Elvis is named in 15 artists for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame final ballot for next year
CDnow, 2002-09-06
- Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen

 

The Police, Patti Smith Group, & Black Sabbath Among Acts On Rock Hall Of Fame's Final Ballot

Sep 6, 2002, 12:50 pm PT

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has named 15 artists to its final ballot for next year.

Leading the 2003 class are the Police, Elvis Costello and the Attractions, ABBA, and the Patti Smith Group, the first two eligible for the first time. Also making the list in its first year of eligibility is Chic. Artists on the list who have been nominated previously are Black Sabbath (six times), Lynyrd Skynyrd (four times), AC/DC (three times), the Dells (twice), and the Sex Pistols (twice).

Rounding out the 15 nominees, who had to release an album by 1978, are the Clash, MC5, Kraftwerk, the Righteous Brothers, and Steve Winwood.

Kraftwerk, considered the sleeper of the bunch -- along with ABBA, Righteous Brothers, Patti Smith Group, and Winwood -- has consistently received several votes by the Hall of Fame nominating committee in the past, but never enough to make the final ballot. Patti Smith has been on the final ballot the past two years and could've been nominated as a solo artist again, but the Hall nominated the entire band this year; Costello was on this year's ballot as a solo artist as well.

The 2003 class marks the 18th year of inductions. The inductees, usually six to eight acts, are announced in December, and the induction will once again take place in New York next spring.

-- Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen