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Stevie Nicks, Janet Jackson and Def Leppard are nominated for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

This combination photo shows, from left, Todd Rundgren at AOL's BUILD Speaker Series to promote his album "Global" in New York on May 6, 2015, Stevie Nicks at the 2018 MusiCares Person of the Year tribute honoring Fleetwood Mac in New York on Jan. 26, 2018, John Prine in his office in Nashville, Tenn., on June 20, 2017 and Janet Jackson at the 2018 Essence Festival in New Orleans on July 8, 2018, who are among the 15 acts nominated to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Nicks is already in as a member of Fleetwood Mac, but this time will be considered as a solo act. (AP Photo)

By Bethonie Butler | The Washington Post
  | Oct. 9, 2018, 6:15 p.m.

Stevie Nicks, Devo and Def Leppard are among the artists included in this year's list of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nominees, announced Tuesday.

Other possible inductees include Rufus & Chaka Chan, The Cure, Rage Against the Machine, Radiohead and Janet Jackson, who has been nominated twice before and returned to the ballot after being left off last year. Nicks' nomination comes 20 years after Fleetwood Mac, the band that launched her to fame, was inducted into the exclusive group. If she makes the cut for next year, Nicks will become the first woman to be inducted more than once.

But as always, there were some notable names omitted from this year's list, which features artists or groups who released their debut album in 1993 or earlier. There are repeat snubs for Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden, which ranked high among last year's glaring omissions in the wake of frontman Chris Cornell's death. Kate Bush, who landed her first nomination last year, was left off this year's ballot. So was the perpetually snubbed Bjork.

The list’s omission of the Wu-Tang Clan, eligible for the first time this year, also feels like a significant oversight. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has leaned into evolving definitions of rock music in recent years, inducting Public Enemy in 2013, N.W.A. in 2016 and Tupac Shakur — the first solo hip-hop artist to get the honor — in 2017. Ice Cube made a pointed reference to hip-hop’s genre-bending contributions at the 2016 induction ceremony, where he declared that “rock 'n' roll is not an instrument, rock ' n' roll is not even a style of music. Rock 'n' roll is a spirit.”

"It's been going since the blues, jazz, bebop, soul, R&B, rock 'n' roll, heavy metal, punk rock and yes, hip-hop," he added. "And what connects us all is that spirit."

Here is the full list of nominees. First-time nominees are marked with an asterisk.

  • Def Leppard*

  • Devo*

  • Janet Jackson

  • John Prine*

  • Kraftwerk

  • LL Cool J

  • MC5

  • Radiohead

  • Rage Against the Machine

  • Roxy Music*

  • Stevie Nicks*'

  • The Cure

  • Todd Rundgren*

  • Rufus and Chaka Khan

  • The Zombies

A nominating committee picks these nominees, and more than 1,000 artists, historians and music industry members will choose the inductees (typically five), who will be announced in December and honored at a ceremony on March 29. Fans also have the opportunity to contribute to the process by voting for their favorite acts on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website.

By Bethonie Butler | The Washington Post