Public Enemy, Donna Summer, Rush, Heart, Albert King and Randy Newman are to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Chosen by a group of around 600 industry voters, the six acts will be honoured at a ceremony in April.
"It made my mom happy, so that's worth it," Rush's Geddy Lee told Rolling Stone. "It's a terrific honour and we'll show up smiling."
It's a big victory for Rush, who have been eligible since 1999. "It took us so long to even get on the ballot," Lee said. "It's something I had absolutely nothing to do with and had no control over." Some of the other inductees have also been waiting for a while: King has been eligible since 1988, Newman, since 1991, and Summer since 2000. Unfortunately, some of the inductions will be posthumous – King, a blues guitarist, died in 1992, and Summer passed away in May.
This year's honourees are a relatively conservative list. Kraftwerk would have been the institution's first all-synthesiser act, and although Public Enemy were mightily controversial in their day, they did not exhort their fans – as NWA did – to kill policemen. Other passed-over acts include Chic, the Meters, Procol Harum and Deep Purple. "To be frank, I am disappointed that Deep Purple is not included in that group," Lee said. "Certainly Heart and Rush would not sound the way we sound without Deep Purple."
The 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame gala will take place at LA's Nokia theatre on 18 April. Besides the performers above, awards will also be presented to producers Quincy Jones and Lou Adler.
