This year’s class of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees is wildly diverse, with English singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel, Nirvana, Linda Ronstadt, British singer-songwriter Cat Stevens, The E Street Band, Beatles manager Brian Epstein, and Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham all in the bunch.
Other 2014 inductees include KISS, one of the top-grossing touring acts ever, and Daryl Hall & John Oates, the top-selling duo in music history who have been eligible for induction since 1997, but despite the pair’s six No. 1 singles, including “Rich Girl” and “Kiss on My List,” and six consecutive multiplatinum albums in the ’70s and ’80s, they never managed to make an appearance on the nomination ballot for induction.
“That’s the beauty of the nominating committee,” said Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation chief executive Joel Peresman. “We don’t induct based on how many records or how many tickets they’ve sold. We look at their influence.” Peresman says it wasn’t commercial success that landed this year’s inductees a place in the museum. It was their music.
The 2014 Hall of Fame induction will take place at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center tonight. This year’s ceremony will mark the first time the ceremonies will be open to the public in New York.
