Guitarist Jeff Beck, rappers Run-DMC and metal band Metallica are among the artists that will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year during a ceremony at Cleveland’s historic Public Hall on April 4.
This year’s diverse group of inductees also includes soul singer Bobby Womack, legendary R&B group Little Anthony & the Imperials, rockabilly singer Wanda Jackson, along with session musician Spooner Oldham and Elvis Presley’s drummer D.J. Fontana and bassist Bill Black.
Beck – the legendary guitarist whom Gibson is also honoring with the new Jeff Beck Oxblood Les Paul – joins an elite troupe of HOFs to be recognized twice by the rock Hall. He was also inducted in 1992 as a member of the Yardbirds.
Run-DMC is the second rap group to be chosen for the Hall of Fame. Their selection comes two years after pioneers Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five became the first representatives of the popular genre. If they perform at the induction ceremonies on April 4 – as is customary of inductees – it would mark the group’s first live performance since founding member Jam Master Jay was gunned down in a recording studio in Queens, N.Y., on Oct. 30, 2002.
Metallica, who rose from obscurity in 1981 to become one of the biggest heavy metal bands of all time, joins only a handful of metal bands – including Black Sabbath – that have received the rock hall honor.
Among the nominees that didn’t make this year’s inductee list are the Stooges, and funk acts War and Chic. Artists are eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record.