Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Reveals Class of 2020
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).
Moody synth-pop pioneers Depeche Mode will be represented in the RRHOF by Vince Clarke, Andy Fletcher, Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Alan Wilder; blue-eyed soul rockers The Doobie Brothers will bring Tom Johnston, Patrick Simmons, John McFee, John Hartman, Michael Hossack, Tiran Porter, Keith Knudsen, Jeff "Skunk" Baxter and Michael McDonald into the Hall; and for psych-folk-tinged glam rockers T. Rex, Marc Bolan, Mickey Finn, Steve Currie and Bill Legend enter the Rock Hall. Late East Coast hip-hop icon The Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace), departed pop/R&B vocal GOAT Whitney Houston and Trent Reznor of industrial rock outfit Nine Inch Nails enter the RRHOF as solo individuals.
The Class of 2020 will become official on May 2 at the 35th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Presented by Klipsch Audio, which for the first time ever will be broadcast live on HBO. This year's ceremony takes place at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland. Tickets go on sale Feb. 27 and performers and inductees will be announced at a later date.