%), Randy Newman (24%), Procol Harum (23%), N.W.A (17%), The Paul Butterfield Blues Band (15%), The Marvelettes (11%), Chic (10%) and The Meters (6%).

And here are the results from the official Rock Hall fan poll where the top five become an actual ballot: Rush (24.7% of total votes), Deep Purple (16.7%), Heart (12.5%), Joan Jett (8.1%), Albert King (5.6%), Kraftwerk (4.81%), Public Enemy (4.77%), Donna Summer (4.65%), Procol Harum (3.6%), N.W.A (3.4%), Randy Newman (3.36%), Butterfield (2.4%), The Meters (2.2%), The Marvelettes (1.8%) and Chic (1%).

As always, please let me know if I have made any mistakes below.

First, the nominee ballot itself:

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Chic
Deep Purple
Heart
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
Albert King
Kraftwerk
The Marvelettes
The Meters
Randy Newman
N.W.A
Procol Harum
Public Enemy
Rush
Donna Summer

So, let's break up these nominees and examine them based on different criteria, with an emphasis on the criteria people have claimed in the past made a difference about who gets nominated.

First, by subgenre:

1 - blues
1 - blues rock
2 - disco
1 - electronica
1 - hard rock
1 - hard rock/folk rock
1 - hard rock/metal
1 - Motown
1 - New Orleans R&B
2 - prog
2 - rap
1 - singer/songwriter

Next, by members, including birthplaces. Asterisks (*) indicates members that did not appear on an "important" recording. Any members not listed did not appear on a major recording. ??? indicates unknown birthplace:

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - 16 - Paul Butterfield (Chicago, Illinois), Mike Bloomfield (Chicago, Illinois), Sam Lay (Birmingham, Alabama), Jerome Arnold (Chicago, Illinois), Elvin Bishop (Tulsa, Oklahoma), Mark Naftalin (Minneapolis, Minnesota), Billy Davenport (Chicago, Illinois), Bugsy Maugh (Omaha, Nebraska), Phil Wilson (St. Louis, Missouri), Gene Dinwiddie (Louisville, Kentucky), David Sanborn (Tampa, Florida), Keith "Whistlin' Willie" Johnson (???), Buzzy Feiton (Centerpoint, New York), Rod Hicks (Detroit, MI), Steve Medaio (New York, New York), Trevor Lawrence (???)

Chic - 6 - Bernard Edwards (Greenville, North Carolina), Nile Rodgers (New York, New York), Tony Thompson (Queens, New York, New York), Norma Jean Wright (Elyria, Ohio), Luci Martin (New York, New York), Alfa Anderson (New York, New York)

Deep Purple - 10 - Rod Evans (Edinburgh, Scotland), Ritchie Blackmore (Weston-super-Mare, England), Jon Lord (Leicester, England), Nicky Simper (London, England), Ian Paice (Nottingham, England), Ian Gillan (London, England), Roger Glover (Brecon, South Wales), David Coverdale (Saltburn, England), Glenn Hughes (Penkridge, England), *Tommy Bolin (Sioux City, Iowa)

Heart - 10 - Ann Wilson (San Diego, California), Nancy Wilson (San Francisco, California), Roger Fisher (Seattle, Washington), Steve Fossen (???), Michael DeRosier (Lake City, Washington), Howard Leese (Hollywood, California), Mark Andes (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Dennis Carmassi (California), *Fernando Saunders (Detroit, Michigan), *Denny Fongheiser (Alameda, California)

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - 6 - Joan Jett (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Ricky Byrd (Bronx, New York), Gary Ryan (???), Lee Crystal (Brooklyn, New York), Kasim Sulton (Staten Island, New York), Thommy Price (Brooklyn, New York)

Albert King - himself - Indianola, MS.

Kraftwerk - 13 - Ralf Hutter (Krefeld, Germany), Florian Schneider-Esleben (Dusseldorf, Germany), *Klaus Dinger (Scherfede, Germany), *Thomas Lohmann (???), *Andreas Hohmann (???), *Michael Rother (Hamburg, Germany), *Eberhart Kranemann (Wismar, Germany), Klaus Roeder (Stuttgart, Germany), Wolfgang Flur (Frankfurt am Main, Germany), Karl Bartos (Berchtesgaden, Germany), Fritz Hilbert (Amberg, Germany), Henning Schmitz (Dusseldorf, Germany), Stefan Pfaffe (Erfurt, Germany)

The Marvelettes - 5 - Gladys Horton (Inkster, MI), Georgeanna Tillman (Detroit, MI), Wanda Rogers (Inkster, MI), Katherine Anderson (Ann Arbor, MI), Juanita Cowart (Inkster, MI)

The Meters - 7 - Art Neville (New Orleans, LA), Leo Nocentelli (New Orleans, LA), Joseph "Zigaboo" Modeliste (New Orleans, LA), George Porter, Jr. (New Orleans, LA), Cyril Neville (New Orleans, LA), *Russell Batiste (New Orleans, LA), *Brian Stoltz (New Orleans, LA)

Randy Newman – himself – New Orleans, LA

N.W.A - 6 (Ice Cube (Los Angeles, CA), Easy-E (Compton, CA), Dr. Dre (Compton, CA), Yella (Compton, CA), the Arabian Prince (Compton, CA), MC Ren (Los Angeles, CA))

Procol Harum – 13 (Gary Brooker (Hackney, England), Keith Reid (Hertfordshire, England), Matthew Fisher (Croydon, England), Ray Royer (Essex, England), Dave Knights (Islington, England), Bobby Harrison (London, England), Robin Trower (London, England), B.J. Wilson (Edmonton, England), Chris Copping (Middleton, England), Dave Ball (Birmingham, England), Alan Cartwright (London England), Mick Grabham (Sunderland, England), Pete Solley* (London, England)

Public Enemy - 4 (Carlton Ridenhour (aka Chuck D)(Queens, New York, New York), William Drayton, Jr. (aka Flavor Flav)(Roosevelt, NY), Norman Rogers (aka "Terminator X")(New York, New York), William Griffin (aka "Professor Griff")(Roosevelt, NY)

Rush - 4 (Alex Lifeson (Fernie, British Colombia, Canada), Geddy Lee (North York (now Toronto), Ontario, Canada), *John Rutsey (Toronto, Ontario), Neil Peart (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada))

Donna Summer – herself (Boston, Massachusetts)

Next, by previous inductions. Clyde McPhatter was the first person to be inducted more than once into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, as a soloist and as a member of the first incarnation of the Drifters. So, when someone is inducted more than once, we say he has joined the Clyde McPhatter club.  This year, no one is poised to join the Clyde McPhatter Club.

Next, by race:

White: 7
Deep Purple, Heart, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Kraftwerk, Randy Newman, Procol Harum, Rush

Black: 6
Chic, Albert King, The Marvelettes, N.W.A, Public Enemy, Donna Summer*

Mixed:  2
Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Meters**

*Although Donna Summer’s mother is from Nova Scotia, her mother is still black.
**As for the Meters being mixed race, this depends on whether they induct Brian Stoltz or not.

Next, by gender*:

Male: 91

Women: 12.

*These numbers depend on which members are eventually inducted.

Next, by nationality based on place of birth*:

Canada - 4

West Germany, now Germany - 13

United Kingdom – 22
1 – Scotland, 1 – Wales, 20 - England

United States - 64
1 – Alabama, 11 – California, 1 – Florida, 1 – Kentucky, 4 – Illinois, 1 – Oklahoma, 8 – Louisiana, 1 – Massachusetts, 7 – Michigan, 1 – Minnesota, 1 – Mississippi, 1 – Missouri, 1 – Nebraska, 13 – New York, 1 – North Carolina, 1 – Ohio, 2 – Pennsylvania, 2 – Washington

*These numbers depend on which members are eventually inducted.

