Nine first-time nominees — including the long-awaited Moody Blues, Dire Straits and Judas Priest — are on the ballot for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s class of 2018, joined by returnees Bon Jovi, the Cars, the J. Geils Band, the MC5, the Meters, Link Wray and the Zombies.
Those acts are joined by other first-timers Radiohead, Rage Against The Machine, Eurythmics, Kate Bush, Nina Simone and Sister Rosetta Sharpe, while Depeche Mode, LL Cool J and Rufus featuring Chaka Khan are making another bid to be part of the Rock Hall.
More than 900 artists, journalists, historians and other members of the music industry will vote for the inductees, while a public vote to create a single “fans’ ballot” begins today (October 5) at RockHall.com., with voting running through December 5.
The inductees will be announced later that month. The 2018 induction ceremony takes place April 14 at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland and filmed by HBO for subsequent broadcast. More details about the ceremony will be announced later.
Gary Graff is an award-winning music journalist who not only covers music but has written books on Bob Seger, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen.
