Green Day and Lou Reed are among the eight acts to join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at its next induction ceremony on 18 April 2015.
The proto-punk and the pop punks will be joined by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble and Bill Withers, with two additional inductees – Ringo Starr in the “award for musical excellence” category and the “5” Royales in the “early influence” category.
Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after the release of their first record. Nominees are chosen by a committee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame foundation, and the nominations are then voted on by more than 600 international artists, historians and music industry figures, with fans allowed a say via Rolling Stone magazine.
Green Day have been granted the honour in their first year of eligibility, which may reflect career album sales of around 75m. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts had both been nominated twice before – in 2012 and 2013, and 2000 and 2001 respectively. The other inductees are first time nominees, though Starr, of course, is already in the Hall of Fame as a member of the Beatles.
“It just took some time to sink in,” Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong told Rolling Stone. “We’re in incredible company and I’m still trying to make sense of this. It’s just incredible.”
Among the 2015 nominees passed over for induction are NWA, the Smiths, Sting, Kraftwerk and Chic.