Next, by the number of top 40 hits on the Billboard 100*, including noteworthy tracks:

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band – None
Other noteworthy tracks - "Born In Chicago", "Driftin' And Driftin'", "Drivin' Wheel", "Double Trouble", "East-West", "Get Out Of My Life, Woman", "I Got My Mojo Working", "Last Hope's Gone", "Love March", "Losin' Hand", "Mary Mary", "Mellow Down Easy", "Shake Your Money-Maker", "Screamin'", "Spoonful", "Thank You Mr. Poobah", "Walkin' Blues", "Walking By Myself" and "Work Song"

Chic - 5 (1977 #6 "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)", 1978 #38 "Everybody Dance", 1978 #1 "Le Freak", 1979 #7 "I Want Your Love", #1979 #1 "Good Times")
Other noteworthy tracks - "At Last I Am Free", "My Feet Keep Dancing", "My Forbidden Lover", "Real People" "Rebels Are We", "Savoir Faire" and "Soup For One"

Deep Purple - 3 (1968 #4 "Hush", 1968 #38 "Kentucky Woman", 1973 #4 "Smoke On The Water"
Other noteworthy tracks - "Anthem", "Black Night", "Burn", "Fireball", "Child In Time", "Hard Road (Wring That Neck)", "Highway Star", "Knocking At Your Back Door", "Lady Double Dealer", "Lalena", "Lazy", "Mandrake Root", "Maybe I'm A Lee", "Mistreated", "Never Before", "Perfect Strangers", "Pictures Of Home", "Soldier Of Fortune", "Space Truckin'", "Speed Demon", "Stormbringer", "Strange Kind Of Woman “and "Woman From Tokyo"

Heart - 20 (1976 #35 "Crazy On You", 1976 #9 "Magic Man", 1978 #24 "Heartless", 1977 #11 "Barracuda", 1978 #15 "Straight On", 1979 #34 "Dog & Butterfly", 1979 #33 "Even It Up", 1980 #9 "Tell It Like It Is", 1982 #33 "This Man Is Mine", 1985 #10 "What About Love?", 1985 #4 "Never", 1986 #1 "These Dreams", 1986 #10 "Nothin' At All", 1987 #1 "Alone", 1987 #7 "Who Will You Run To", 1987/8 #12 "There's The Girl", 1990 #2 "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You", 1990 #23 "I Didn't Want To Need You", 1990 #13 "Stranded", 1993/4 #39 "Will You Be There (In The Morning)"
Other noteworthy tracks - "Bebe Le Strange", "Dreamboat Annie", "If Looks Could Kill", "Kick It Out", "Little Queen", "Magazine", "Mistral Wind", "Silver Wheels", "Wild Child"

Joan Jett & the Blackhearts - 9 (1982 #1 "I Love Rock 'N Roll", 1982 #7 "Crimson And Clover", 1982 #20 "Do You Wanna Touch Me There", 1983 #35 "Fake Friends", 1983 #37 "Everyday People", 1987 #33 "Light Of Day" (as the Barbusters), 1988 #8 "I Hate Myself For Loving You", 1988/9 #19 "Little Liar", 1990 #36 "Dirty Deed" (as Joan Jett)
Other noteworthy songs - "AC/DC", "Cherry Bomb", "Bad Reputation" (as Joan Jett), "I Love You Love Me Love", "Victim Of Circumstance" and "You Don't Know What You've Got" (as Joan Jett)

Albert King – none
Other noteworthy songs - "Angel Of Mercy", "As The Years Go Passing By", "Born Under A Bad Sign", "Breaking Up Somebody's Home", "Cadillac Assembly Line", "Can't You See What You're Doing To Me", "Cold Feet", "Crosscut Saw", "Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong", "Drowning On Dry Land", "Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven", "The Hunter", "I'll Play The Blues For You", "Laundromat Blues", "Let's Have A Natural Ball", "Oh, Pretty Woman", "Personal Manager" and "That's What The Blues Is All About"

Kraftwerk - 1 (1975 #25 "Autobahn")
Other noteworthy tracks - "Antenna", "Boing Boom Tschak", "Computer Love", "Hall Of Mirrors", "Home Computer", "It's More Fun To Compute", "The Man Machine", "Metal On Metal", "The Model", "Musique Non Stop", "Numbers", "Ohm Sweet Ohm", "Pocket Calculator", "Radio-Activity", "The Robots", "Showroom Dummies", "Techno Pop", "Tour De France" and "Trans-Europe Express"

The Marvelettes - 8 (1961 #1 "Please Mr. Postman", 1962 #34 "Twistin' Postman", 1962 #7 "Playboy", 1962 #17 "Beechwood 4-5789", 1964/5 #25 "Too Many Fish In The Sea", 1965 #34 "I'll Keep Holding On", 1966 #7 "Don't Mess With Bill", 1967 #13 "The Hunter Gets Captured By The Game", 1967 #23 "When You're Young And In Love", 1967/8 #17 "My Baby Must Be A Magician")
Other noteworthy songs - "As Long As I Know He's Mine", "Danger Heartbreak Dead Ahead", "Someday, Someway", "Strange I Know". "You're My Remedy" and "Destination: Anywhere"

The Meters - 2 (1969 #34 "Sophisticated Cissy", 1969 #23 "Cissy Strut")
Other noteworthy songs - "Chicken Strut", "Dry Spell", "Ease Back", "Good Old Funky Music", "Handclapping Song", "Here Comes The Meter Man", "Just Kissed My Baby", "Look-Ka Py Py", "A Message From The Meters" and "Same Old Thing"

Randy Newman 1 (1977/8 #2 "Short People")
Other noteworthy songs - "Baltimore", "Every Time It Rains", "God's Song (That's Why I Like Mankind)", "Gone Dead Train", "Have You Seen My Baby?", "If I Didn't Have You", "I Love L.A.", "In Germany Before The War", "I Think It's Gonna Rain Today", "It's Money That I Love", "Let's Burn Down The Cornfield", "Lonely At The Top", "Louisiana 1927", "Mama Told Me Not To Come", "Marie", "My Old Kentucky Home", "Political Science", "Rednecks", "Real Emotional Girl", "Sail Away", "You Can Leave Your Hat On" and "You've Got A Friend In Me"

N.W.A – none
Other noteworthy tracks - "Alwayz Into Somethin'", "Appetite For Destruction", "A B**** Is A B****", "Boyz-n-the Hood", "Chin Check", "Dopeman", "8 Ball", "Express Yourself", "Findum, F***um & Flee", "F*** Tha Police", "Gangsta Gangsta", "N***az 4 Life", "100 Miles And Runnin'", "Real N***az Don't Die", "Something 2 Dance 2", "Straight Outta Compton"

Procol Harum - 3 (1967 #5 "A Whiter Shade Of Pale", 1967 #34 "Hornburg", 1972 #16 "Conquistador" w/Edmonton Symphony Orchestra)
Other noteworthy songs - "As Strong As Sampson", "Grand Hotel", "Kaleidoscope", "Nothing But The Truth", "Nothing That I Didn't Know", "Pandora's Box", "Pilgrims Progress", "Playmate Of The Mouth", "Power Failure", "Repent Walpurgis", "Salad Days (Are Here Again)", "A Salty Dog", "She Wandered Through The Garden Fence", "Shine On Brightly", "Skip Softly (My Moonbeams)", "Whisky Train" and "Wish Me Well"

