The Rock Hall Class of 2020 was unveiled Wednesday (Jan. 15) morning, with six artists and one behind-the-scenes player joining the storied ranks of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And for many, the list – which includes four first-time nominees – will be fairly surprising. Depeche Mode, the Doobie Brothers, Whitney Houston, Nine Inch Nails, The Notorious B.I.G. and T. Rex will join the Rock Hall at the 35th annual induction ceremony, with Jon Landau (longtime industry manager who guided Bruce Springsteen's career) and Irving Azoff (personal manager of the Eagles since 1974) earning the Ahmet Ertegun Award.
Of the six musical acts entering the Hall, only Depeche Mode and NIN were previously nominated; each gets in on its third try. The rest are first-time nominees, with all but Biggie having been eligible for many years. Dave Matthews Band, despite winning the fan vote, will not see induction in 2020 (the online-centric fan vote is a contributing factor to the final induction lineup).