(The Verge)- The 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees have been announced, and some of the big names on the list include Rush, Heart, Randy Newman, and Public Enemy. The induction ceremony will take place on April 18 at the Nokia Theater in Los Angles and will air on HBO at a later date.
Among the list, Rush and Heart have been considered by fans to be long overdue in their Hall of Fame inductions. Rolling Stone Magazine’s website held a poll where fans could vote for who they wanted to see inducted, with Rush leading by 24%. Rush has been eligible for induction since 1999, 25 years after the release of their debut self-titled album. Heart, meanwhile, has been eligible since 2001.
Here is a statement from Rush bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee in an interview with Rolling Stone regarding the band’s induction:
“It’s a terrific honor and we’ll show up smiling. It made my mom happy, so that’s worth it.”
Heart, led by sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, were also interviewed by Rolling Stone about their induction. Lead vocalist Ann Wilson initially did not believe the news when she received it, explaining:
“I wasn’t quite sure this was real when I got the news. We’ve just had this long running joke about it for so many years. But I got the text while I was at the airport and it took a little while to sink in.”
Sadly, one of the bands that was nominated for the 2013 Hall of Fame but will not be inducted is Deep Purple. For those of you who don’t know, Deep Purple is the band that wrote a little song called “Smoke on the Water.” Former keyboardist, Jon Lord, passed away earlier this year after battling cancer, which may have been influential in the band’s nomination in the first place. Geddy Lee even expressed his disappointment in the band’s lack of inclusion during the Rolling Stone interview:
“To be frank, I am disappointed that Deep Purple is not included in that group. Certainly Heart and Rush would not sound the way we sound without Deep Purple.”
While it is a shame that fans will have to wait longer to see the band inducted, it is still exciting to see the bands that were inducted will receive the recognition they deserve. Who would you like to see inducted into the Hall of Fame in the future?
