Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Announces ’14 Inductees

KISS, Linda Ronstadt, Peter Gabriel, Nirvana, Hall & Oates and Cat Stevens have been elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 2014 class. 

Bruce Springsteen's longtime backing group, the E Street Band, will be presented with the Award for Musical Excellence. Former Beatles manager Brian Epstein and original Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham will both receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award for non-performers.

The 2014 inductees were chosen by secret ballots from more than 600 voters consisting of past Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees, musicians, historians, critics and members of the music industry.

This year, one of those ballots went to music fans via a special poll. KISS edged out Nirvana, Yes and Deep Purple for the honor with 17 percent of the vote.

KISS encouraged its fans to votein the poll on its Twitter page. Gene Simmons has said he wouldn't want to perform with original KISS members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss if the band was inducted this year.

Gabriel was inducted into the Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010. Since leaving Genesis in 1975, he's remained one of the most innovative and literate artists in rock music and has incorporated world music influences into his compositions.

Ronstadt, one of the biggest music stars of the '70s, helped reacquaint a generation of music fans with then-forgotten rock and R&B songs from the ’50s and ’60s, and also helped introduce figures like Andrew Gold and Warren Zevon to wider audiences. Earlier this year, she announced that Parkinson's disease had brought an end to her music career.

The 29th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is in April in New York. The festivities are to be broadcast on HBO in May.

Source: Ultimate Classic Rock