Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees listed, fan voting begins

By mbrooks on October 15, 2019
WANTAGH, NY – AUGUST 18: Tom Johnston of The Doobie Brothers performs at Nikon at Jones Beach Theater on August 18, 2012 in Wantagh, New York. (Photo by Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

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

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