N.W.A, Deep Purple, Cheap Trick Chosen for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has officially announced next year’s inductees: Cheap Trick, Chicago, Deep Purple, N.W.A and Steve Miller will all join the class of 2016. They will be inducted April 8th during a ceremony at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, with tickets on sale to the public in February. HBO will broadcast the show in the spring.
Artists are allowed to enter the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single, though this year, nearly every act has been eligible for some time. N.W.A, who made their fourth appearance on the ballot this year, is the only group to form after the 1970s. “This means that the group’s mark is solidified,” Ice Cube tells Rolling Stone. “We got some of the most creative, talented people in N.W.A that’s ever been compiled in one group. It’s just exciting that the group as a whole gets recognized by the whole industry as Hall of Fame-worthy.” (Read Ice Cube’s full Q&A.)
“When we started N.W.A, I couldn’t have imagined this,” Dr. Dre adds. “I never thought the type of music we were making would receive such a high accolade. I have always done what I love to do, so to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is unreal. I am humbled to be included in such an amazing group of great artists. ”
Cheap Trick guitarist Rick Nielsen is equally excited. “Usually, I’m a man of many words, but this has got me in a tizzy here,” he says. “I’m verklempt … Live at Budokan wasn’t too bad. Getting our first record deal wasn’t too bad. Doing 5,000 shows, not too bad. But this might get moved right to the top of our résumé.” (Read Rick Nielsen’s full Q&A.)
For metal giants Deep Purple, the induction comes after years of passionate lobbying by their loyal fan base. “With so many lineups, it’s a minefield,” says drummer Ian Paice, the only member to serve in every incarnation of the band. “If I was running the Hall of Fame, I wouldn’t have known how to do it…But it looks like we’re in and I’m very pleased.” (Read Ian Paice’s full Q&A here.)
Chicago have been waiting just as long as Deep Purple to enter the Hall of Fame. “Frankly, I was very surprised that we’d been nominated since we’ve been eligible for so long,” says Chicago co-founder/keyboardist Robert Lamm. “I think that the body of work, even just considering the work we did on the first album and beyond, changed the face of pop music for us to be considered influential.” (Read Robert Lamm’s full Q&A here.)
Despite fronting the Steve Miller Band for the past five decades, Steve Miller will walk up to the podium by himself on the evening of the inductions. “Anyone that was ever in the Steve Miller Band will feel that they were definitely part of what made the band,” he says. “Of course I couldn’t have done it without any of them.” (Read Steve Miller’s full Q&A here.)