NWA, Cheap Trick, Deep Purple for Rock Hall of Fame

NWA, Cheap Trick, Deep Purple, Chicago and Steve Miller will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in Cleveland. They are the first five to be the Class of 2016.

The ceremony on April 8 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn will be filmed by HBO for broadcast in May.

The selection seemingly addresses past criticisms that acts from the ‘70s seem to be overlooked.

It’s the first time that Cheap Trick, Chicago and Miller were up for selection. Chicago won the public vote, with no less than 37.7 million ticks.

Gangsta-rap pioneers NWA who sold 100 million albums were up three times before. But this year are back in the spotlight with their biopic Straight Outta Compton which has made $161 million at the box office. Launching the superstar careers of Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, they are the fifth rap act to enter the Hall, after Grandmaster Flash, Run-DMC, the Beastie Boys and Public Enemy.

“Unexpected, shocking, flawed, revolutionary and worthy,” the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame hailed them. “NWA’s improbable rise from marginalized outsiders to the most controversial and complicated voices of their generation remains one of rock’s most explosive, relevant and challenging tales.”

The actual night would be exciting for fans of each band. given the opportunity for reunions. Deep Purple’s guitarist and co-founder Ritchie Blackmore could well play their signature tune Smoke On The Water with them for the first time since his departure in 1993. But whether the mercurial Blackmore even turns up on the night is something that even his former band mates can only guess at.

After being nominated three times before, the first three Purple lineups with be initiated, including Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Jon Lord, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Rod Evans, Glenn Hughes and David Coverdale.

Chicago could perform again on the night with singer/bassist Peter Cetera for the first time since 1985. They emerged in the late ‘60s with a brass section fusing jazz and rock, with their first album changing the face of rock. Their hits as Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? and 25 Or 6 To 4 had a brass drive although they’re probably best known for the ballad If You Leave Me Now. They had five #1 albums and eleven #1 singles.

Similarly, will Cheap Trick make up with estranged drummer Bun E. Carlos to collaborate on any number of their hits including Dream Police, The Flame and Surrender?

But Steve Miller has made it clear that he’ll be solo on the night despite fronting a band for decades. The 72-year old emerged from Sam Francisco’s psychedelic blues rock scene in the ‘60s and primarily made albums. But he suddenly had hits as The Joker, Fly Like an Eagle, Rock ’N’ Me, Take The Money And Run and Abracadabra.

Not making the cut for 2006 are disco/ R&B pioneers Chic (turned down for a record ten times), Nine Inch Nails, Yes, The Smiths and Janet Jackson.

The acts become eligible for induction 25 years after their first record was released. They are voted for selection by 800 music executives, critics and past winners, with the public also getting a vote.