Pioneering DJ Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five, are among this year's nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - the first rap/hip-hop artists to claim that distinction. Bands are eligible for the honour when their debut album is at least 25 years old (see below for more details). Flash's first album Super Rappin' was released in 1979.
The Sex Pistols, U2, Patti Smith, the O'Jays, Randy Newman, Gram Parsons and The Stooges have all been nominated for induction in the 2005 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The inductees will be announced in November and the induction ceremony will take place in March next year.
About the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:
Artists become eligible for the Rock and Roll Hall of fame 25 years after the release of their first recording. The process of nominating five to seven inductees each year is based on the artists' \"influence and significance to the development and perpetuation of rock and roll.\" Ballots are then sent to about 1,000 performers, rock writers and industry executives, and those nominees who receive the highest number and more than 50% of votes are inducted. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was founded in 1983, and the first induction ceremony was held in 1986. The Hall and Museum opened its doors in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1995.
For more information try; http://www.rockhall.com/