Public Enemy - 1 (1994 #33 "Give It Up")
Other noteworthy tracks - "Anti-N****r Machine", "Black Steel In The Hour Of Chaos", "Bring Tha Noise", "Brothers Gonna Work It Out", "B Side Wins Again", "Burn Hollywood Burn", "By The Time I Get To Arizona", "Can't Truss It", "Can You Hear Me Now", "Caught, Can I Get A Witness?", "Cold Lampin' With Flavor", "Don't Believe The Hype", "Fight The Power", "Give It Up", "Hazy Shade Of Criminal", "He Got Game", "Louder Than A Bomb", "Miuzi Weighs A Ton", "Night Of The Living Baseheads", "Night Train", "911 Is A Joke", "Party For Your Right To Fight", "Prophets Of Rage", "Public Enemy No. 1", "Rebel Without A Pause", "Sex, Drugs & Violence", "Shut Em Down", "Terminator X Speaks With His Hands", "Terminator X To The Edge Of Panic", "Timebomb", "Welcome To The Terrordome", "Who Stole The Soul?", "Yo! Bum Rush The Show" and "You're Gonna Get Yours"

Rush - 1 (1982 #21 "New World Man")
Other noteworthy tracks - "Anthem", "Bastille Day", "The Big Money", "Closer To The Heart", "Distant Early Warning", "Dreamline", "Far Cry", "Fly By Night", "Force Ten", "Freewill", "Headlong Flight", "La Villa Strangiato", "Limelight", "Red Barcetta", "Red Sector A", "Roll The Bones", "Show Don't Tell", "The Spirit Of Radio", "Stick It Out", "Subdivisions", "Test For Echo", "Time Stand Still", "Tom Sawyer", "The Trees", "Working Man", "Xanadu" and "Yyz”

Donna Summer 20 (1975 #2 "Love To Love You Baby", 1977 #6 "I Feel Love", 1977/8 #37 "I Love You", 1978 #3 "Last Dance", 1978 #1 "MacArthur Park", 1979 #4 "Heaven Knows", 1979 #1 "Hot Stuff", 1979 #1 "Bad Girls", 1979 #2 "Dim All The Lights", 1979 #1 "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)", 1980 #5 "On The Radio", 1980 #36 "Walk Away", 1980 #3 "The Wanderer", 1980/1 #33 "Cold Love", 1981 #40 "Who Do You Think You're Foolin'", 1982 #10 "Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger)", 1982/3 "The Woman In Me", 1983 #3 "She Works Hard For The Money", 1984 #21 "There Goes My Baby", 1989 #7 "This Time I Know It's For Real")
Other noteworthy tracks, "Carry On", "Could It Be Magic", "Dinner With Gershwin", "Fame (The Game)", "I'm A Fire", "I Remember Yesterday", "I Will Go With You (Con Te Partiro)", "Protection", "Spring Affair", "Stamp Your Feet", "State Of Independence", "Sunset People", "Unconditional Love" and "Try Me I Know We Can Make It"

*Billboard Hot 100 chart positions come from Joel Whitburn’s Top Pop Singles

Next, by dead members:
Currently, there are 17 possible*.

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band – 5 (Paul Butterfield, Mike Bloomfield, Billy Davenport, Phil Wilson and Gene Dinwiddie)
Chic -2 (Bernard Edwards, Tony Thompson)
Deep Purple -2 (Jon Lord, Tommy Bolin)
Albert King – himself
Kraftwerk – 1 (Klaus Dinger)
The Marvelettes – 2 (Gladys Horton, Georgeanna Tillman)
N.W.A – 1 (Eazy-E)
Procol Harum – 1 (B.J. Wilson)
Rush – 1 (John Rutsey)
Donna Summer - herself

*These numbers depend on which members are eventually inducted.

Next, by number of years eligible:
An act becomes eligible 25 years after its first national release (in parentheses).

Paul Butterfield Blues Band, 23rd year of eligibility (1965 - "The Paul Butterfield Blues Band")
Chic, 11th year of eligibility (1977 - "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)")
Deep Purple, 20th year of eligibility (1968 - "Shades Of Deep Purple")
Heart, 13th year of eligibility (1975 - "Dreamboat Annie")
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, 8th year of eligibility (1980 - "Joan Jett" (solo only, with the Blackhearts, (1981) "I Love Rock-N-Roll")
Albert King, 45th year of eligibility (1953 - "Be On Your Merry Way"/"Bad Luck Blues")
Kraftwerk, 18th year of eligibility (1970 - "Kraftwerk")
The Marvelettes, 27th year of eligibility (1961 - "Please Mr. Postman"/"So Long Baby")
The Meters, 19th year of eligibility (1969 - "Sophisticated Cissy")
Randy Newman, 20th year of eligibility (1968 - "Randy Newman")
N.W.A, 1st year of eligibility (1987 - "Panic Zone")
Procol Harum, 21st year of eligibility (1967 - "A Whiter Shade Of Pale/Lime Street Blues")
Public Enemy, 1st year of eligibility (1987 - "Rebel Without A Pause" (excludes the regional "Yo! Bum Rush The Show" and its single "Public Enemy #1"))
Rush, 15th year of eligibility (1973 - "Not Fade Away")
Donna Summer, 13th year of eligibility (1975 - "Love To Love You Baby" (excludes 1974's "Lady Of The Night", only released in the Netherlands, as well as any singles released as Donna Gaines))

Next, number of times nominated, including years nominated:
Years reflect the year the nominee ballot came out only and not the year for which a nominee could be inducted if voted in.  For example, a nomination this year would be indicated as “2012” instead of “2013”.

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band – twice, 2005 and 2012
Chic – seven times, 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012
Deep Purple – once, 2012
Heart – twice, 2011 and 2012
Joan Jett & the Blackhearts - twice, 2011 and 2012
Albert King – once, 2012
Kraftwerk – twice, 2002 and 2012
The Marvelettes – once, 2012
The Meters – twice, 1996 and 2012
Randy Newman – twice, 2005 and 2012
N.W.A – once, 2012
Procol Harum – once, 2012
Public Enemy – once, 2012
Rush – once, 2012
Donna Summer  - five times, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012

• 2013: “The definition of ‘rock and roll’ means different things to different people, but as broad as the classifications may be, they all share a common love of the music. This year we again proudly put forth a fantastic array of groups and artists that span the entire genre that is ‘rock and roll’.”
• 2012: “The 2012 Nominees embody the broad scope of what ‘rock and roll’ means. From vocal groups to hip hop, from singer-songwriters to hard rocking artists, this group represents the spirit of what we celebrate at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”
• 2012: “We are pleased to announce this year’s Hall of Fame inductees, who represent the broad spectrum of artists that define rock and roll.”
• 2011: “We believe our nominating committee has put forth a list of artists that truly represent the wide variety of music that defines rock and roll.”
• 2011: “We are pleased to welcome these artists and executives into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. They truly represent the variety of people that have defined and continue to influence music and the business of Rock and Roll.”
• 2010: “We are very happy to present this year’s inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as they represent a great cross-section of artists that define the broad spectrum and history of rock and roll and people that have contributed immeasurably to our business.”
• 2009: “This year’s class of inductees truly represents what the Hall of Fame is all about. From classic artists that began their careers in the 50’s and 60’s to those that have defined the modern sound of rock and roll. These artists demonstrate the rich diversity of rock and roll itself.  We are proud to honor these artists and celebrate their contribution to rock and roll’s place in our culture.”
• 2008: "The 2008 inductees are trailblazers -- all unique and influential in their genres. From poetry to pop, these five acts demonstrate the rich diversity of rock and roll itself. We are proud to honor these artists and celebrate their contribution to rock and roll's place in our culture.”
• 2007: "We couldn’t be more proud to honor this unique, diverse group of rockers, rappers, singers and poets. This is what rock and roll is all about.”

