Mark Andes (bass) and Dennis Carmassi (drums) were members of Heart from 1982 through 1993, during the band’s renaissance period when they had a string of hit singles. When the Rock Hall inducted Heart last year, they chose to only recognize the original 1970s lineup, so Andes and Carmassi were not inducted.

Andes and Carmassi claim that although Heart's most public members, Ann and Nancy Wilson, asked the [Rock Hall] foundation to correct its mistake and include the two members in the 2013 induction, it refused without giving a reason. The Hall of Fame, however, proceeded to use images and videos of Andes and Carmassi and the songs they performed to promote Heart’s induction, the pair says.

When their fans around the world congratulated the two after seeing their images and songs used by the Hall of Fame, Andes and Carmassi say they were humiliated by having to inform their fans and peers that they were inexplicably not chosen for induction.

The pair is not asking the Hall of Fame to induct them but is suing it for portraying them in a false light, misappropriating their name and likeness, and for defamation.

“Defendants knowingly and maliciously communicated to the public by implication that plaintiffs were not valuable members of the band Heart when it failed to induct them, but concomitantly used plaintiffs' images and song performances to promote the band's nomination and induction,” the complaint said.

Andes and Carmassi say they wrote a letter to the Hall of Fame in January 2013, asking why they were excluded and pointed out that its biography for Heart extensively references Heart's success in the 1980s, including its four Grammy nominations, to which they contributed heavily.

The Hall of Fame's CEO [Joel Peresman] responded the following day, defending the decision and ignoring the fact that the Hall of Fame was using the band's success with Andes and Carmassi, the artists say.

The pair has also brought additional counts of injurious falsehood and equitable relief.

The duo is seeking compensatory damages for all losses, treble damages on all trademark claims, punitive damages and exemplary damages.

The issue of which band members get inducted into the Hall of Fame has been an ongoing source of controversy for the institution. The 2014 inductions cast a bright light on the issue when the Rock Hall decided that only the original members of Kiss were being honored, which led to the band opting not to perform at the ceremony. In response to the 2014 controversy, Joel Peresman told USA Today that the Rock Hall will change when they announce which members are being included.

"Going forward, we'll be more clear-cut from the beginning and more public about who's being inducted," Peresman says. "(The next time) we announce the nominees, we'll make sure to say, 'Here are the people being nominated.' “

The lawyer for Mark Andes in both cases is Francis Malofiy of Francis Alexander LLC.

The only place you eventually may be able to see the entire ceremony without actually being there is at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Library & Archives in Cleveland.

Follow us on Twitter (or just bookmark this page to see the feed) and we’ll be sure to post any clips from YouTube that are sure to show up the day after the ceremony.

For Rush, obviously Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart are being honored. John Rutsey, who was the drummer on Rush’s debut album, is not being inducted.

Only the original 70’s era members of Heart are getting in, despite the band’s continued success in the ensuing decades with other members. The inductees are Ann Wilson, Nancy Wilson, Roger Fisher, Steve Fossen, Howard Leese and Michael DeRosier.

Only four members of first ballot Hall of Famers Public Enemy are being inducted -- Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Professor Griff and Terminator X. The Bomb Squad, the influential production team behind PE’s sound, are not included, nor is current and longtime member, DJ Lord.

Deciding which members of Hall of Fame groups to induct is often a sensitive and complicated issue, especially for bands that have been around for decades with multiple lineup changes. The Rock Hall doesn’t publish any criteria for how they determine which members to induct, likely because it gets handled on a case by case basis (for example, see 2012 for all sorts of strange contradictions).

Public Enemy has a full schedule of events booked in the days leading up to the induction ceremony. No word on whether there will be any changes due to Flavor Flav’s legal issues.

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

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….