REM And Patti Smith Inducted Into Rock Hall
by Staff | 00.00.0000

R.E.M., Patti Smith, The Ronettes, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and Van Halen are among the artists who will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year.

Patti Smith is best known for her 1975 debut album Horses and the hit single "Because the Night" that she co-wrote with Bruce Springsteen.

Grandmaster Flash is considered one of the founding fathers of hip hop, and was behind '80s classics like "White Lines" and "The Message."

The members of Van Halen to be inducted includes brothers Alex and Eddie Van Halen, David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar.

The ceremony is scheduled for March 12 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan and will include a tribute to Ahmet Ertegun, the co-founder of Atlantic Records, who died last month. Mr. Ertegun was among the founders of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, which is located in Cleveland, and he was inducted in 1987 as a nonperformer.

Artists become eligible 25 years after the release of their first record, and are voted on by a panel of over 600 musicians, journalists and industry professionals. Nominees who did not make the cut this year include The Stooges and Chic.