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has never been just for “rock” artists and it’s not going to change its stripes now.

Q: Doesn’t the Rock Hall have any rules for induction?
A: Yes and no. For years now, this is what the Rock Hall claims is the criteria for induction (emphasis ours):

Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Criteria include the influence and significance of the artists’ contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll.

The Foundation’s nominating committee selects nominees each year in the Performer category. Ballots are then sent to an international voting body of more than 600 artists, historians and members of the music industry. Those performers who receive the highest number of votes - and more than 50 percent of the vote - are inducted. The Foundation generally inducts five to seven performers each year.

Seems clear enough, right? The only problem is that the 50% criteria cannot be possibly be enforced when you predetermine the number of inductees.

Q: Why is that?
A: For example, there were 12 nominees for the 2010 inductions and they decided ahead of time there would be five inductees. Mathematically, it’s possible for none of the nominees to receive greater than 50% of the vote. So how can you have a rule requiring a certain percentage of the vote when you’re going to induct exactly five anyway? The 50% rule was meaningless then, and is likely meaningless now.

Q: Why is the rule meaningless now? They haven’t predetermined the number of inductees this year.
A: Take a look at our mock poll, which mimics the Rock Hall’s ballot process. Currently only three artists are polling above 50%. In a year as diverse as this, where there are only a couple of overwhelming favorites to be inducted, it’s very likely there will only be a few artists who appear on the majority of ballots, if any.

Q: So, if no artist gets over 50% of the vote, will the Rock Hall just cancel the induction ceremony?
A: Of course they won’t. HBO has a show to put on. That’s why the 50% rule is completely meaningless and should be removed from their website.

Q: If the only rule the Rock Hall has for induction is meaningless, then what rules do they follow?
A: Um… At this point, the best answer is that there are no rules.

Q: Why did they stop predetermining the number of inductees? That seemed like a reasonable rule if you ignored the 50% requirement.
A: Now that there are no rules to pretend to adhere to, the Rock Hall and HBO can induct as many or as few artists as they want to so they have an acceptable broadcast. For example, if the top five vote-getters turn out to be Procol Harum, Albert King, Donna Summer, The Marvelettes and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, would HBO be happy about an event where so many of the inductees were dead or unknown to a huge part of their audience? And let’s say Rush or N.W.A came in sixth. Isn’t it an easy decision to just go ahead and induct six or seven artists for the benefit of the TV show? Having no rules gives the Rock Hall a lot of flexibility.

Q: Who gets to vote anyway?
A: All 423 living Hall of Famers get a ballot. It’s unknown who the rest of the Voting Committee is, with the exception of a few nice people who go public with their ballots.

Q: But the fans get to vote this year!
A: Indeed they do, but it’s mostly a symbolic gesture from the Rock Hall. The top five vote-getters from the official online poll will be recorded on just one of the 600+ ballots and added to the total.

Q: Are the ballots cast anonymously? Who counts the votes?
A: The ballots are not anonymous. Joel Peresman, the Rock Hall President & CEO, admitted in an interview that they look to see who certain artists voted for, which could influence future nominations. As for who counts the votes, we’re assuming it’s the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation itself. Most award shows use an independent accounting firm to tally the votes to avoid accusations of impropriety.

Q: How many of the 600+ ballots actually get filled out and returned?
A: We don’t know, but would love to find out. We would also like to know the average number of artists voted for on each ballot. You can vote for a maximum of five, but some people vote for fewer than that. Unlike the Baseball Hall of Fame, the Rock Hall has never released any voting statistics.

Q: Didn’t voters used to have to rank their votes in order of preference?
A: Indeed they did, but it was never known why. The Rock Hall dropped that requirement a few years ago.

Q: When will the inductees be announced?
A: Last year, ballots were due December 5th and the inductees were announced on December 7th. As you can see above, this year’s ballots are due December 3rd, so the inductees should be announced shortly thereafter.

The Rock Hall also announced that HBO will be broadcasting the 2013 induction ceremony. HBO and the Rock Hall began their relationship in 2009 with two star-studded 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame fundraising concerts which were held at Madison Square Garden. The show was enough of a success that after Fuse’s broadcast rights expired in 2011, the Rock Hall signed an agreement with HBO to broadcast the 2012 induction ceremony, and now the 2013 broadcast.

One thing in common with all three of the HBO / Rock Hall events so far, is that the concerts have been in large venues, filled with rock fans. There is a very different energy to the induction ceremonies when there are fans screaming, cheering, and booing (sorry, Axl) for the inductees. The broadcasts from the private Waldorf-Astoria events have always seemed awkward on television, especially the performances in front of the (usually) seated tuxedoed crowd. On the other hand, HBO’s broadcasts have captured the electricity of the events, much of which has been provided by the fans. For 2013, it would appear HBO isn’t interested in rocking the boat, preferring to broadcast a rock concert, rather than a dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria.

But why Los Angeles? First, this allows the Rock Hall to tap into West Coast philanthropists that may not make it to New York events. Secondly, there is a rich talent pool to draw from to be in the induction ceremony, as either presenters or performers.

HBO’s first induction ceremony this year was packed with big names as presenters and performers. They took full advantage of six performer inductees, the most since 2004, plus all of the backing groups which were part of a special induction. HBO also benefitted from a young-demographic-friendly slate of inductees, including the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Guns N’ Roses and the Beastie Boys. Green Day even had the unprecedented honor of opening the show with one of their own songs, even though they weren’t being inducted. This all made for great television. It’s unclear how successful the show was ratings-wise, but the ceremony was rebroadcast often throughout the summer.

Assuming the induction ceremony moves back to New York for 2014 (Nirvana!), HBO will likely want use a venue like Radio City Music Hall rather than going back to a hotel ballroom, with significant performance limitations (sets, lighting, cameras, etc.). We’re going to bet that we have seen the last of the old Waldorf, at least as long as HBO is involved.

Things are a little cramped at the Waldorf induction ceremonies

Cleveland’s Public Auditorium is old, but large enough for a professional production.

LA’s Nokia Theatre is a modern venue built for big-time televised events.

* - We’re assuming the Rock Hall will make tickets available to the general public as they did in Cleveland in 2009 and 2012, since the Nokia Theatre has a seating capacity of 7,100, but that hasn’t been announced (Cleveland’s Public Auditorium held roughly 5,000 fans). We’re also assuming tickets won’t be the $50 bargain that they were in Cleveland. For example, ticket prices for the American Music Awards range from $95 to $2200.

** - So what is driving the decision to move the induction ceremony away from its home in New York at the cozy (and invite-only) Waldorf-Astoria? Selling dozens of $30,000 to $100,000 tables at the New York induction ceremony has traditionally been the primary fundraiser for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. With the music industry in the tank, perhaps the money just isn’t there anymore.

*** - The Rock Hall has long relied on selling the TV rights of the induction ceremonies to partners such as VH1 and VH1 Classic (pre-2009), and more recently Fuse (2009-2011) and now HBO (2012-2013). Lately, the Rock Hall hasn’t been interested in broadcasting the Induction Ceremony live on the internet. Let’s hope they reconsider.

