Atlanta, GA 12/15/2010 10:43:20 PM
Alice Cooper, Neil Diamond, Dr. John, Tom Waits and Darlene Love will be inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame.
The annual crop of five musical acts will be added to the US
institution in March 2011 after being voted from a shortlist of acts by
500 music industry insiders.
Artists are eligible to be voted into the Hall Of Fame 25 years after the release of their first recording.
Alice, born Vincent Damon Furnier, told Billboard magazine he wouldn’t
have accepted the induction if it weren’t for his original group, which
split in 1974 after recording seen albums, following which he went on
to have a successful solo career.
He said: “It was the original band that had all the iconic records from
'Love it to Death' on to 'Billion Dollar Babies'. What I did after that
was an aftermath.
“The original band were the guys that had to cut through that big,
thick ice in order to become an entity out there. I can't see how I
could just go up there as an individual."
Neil Diamond started as a songwriter for other artists in the 60s,
before recording his own tracks, including pop classics ‘Sweet
Caroline’ and ’Solitary Man’.
Dr. John is a songwriter who has been recording since 1959 and is most
famous for mixing the distinctive jazz and rhythm and blues styling of
his home city, New Orleans, with other genres including psychedelic
rock. He has been cited as an influence by musicians including Eric
Clapton and Mick Jagger.
Tom Waits is a pianist and singer, famed for his gravelly voice and
experimental approach to music, who achieved widespread underground
success in the 70s, and later commercial success in the 80s with albums
including ‘Rain Dogs’ and
‘Swordfishtrombones’.
Darlene Love is a female vocalist and actress who got her first break
singing with girl group The
Blossoms, who worked
with producer Phil Spector, and her strong voice led to a successful
recording career with hits including ‘He’s a Rebel’ and ‘Da Doo Ron
Ron’.
Artists shortlisted but passed up for induction included The Beastie
Boys, Bon Jovi, Chic, Donovan, the J. Geils Band, LL Cool J, Laura
Nyro, Donna Summer, Joe Tex and Chuck Willis.
