Bon Jovi, Judas Priest and 17 More Announced as 2018 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees
Dire Straits, the Moody Blues, the Zombies, Eurythmics, the Cars and the J. Geils Band are among the artists nominated for the 2018 class of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announced the nominees this morning. An unspecified number of these acts will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next spring. The final list of inductees will be released in December.
Bon Jovi, Kate Bush, the Cars, Depeche Mode, Dire Straits, Eurythmics, J. Geils Band, Judas Priest, LL Cool J, MC5, The Meters, Moody Blues, Rage Against the Machine, Radiohead, Rufus Featuring Chaka Khan, Nina Simone, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Link Wray and the Zombies comprise the full list of 2018 nominees.
This is the first year of eligibility for Radiohead and Rage Against the Machine, but they share first-time nominations with seven other acts who have long been eligible: Eurythmics, Dire Straits, Judas Priest, Kate Bush, the Moody Blues, Nina Simone and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
Eligibility requires that an artist released their first commercial recording at least 25 years prior to induction, meaning the 2018 nominees' first releases must have come no later than 1992. Artists like the Zombies, the Cars, the Moody Blues and Bon Jovi -- whose frontman Jon Bon Jovi claims personal relationships have prevented their induction in the past, despite an earlier nomination -- have been longtime fan favorites.
Ballots will next be sent to a voting body of more than 900 artists, historians and members of the music industry, who will vote on the nominees based on the influence they exacted on other artists; the length and depth of their career; and body of work, innovation and superiority in style and technique, according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Fans, too, will have an opportunity to participate in the selection process, between Oct. 5 and Dec. 5, during which they can visit rockhall.com/vote to select the most deserving artists. Voting requires a Facebook login, and there is a limit of one ballot per day. The public's top five artists will make up a fan ballot and tallied along with the other ballots.
The inductees will be announced in December.