• This is one of the strongest ballots in years. All of the nominees are defendable choices and the Nominating Committee deserves credit for finally acknowledging some of its blind spots.
• HBO will be broadcasting the 2013 Induction Ceremony again, this time from Los Angeles. More thoughts on this later, but this is important.
• The Rock Hall is making a symbolic gesture towards the public by allowing the fans to vote for the first time. An online poll is being conducted, and the results will be sent in as the “fans’ ballot” and added to the other 600 ballots. Expect Rush fans to dominate this one (you can see voting percentages here). Credit Eddie Trunk for getting Joel Peresman to consider adding a fan element to the voting. (The Trunk/Peresman interview is a must read.)
• ZOMG! Rush has finally been nominated!
• ZOMG! Deep Purple too!
• Seriously though, Deep Purple has had the highest fan approval on this website for years (currently 94%). This is a long overdue nomination to say the least. Rush have the most vocal fans on the internet, so this will should pacify them for the moment. Having recent inductees such as Slash and Metallica publicly champion Deep Purple and Rush likely had an effect on the Nominating Committee because the NomCom actually does respect the views of other Hall of Famers. That is how you get people nominated.
• As nearly everyone expected, Donna Summer returns to the ballot, this time posthumously.
• Public Enemy and N.W.A were the only names on the ballot of the newly eligible artists. Public Enemy was a lock to be nominated (and likely inducted). N.W.A less so, but certainly worthy of a nomination.
• Heart and Joan Jett & the Blackhearts return to the ballot after seeing their first nomination last year. Both will be fan favorites to be inducted.
• Kraftwerk makes its triumphant return to the ballot in a year where EDM has been in the headlines constantly.
• Randy Newman also returns to the ballot after an 8 year absence. This time though, the induction ceremony is in Los Angeles. It’s not hard to imagine Newman belting out “I Love L.A.” to close out the show. Interesting.
• Albert King’s nomination feels all too reminiscent of the Freddie King debacle from last year. Freddie King was nominated as a performer, but then inducted as an Early Influence, making a mockery of the process. Look for it to happen again.
• Chic is back on the ballot for a seventh time. Is there still a “seven year rule”?
• The Paul Butterfield Blues Band is also nominated a second time, after the public support from Jann Wenner and Paul Shaffer.
• The Meters hadn’t been nominated since 1997, but they are back to compete in a very strong field.
• The Marvelettes of “Please Mr. Postman” fame are up for their first nomination. They were the only artist that wasn’t on the vital “Previously Considered” list, so it’s a surprise to see them jump straight to the ballot.
• Procol Harum are your 1960s rockers this year.
• So what is there to complain about? Well, you can go read the comments on the Rock Hall’s Facebook page if you really want to know. It’s turning into a YouTube-comments-section level of discourse over there. Ugly.
• Following the deaths of Whitney Houston and Davy Jones, many people thought those artists would finally be nominated. Didn’t happen this year.
• So, how did we do in our predictions? We correctly predicted seven out of the fifteen nominees. In the comments section, Casper has the breakdown. Congrats to Greg F. who also predicted seven, the highest we have seen anywhere on the internet.
• Vote in our poll! The votes don’t count, but they are pretty decent predictor of who will actually be inducted in April. Our poll is also the only one out there which provides results in a meaningful way, listed as a percentage of ballots, not total votes.
• The Rock Hall doesn’t list how many inductees there will be this year, but it’s a safe bet there will be more than five, even though voting is restricted to just five names.

Here is the ballot in order by the number of times nominated, including this year (thanks again, Casper):

• Chic - 7 (2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013)
• Donna Summer - 5 (2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013)
• The Paul Butterfield Blues Band - 2 (2006, 2013)
• Heart - 2 (2012, 2013)
• Joan Jett & The BlackHearts - 2 (2012, 2013)
• Kraftwerk - 2 (2002, 2013)
• The Meters - 2 (1997, 2013)
• Randy Newman - 2 (2005, 2013)
• Deep Purple, Public Enemy, Albert King, The Marvelettes, N.W.A., Procol Harum, Rush - 1 (2013)

Much more to come….

We were inspired to delve into this further after reading this recent tweet:

Are you kidding me? Only 4% of the inductees @rock_hall are women??! What can be done about that? #Cleveland

— Folk 'N Great Music(@FolkNGreat) August 26, 2012

Some additional data points:

• Of the 186 performers inducted, 31 include at least one woman (16.7%).
• There are 98 duos and groups that have been inducted in the performer category, accounting for 494 of the inductees. Of these, there are 36 women from 19 groups.
• Of the 88 individuals inducted in the performer category, there are 12 women (13.6%).
• There are no women in the “Clyde McPhatter Club” -- Hall of Famers inducted multiple times.
• In 1986, 1992, 2001, 2003 and 2004, no women were inducted.

It’s difficult to find a similar institution to compare to the Rock Hall. (For example, the Baseball Hall of Fame only has one woman inductee!) Another music industry benchmark might be the Grammy Awards. Their marquee award, Album of the Year, has included a woman 31% of the time (17 out of 54). This issue isn’t exclusive to music. In the U.S., only 5% of the art on display at museums is made by women.

After all of the “Women Who Rock” publicity last year, many of us thought that might inspire a more female-centric 2012 induction ballot. When the finalists were announced, five of the fifteen were women, a relatively high percentage by Rock Hall standards. But after the voting, and when it was all said and done, out of the 69 trophies handed out at the Induction Ceremony in Cleveland this year, just two went to women.

* - We haven’t been able to fully document all of the inducted members of Early Influence groups. This may be where the discrepancy lies between our total number of inductees. The Rock Hall lists 681 and we counted 685. The percentages of women remain largely unaffected either way.

See also: Heart wants to break into the “brotherhood”

You can check in right here for live updates during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday night. There is no official live stream or broadcast of the event. HBO will premiere an edited version of the ceremony on May 5th, but if you can’t wait that long, we will have frequent updates from inside Public Auditorium in Cleveland.

Update: You can see all Future Rock Legends tweets over on Twitter.

Let’s take a close look at what Rose wrote and what he might be trying to say between the lines.

To: The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, Guns N' Roses Fans and Whom It May Concern,

When the nominations for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame were first announced I had mixed emotions but, in an effort to be positive, wanting to make the most of things for the fans and with their enthusiasm, I was honored, excited and hoped that somehow this would be a good thing. Of course I realized as things stood, if Guns N' Roses were to be inducted it'd be somewhat of a complicated or awkward situation.

Since then we've listened to fans, talked with members of the board of the Hall Of Fame, communicated with and read various public comments and jabs from former members of Guns N' Roses, had discussions with the president of the Hall Of Fame, read various press (some legit, some contrived) and read other artists' comments weighing in publicly on Guns and the Hall with their thoughts.

Under the circumstances I feel we've been polite, courteous, and open to an amicable solution in our efforts to work something out. Taking into consideration the history of Guns N' Roses, those who plan to attend along with those the Hall for reasons of their own, have chosen to include in "our" induction (that for the record are decisions I don't agree with, support or feel the Hall has any right to make), and how (albeit no easy task) those involved with the Hall have handled things... no offense meant to anyone but the Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony doesn't appear to be somewhere I'm actually wanted or respected.

Axl has a BIG problem with the fact that the Rock Hall decided, apparently without his input, which members of Guns N’ Roses got inducted. The Rock Hall chose to induct the original five members, plus Matt Sorum and Dizzy Reed. With the exception of Reed, none of those guys are still with the band, and Axl appears to feel his current lineup should be included as well. And why shouldn’t he? All he had to do was look at fellow 2012 inductees, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, to see that new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer is somehow getting inducted after just three years as an official member of the band (under the Trujillo precedent). Axl has worked with a bunch of different people since the mid-nineties, but there are members of the current GNR that he has worked with for over a decade now. The Rock Hall has recently been taking a much more inclusive stance with inductees, so why shouldn’t they be inducted? Oddly enough, the Rock Hall may have been waffling on this issue. They hadn’t publicly released the inducted members list, and only updated the Guns N’ Roses bio on their website this week to make it official. They could have changed their mind without having to backtrack.

