Does anybody really know what time it is? Well, it’s finally time for Chicago, Cheap Trick, N.W.A., Deep Purple and Steve Miller to join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The Rock Hall in Cleveland announced the 2016 class this morning, and they join the 312 inductees. The ceremony will take place on April 8 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where last year’s ceremony also took place. HBO will broadcast the ceremony at a later date and tickets go on sale in February.
By inducting Chicago, Cheap Trick, Deep Purple and Steve Miller, the Rock Hall is finally beginning to open its doors to performers who might not have been popular with critics, but are beloved by their fans. According to Billboard, Chicago was the winner of the public vote with 37.7 million nominations.
The first lineups of Chicago and Cheap Trick will be inducted, while Deep Purple’s first three lineups will be included. It looks like Steve Miller is being inducted by himself, even though most of his albums carry the credit “Steve Miller Band.” He never really had a consistent core group, as the lineup often changed from album to album.
As for N.W.A., the induction couldn’t have come at a better time. The legendary rap group - which included Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, Eazy-E, MC Ren and DJ Yella - was the subject of the Universal blockbuster Straight Outta Compton. The film was just named among the year’s 10 best films by the American Film Institute.