Bon Jovi, Nina Simone Voted Into Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame

Five acts were chosen to be entered into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the organization announced Wednesday.

2018 ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

Bon Jovi, the Cars, Dire Straits, the Moody Blues, and Nina Simone will be inducted in a ceremony on April 14 in Cleveland. Gospel pioneer Sister Rosetta Tharpe will receive the Award for Early Influence.

The Moody Blues have been eligible for the honor since 1989, and fans are glad the band finally is being recognized by the organization. In 2013, a Rolling Stone poll named the group as one of the top 10 bands most worthy of a spot in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

For an individual or band to be eligible for induction, the act must have released its first commercial recording at lest 25 years ago. Thus the 2018 nominees must have had their first official recording dated no later than 1992. An international voting body of more than 900 artists, music historians, critics, and members of the music industry received ballots and voted for the acts they felt should be added to the HoF. An online fan vote adds one vote to the overall totals of the top five acts.

Bon Jovi topped the fan balloting, receiving 1.16 million votes. The Moody Blues were second in that respect with 947,000 fan votes. Next were Dire Straits and the Cars, and just one fan favorite didn’t make the final cut – Judas Priest, which collected 538,000 fan votes.

Other nominees who will have to wait another year for potential induction are LL Cool J, the Eurythmics, Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Kate Bush, J. Geils Band, MC5, the Meters, Link Wray, Rufus feat. Chaka Khan, Depeche Mode, and the Zombies.