Axl may have also had a problem negotiating the performance aspect of the induction ceremony. Don’t forget that when Van Halen was inducted in 2007, the negotiations about the song selection caused David Lee Roth to stay home. Rock Hall president Joel Peresman said this about the incident,“"We made every effort and the decision not to come was solely his, not ours."”Hmm… Expect a similar statement from the Rock Hall about Axl Rose to surface soon.

For the record, I would not begrudge anyone from Guns their accomplishments or recognition for such. Neither I or anyone in my camp has made any requests or demands of the Hall Of Fame. It's their show not mine.

Axl makes it clear here that he wasn’t trying to keep Slash or anyone out of the Hall of Fame.

That said, I won't be attending The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction 2012 Ceremony and I respectfully decline my induction as a member of Guns N' Roses to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

I strongly request that I not be inducted in absentia and please know that no one is authorized nor may anyone be permitted to accept any induction for me or speak on my behalf. Neither former members, label representatives nor the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame should imply whether directly, indirectly or by omission that I am included in any purported induction of "Guns N' Roses”.

Boom. There have been plenty of artists over the years who haven’t shown up to the Induction Ceremony (most infamously, the Sex Pistols), but this is the first time an artist has actually declined the induction. It appears that the Rock Hall is going to ignore Rose’s request and induct him anyway. The glass has already been etched on the Hall of Fame wall in the museum.

This decision is personal. This letter is to help clarify things from my and my camp's perspective. Neither is meant to offend, attack or condemn. Though unfortunately I'm sure there will be those who take offense (God knows how long I'll have to contend with the fallout), I certainly don't intend to disappoint anyone, especially the fans, with this decision. Since the announcement of the nomination we've actively sought out a solution to what, with all things considered, appears to be a no win, at least for me, "damned if I do, damned if I don't" scenario all the way around.

In regard to a reunion of any kind of either the Appetite or Illusion lineups, I've publicly made myself more than clear. Nothing's changed.

Yup, Axl really does hate Slash.

The only reason, at this point, under the circumstances, in my opinion whether under the guise of "for the fans" or whatever justification of the moment, for anyone to continue to ask, suggest or demand a reunion are misguided attempts to distract from our efforts with our current lineup of myself, Dizzy Reed, Tommy Stinson, Frank Ferrer, Richard Fortus, Chris Pitman, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal and DJ Ashba. 

Again, sticking up for his current band.

Izzy came out with us a few times back in '06 and I invited him to join us at our LA Forum show last year. Steven was at our show at the Hard Rock, later in '06 in Las Vegas, where I invited him to our after-party and was rewarded with his subsequent interviews filled with reunion lies. Lesson learned. Duff joined us in 2010 and again in '11 along with his band, Loaded, opening in Seattle and Vancouver. For me, with the exception of Izzy or Duff joining us on stage if they were so inclined somewhere in the future for a song or two, that's enough.

There's a seemingly endless amount of revisionism and fantasies out there for the sake of self-promotion and business opportunities masking the actual realities. Until every single one of those generating from or originating with the earlier lineups has been brought out in the light, there isn't room to consider a conversation let alone a reunion.

Is Axl waiting for an apology? Do Slash and Steven Adler even know what they would be apologizing for at this point?

Maybe if it were you it'd be different. Maybe you'd do it for this reason or that. Peace, whatever. I love our band now. We're there for each other when the going get's rough. We love our fans and work to give them every ounce of energy and heart we can.

So let sleeping dogs lie or lying dogs sleep or whatever. Time to move on. People get divorced. Life doesn't owe you your own personal happy ending especially at another's, or in this case several others', expense.

No, fans aren’t owed anything. But it’s easy to see a giant missed opportunity and wish it were different.

But hey if ya gotta then maybe we can get the "no show, grandstanding, publicity stunt, disrespectful, he doesn't care about the fans" crap out of the way as quickly as we can and let's move on. No one's taking the ball and going home. Don't get it twisted. For more than a decade and a half we've endured the double standards, the greed of this industry and the ever present seemingly limitless supply of wannabes and unscrupulous, irresponsible media types. Not to imply anything in this particular circumstance, but from my perspective in regard to both the Hall and a reunion, the ball's never been in our court.

”It’s not me, it’s you.”

In closing, regardless of this decision and as hard to believe or as ironic as it may seem, I'd like to sincerely thank the board for their nomination and their votes for Guns' induction. More importantly I'd like to thank the fans for being there over the years, making any success we've had possible and for enjoying and supporting Guns N' Roses music.

I wish the Hall a great show, congratulations to all the other artists being inducted and to our fans we look forward to seeing you on tour!!

Sincerely,

Axl Rose

P.S. RIP Armand, Long Live ABC III

Guns N’ Roses fans were indeed hoping for a reunion, even it was extremely unlikely. Even the original five were never going to perform together at the ceremony, it would have been cool to at least see them on stage together to accept their award. Clearly, Axl Rose didn’t see it that way. Hey, it’s his legacy, he can do what he wants with it.

So, how will the Rock Hall handle the sticky situation of a GNR induction now? We know that Green Day will be doing the induction speech, but what about a performance? We don’t see Green Day covering GNR like they did for the Ramones. Our theory is that now that Axl is out of the way, Slash, Duff and Steven Adler can perform with Kid Rock on vocals. (Supposedly, Kid Rock and Axl are on the outs, so maybe Kid Rock won’t mind pissing off his old friend.) What else is Kid Rock going to do at the ceremony if he’s not doing some GNR songs? We’ll all find out on Saturday night.

Future Rock Legends will again be in Cleveland to cover the event live and will be posting updates all weekend and during the induction ceremony on Saturday night to our Twitter feed (also cross-posted on our site here).

If you happen to see anyone with a Future Rock Legends t-shirt, be sure to stop and say hello!

Gym Class Heroes is an “alternative hip hop collective” and McCoy is their MC. So… connecting the dots, does this mean that McCoy is going to be performing for the Beastie Boys at the Induction Ceremony? The Beasties haven’t performed in nearly three years, primarily due to MCA’s battle with salivary gland cancer. Many of us were hoping they would make their comeback by performing at the induction ceremony when they accept their award.

There has been almost no news regarding the Beastie Boys since it was announced they were inducted in December. No confirmation they are attending. No word from the Rock Hall about a performance. All we know is Chuck D will be inducting them.

Hopefully our speculation is misguided, and Travie McCoy will be putting a different spin on old Laura Nyro classics, but we don’t think so.

Update: Uh oh, Gym Class Heroes covered “No Sleep Till Brooklyn” at the 2009 VH1 Hip Hop Honors.

Update 2: It looks like the Roots, LL Cool J and Mix Master Mike will possibly be part of the Beastie Boys tribute as well.

thanks, @CoryStillman

Inductee official accounts:

• @gunsnroses
• @beastieboys
• @donovanofficial
• @ChiliPeppers
• @FacesHQ

• @Slash -- former GNR
• @AxlRose -- GNR
• @DuffMcKagan -- former GNR
• @IzzyStradlin -- former GNR
• @AdlerRocks -- former GNR
• @DizzyReed -- GNR
• @MattSorum -- former GNR
• @gilbyclarke -- former GNR
• @bumblefoot -- GNR
• @DJASHBA -- GNR
• @tommy_stinson -- GNR
• @PerlaFHudson -- Slash’s wife
• @adrock -- Beastie Boy Ad Rock
• @RHCPchad -- RHCP’s Chad Smtih
• @flea333 -- RHCP’s Flea
• @Ian_McLagan -- The Small Faces
• @RealRonnieWood -- The Faces

