By Matthew Brooks
Voting for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class of 2020 begins today.
The Doobie Brothers and Soundgarden make their first ballot appearance this week.
Tom Johnston, frontman of the Doobie Brothers says this vote has been a long time coming.
“Our band has definitely been around long enough, made enough noise hit-wise, given a lot of people a lot of pleasure and is still out doing it. I don’t know what else would be required. I think those are the requirements,” Johnston told the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Johnston went on to suggest that an induction into the hall of fame depends on having something more than just music. The induction requires the right people behind the band.
“It really kind of depends on who’s on your team. And without getting into something’s gonna get me in trouble, we didn’t have the team that was required to help you out in that particular venture. We do now and hopefully we’ll get in in the next couple of years,” he said.
In addition to the Doobie Brothers and Soundgarden, the nominees are:
Pat Benatar
Judas Priest
Motorhead (first ballot appearance)
Dave Matthews Band (first ballot appearance)
Depeche Mode
MC5
Nine Inch Nails
Todd Rundgren
T. Rex (first ballot appearance)
Thin Lizzy (first ballot appearance)
Whitney Houston
Kraftwerk
the Notorious B.I.G.
Rufus featuring Chaka Khan
Voting is available on RockHall. Fan votes will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. EST on Jan. 10.
The induction ceremony in Cleveland, Ohio on May 2, 2020