Three legendary bands that found fame in the 1970s led the list of inductees as the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced today (Dec. 20) its Class of 2017 inductees. Journey, Yes and Electric Light Orchestra were inducted along with Pearl Jam, Joan Baez and Tupac Shakur.
In addition, Nile Rodgers, an 11-time nominee as a member of Chic, will be inducted in the Musical Excellence category.
The inductees were announced by Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation CEO Joel Peresman live on “Feedback,” Sirius XM’s Volume morning talk-show.
The nominees for 2017 induction were: Bad Brains, Chaka Khan, Chic, Depeche Mode, Electric Light Orchestra, J. Geils Band, Jane’s Addiction, Janet Jackson, Joan Baez, Joe Tex, Journey, Kraftwerk, MC5, Pearl Jam, Steppenwolf, The Cars, The Zombies, Tupac Shakur and Yes.
Related: Handicapping the 2017 nominees
The members of Yes who will officially be inducted into the Rock Hall are current members Steve Howe (guitar) and Alan White (drums), the band’s late bassist and founding member Chris Squire, and former members Jon Anderson (vocals), Bill Bruford (drums), Tony Kaye (keyboards), Rick Wakeman (keyboards) and Trevor Rabin (guitar).
The ELO inductees are Bev Bevan, Jeff Lynne, Richard Tandy and Roy Wood.
The 32nd Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, presented by Klipsch Audio, will take place April 7, 2017 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., for the third time.
A limited number of pre-sale tickets will be available for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame members in advance of the public sale date. To be eligible for the member pre-sale, you must be an active Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member by December 31, 2016. Additional public ticket details and presale offers will be announced in the future.
The ceremony will again have its television premiere on HBO, and a radio broadcast on SiriusXM. Broadcast details will be announced at a later date.
A special exhibition on the 2017 Inductees will open at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland on March 30.
Artists are eligible for inclusion in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 25 years after the release of their first recording. The 2017 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Performer Inductees were chosen by more than 900 voters of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, as well as the aggregate results of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s online fan vote. The top five artists from the fan vote comprised the fans’ ballot that was tallied along with the other ballots to determine the 2017 Inductees. Four of the groups from fans’ ballot (Electric Light Orchestra, Journey, Pearl Jam, and Yes) will be inducted as performers in 2017. The fifth, the Cars, did not make the final cut.
Here are capsule bios of the seven inductees:
Joan Baez: The folk music queen has been active since before anyone knew who Bob Dylan was. A dedicated activist, she is still performing today.
Electric Light Orchestra: With Jeff Lynne at the helm they expanded the sonic palette of rock and created a slew of melodic hits that are still instantly recognizable.
Journey: They began as an offshoot of Santana and evolved into the very definition of arena rock.
Pearl Jam: They came out of the Seattle grunge scene and have persisted as one of rock’s most important post-’90s bands.
Nile Rodgers: As the leader of Chic, he made disco funkier, bringing unforgettable hooks to their songs, which would be sampled by countless other artists.
Tupac Shakur: Easily one of the most important and influential artists in hip-hop.
Yes: One of the progenitors of prog, who made complex composition and arrangements sound accessible.
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