• @R0bbieR0berts0n -- inducting Matassa, Johns and Dowd
• @MsDarleneLove -- performing at the Museum’s simulcast (possibly the ceremony?)
• @Smokey_Robinson -- inducting the backing groups
• @MrChuckD -- inducting the Beastie Boys
• @johnmellencamp -- inducting Donovan
• @StevieVanZandt -- inducting the Small / Faces
• @BillyFGibbons -- inducting Freddie King
• @Carole_King -- inducting Don Kirshner
• @BetteMidler -- inducting Laura Nyro
• @ChrisRock -- inducting the Red Hot Chili Peppers
• @GreenDay -- inducting Guns N’ Roses
• @yimyames (Jim James) -- performing with Donovan
• @paulshaffer -- Rock Hall Musical Director
• @Willbassboy -- Paul Shaffer’s bassist
• @TravieMcCoy -- performing
• @Questlove -- performing
• @LLCoolJ -- performing
• @KidRock -- performing
• @ChristineOhlman -- performing
• @M1xMasterM1ke -- performing

• @futurerocklgnds -- the best source for Rock Hall news and criticism
• @rock_hall -- the Rock Hall’s official feed
• @johnsoeder -- Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Rock Hall reporter
• @NoExpiration -- Brian Ives will be in the press room during the ceremony
• @jetfan1 -- Tom Lane (Rock Hall expert)
• @cvcjr13 -- Charles Crossley Jr. (Rock Hall expert)
• @GunsNRosesNews
• #RockHall2012 -- semi-official hashtag of the 2012 induction ceremony events
• #RockHall -- often used hashtag
• @PositivelyCleve -- Cleveland Tourism Info
• @Cleveland_Scene -- Cleveland Alt Weekly
• @DiscoverOhio -- OH Tourism Division

Alternatively, if you’re a Google Reader user, you can add any of these twitter accounts to your RSS feed. Liking us on Facebook is an option as well.

Duff McKagan had recently told Rolling Stone that he “doubted” the band would reunite for a performance. Additionally, Paul Shaffer’s twitter account had written to us that, “Guns n Roses will not be performing.” (Shaffer’s reps later tried to backpedal from that statement.)

So, as disappointing that news is, it’s not unexpected. Axl Rose has been holding a grudge against Slash for a long time and apparently he’s unwilling to make amends for the ultimate rock and roll honor.

Guns N’ Roses is the only inductee that still doesn’t have a confirmed presenter. We would guess the Rock Hall is looking for an artist who cannot only honor the band with a speech, but also perform a couple of GNR songs in tribute. It’s tough to come up with any artist who could successfully pull off those classic Guns N’ Roses songs, let alone finding one that can come to Cleveland for the ceremony. We thought there would be a nice bit of symmetry if Van Halen spinoff band, Chickenfoot*, could do the honors, since it was a Guns N’ Roses spinoff band, Velvet Revolver*, who inducted Van Halen into the Rock Hall in 2007. (Chickenfoot’s drummer, Chad Smith, will already be at the ceremony since he is being inducted with the Red Hot Chili Peppers.)

* - Chickenfoot consists of former Van Halen members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony, along with Smith and Joe Satriani. Velvet Revolver included former GNR members Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum.

Here is the lineup (see also our complete list of past inductees and presenters):

• Beastie Boys -- Chuck D from Public Enemy
• Donovan -- John Mellencamp
• The Small Faces / The Faces -- Stevie Van Zandt from the E Street Band
• Red Hot Chili Peppers -- Chris Rock
• Laura Nyro -- Bette Midler
• Freddie King -- Billy Gibbons and Dusty Hill from ZZ Top
• Don Kirshner -- Carole King
• Cosimo Matassa, Tom Dowd, Glyn Johns -- Robbie Robertson from The Band
• The Blue Caps, The Comets, The Crickets, The Famous Flames, The Midnighters and The Miracles -- Smokey Robinson

The one glaring omission from the list of presenters is a choice for Guns N’ Roses. Apparently the Rock Hall is still trying to find an artist who can induct the band and perhaps perform some of their songs, similar to what Velvet Revolver did for Van Halen in 2007, since it seems that the band will not reunite for a performance at the ceremony.

In addition to the names above, Billboard learned that Jim James from My Morning Jacket will perform with Donovan. The Rock Hall’s press release promises more induction ceremony details will be coming soon.

The induction ceremony is being held at Cleveland’s Public Auditorium, a short walk away from the Rock Hall. During the ceremony, the Museum is hosting its annual simulcast of the proceedings, the only place you can watch an unedited version of the event. Darlene Love wrote on her Facebook page that she will be performing at the Museum’s simulcast event, presumably before or after the induction ceremony.

If you’re unable to make it to Cleveland and want to watch the induction ceremony, you’ll have to wait until HBO premieres a 2 1/2 hour version at 9pm on May 5th. There is no official online live stream of the ceremony.

In addition to Josh Klinghoffer, the other Red Hot Chili Peppers being inducted are: current members Anthony Kiedis, Flea (Michael Balzary) and Chad Smith; former guitarists John Frusciante and Hillel Slovak; and former drummers Jack Irons and Cliff Martinez.

Notably absent are former members Dave Navarro and Jack Sherman, each of whom were the featured guitarist on one album.

Although it may seem premature to induct Klinghoffer with the band after having only appeared on one album, it’s quite possible he could be with the band for years to come. In that case, it would be unfortunate if he was not included with the band in the Hall of Fame. It’s probably better for the Rock Hall to err on the side of inducting more people rather than few, although you do risk having extraneous Hall of Famers if things don’t work out. For example, what if the Rock Hall had inducted Van Halen during the brief Gary Cherone era? In hindsight that would have been a bit embarrassing. (No one has ever been kicked out of the Rock Hall.)

For some unknown reason, the Rock Hall continues to treat these decisions as classified information. They still haven’t publicly released which members are being inducted for Guns N’ Roses (Axl, Slash, Izzy, Duff, Adler, Sorum and Reed), RHCP and the Small/Faces (Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Ian McLagan, Kenney Jones, Rod Stewart and Ron Wood). And don’t expect to hear why Dave Navarro wasn’t inducted with the band, even though he spent five years with the band and appeared on a hit album with three hit singles. How much of that decision was the Rock Hall’s, and how much was the band’s? We’ll probably never know. Someone from the Rock Hall should stand up and defend these borderline decisions.

• Blue Caps (Gene Vincent)
• The Comets (Bill Haley)
• The Crickets (Buddy Holly)
• Famous Flames (James Brown)
• Midnighters (Hank Ballard)
• Miracles (Smokey Robinson)

In each of these cases, the backing group failed to get into the Hall of Fame at the same time as their frontman - sometimes causing a great deal of controversy. The Hall of Fame's failure to induct the Miracles along with Smokey Robinson in 1987 caused a particularly large uproar. Hall of Fame rules state that artists are eligible for induction 25 years after their debut release. At the time, Robinson had been a solo artist for only 14 years.

The newly announced honorees were not nominated on the latest Rock Hall ballot. Instead, they were designated by a special committee.

"There was a lot of discussion about this," said committee member Terry Stewart, president and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

"There had always been conversations about why the groups weren't included when the lead singers were inducted," Stewart said.

”Very honestly, nobody could really answer that question -- it was so long ago. . . . We decided we'd sit down as an organization and look at that. This is the result.

"You're looking at some of the lynchpins between rockabilly and vocal-harmony and straight-ahead rock 'n' roll. It speaks to when this music took off. It's a great statement about the early years.”

. . .

As for other groups that were not inducted alongside their frontmen -- Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band, for example -- Stewart said they might have a shot at getting in someday as recipients of the Rock Hall's Award for Musical Excellence.

"The great thing is that the organization recognizes that it needs to look at the process from time to time, and look at the results," Stewart said.

”If there are things that we think need to be modified or changed, then that's what we do."

Congratulations to the members of these groups (and their families) who are finally getting the recognition from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame they deserve. A shout-out also goes to the community members of Future Rock Legends who have been banging the drum on this issue for so long (especially Bill G. and Roy).

More to come...

I'm in the Long Island Rock N Roll Hall of Fame along with Neil Diamond, Barbra Streisand, KISS, Billy Joel, The Rascals and many other legends. That's pretty good company. I should be satisfied with that but like all seasoned musicians... we want it all!

By the time I get in... I'll be an urn on my wife's fireplace. They don't call me the Pete Rose of Rock for nothing.

So to all my fans out there... please make your opinions known for THE MONEY MAN to be inducted into THE ROCK N ROLL HALL OF FAME IN 2013!!

Thanks, Jason.

Shouldn’t you be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?

Yes we should. But as it’s taken so long, I’ve a mind that if it ever comes up, I would probably refuse it. I think it would probably be insulting. That’s my personal view — I’m not speaking for the other guys in the band. But I’ve seen so many nonentities get into it that I’m not sure it’s that hallowed a place anymore.

”Just take our name off the list," Ozzy's statement began. "Save the ink. Forget about us. The nomination is meaningless, because it's not voted on by the fans. It's voted on by the 'supposed' elite of the Industry and the Media, who've never bought an album or concert ticket in their lives, so their vote is totally irrelevant to me.”

He concluded, "Let's face it, Black Sabbath have never been media darlings. We're a people's band and that suits us just fine.”

Uber-Springsteen fan Gary Dell’abate brings up the fact that the E Street Band isn’t in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Bruce. Van Zandt doesn’t personally feel snubbed, but he feels Clarence Clemons, Max Weinberg and the rest of the band deserve to be honored. What Van Zandt fails to mention in the interview is the fact that he is one of the key people responsible for making those Hall of Fame selections! Not only is Van Zandt on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominating Committee, who come up with the ballot each year, he is also one of eight members on the sub-committee which selects the Musical Excellence Award winners each year, the category in which the E Street Band would likely qualify. All of that goes unmentioned by Van Zandt as he tried to defend Howard’s claim that the Hall of Fame is a joke. Van Zandt only said he was a supporter of the Rock Hall.

Listen to the rest of the Rock Hall talk in the next section.

The Rock Hall still hasn’t announced which members of RHCP are going to be inducted, but new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer could possibly be inducted based on the “Trujillo Precedent.” If he is, at age 32, he’ll become the youngest person ever inducted into the Hall of Fame, surpassing Stevie Wonder’s record (age 38).

Motörhead’s Lemmy has always been like the honey badger of rock and roll. He recently spoke to Noisecreep about the Hall of Fame:

Lemmy, there are lots of petitions online to try and get Motörhead into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Do you care about all of that?

Not at all. Have you been there? What a monumental waste of space. The biggest room there is the freaking gift shop. Do you know what I mean? It's all politics, that place. All a load of f---king politics.

• Beastie Boys :: Chuck D
• Donovan :: Jeff Beck
• Guns N’ Roses :: Joe Perry
• Laura Nyro :: Carole King
• Red Hot Chili Peppers :: The Black Keys
• The Small Faces / The Faces :: Keith Richards
• Freddie King :: Eric Clapton

Guns N’ Roses is the only band where the exact members have been confirmed -- the five original members, plus Dizzy Reed and Matt Sorum -- but that didn’t come directly from the Rock Hall.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have a long history of band members, but so far, it’s unclear who is being inducted. There was a recent article where it claimed early drummer Cliff Martinez was being inducted, but again, nothing has come directly from the Rock Hall. The “Robert Trujillo Precedent” would imply that new guitarist Josh Klinghoffer would be inducted with the band, but that hasn’t been confirmed.

Just this week, former Beastie Boys collaborator, DJ Hurricane complained about not being included in the Rock Hall induction. Presumably just the three Beastie Boys are being inducted, but the Rock Hall hasn’t said anything publicly one way or another.

The joint induction of the Small Faces and the Faces contributes roughly a dozen different people who were members of either band. Will they all be inducted?

The Rock Hall should be able to confirm the inductees by the time the induction ceremony rolls around on April 14th.

Let’s take a look at the festival’s past headliners to see if they will prove to be this generation’s Rock and Roll Hall of Famers. (* = already a Hall of Famer - updated in 2021)

• 1999: Beck, Rage Against the Machine, Tool
• 2000: No festival
• 2001: Jane’s Addiction
• 2002: Björk, Oasis
• 2003: Red Hot Chili Peppers*, Beastie Boys*
• 2004: Radiohead*, The Cure*
• 2005: Coldplay, Nine Inch Nails*
• 2006: Depeche Mode*, Tool
• 2007: Björk, Red Hot Chili Peppers*, Rage Against the Machine
• 2008: Jack Johnson, Prince*, Roger Waters*
• 2009: Paul McCartney*, The Killers, The Cure*
• 2010: Jay-Z*, Muse, Gorillaz
• 2011: Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire, Kanye West, The Strokes
• 2012: The Black Keys, Radiohead*, Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg

Update:
• 2013: Blur, Stone Roses, Phoenix, Red Hot Chili Peppers*
• 2014: Outkast, Muse, Arcade Fire
• 2015: AC/DC*, Jack White, Drake
• 2016: LCD Soundsystem, Guns N’ Roses*, Calvin Harris
• 2017: Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Radiohead*
• 2018: The Weeknd, Beyoncé, Eminem
• 2019: Childish Gambino, Tame Impala, Ariana Grande
• 2020: Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott, Frank Ocean (headliners announced, but event canceled)
• 2021: Canceled
• 2022: Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott
• 2023: Frank Ocean

There are definitely other big American festivals which will have a similar record -- Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo come to mind -- that we will analyze soon. (Update: See Lollapalooza)

Bear from Cleveland Rock and Roll took the Hall of Fame to task for botching an opportunity to give something back to their biggest supporters.

I used to think about the administration of the Rock Hall as people with good intentions that at times just didn’t seem to get it and they would always seem to come up with an excuse for a mistake or failure but “we are going to make it better.”

Now I look at the Rock Hall as an organization that treats its membership as cattle.

…[snip]…

Okay Rock Hall, I’m going to give you some free advice. This is how you take care of your membership. This is how you grow. No matter what the event you have, offer the tickets to your membership first. If it sells out before it gets to the general public, oh well. Wow so simple!!!! Also make it that tickets are available in chronological order based on how long you have had your membership. Again so simple!!! If I lost out on something to the people who have been members for 15, 20, 25 years how could I be pissed off at them, they have been supporting the hall for years. They should get the first crack. Again a simple solution that would work. It goes back to my original question “Don’t get it or don’t care”, which one is it?

Cher was on the Late Show with David Letterman over a year ago and Dave asked why Sonny & Cher weren’t in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (the relevant portion starts at 3:55).

It was an awkward exchange, highlighted by Paul Shaffer claiming with a wink that he didn’t know anyone at the Rock Hall, when in fact he has been on the Nominating Committee for years.

It’s common knowledge that nearly all of the questions during talk show interviews are pre-screened with the guest, so it’s interesting that Cher was theoretically willing to discuss the Rock Hall with Dave (and in the presence of Paul Shaffer no less). Her campaigning obviously didn’t work last year, but keep her in mind as a dark horse candidate for the 2013 ballot.

"I don't know," Perry says.  "I'm not a big fan of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It's just a personal thing, not an ego thing. I think that, honestly, Journey doesn't need to be in the Hall of Fame. With everything we accomplished...we've had our Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, you know? It's in the hearts of the people out  there and their experiences and their memories of what we did together and how we all had the time of our lives with the music that we loved to perform and they loved to hear. I really don't want someone to qualify it any more than that.”