Accessibility links

Breaking News

Rock Hall of Fame to Induct Ringo Starr, Lou Reed, Green Day


FILE - Ringo Starr performs "Photograph" at the 56th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, Jan. 26, 2014.
FILE - Ringo Starr performs "Photograph" at the 56th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, Jan. 26, 2014.

Former Beatle Ringo Starr, punk rock band Green Day and the late singer-songwriter Lou Reed are among the musical performers selected as 2015 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The institution in the Midwestern city of Cleveland, Ohio, announced the honors Tuesday and will make the move official at a ceremony on April 18.

Starr joins his three bandmates in being honored as a solo artist, after they were inducted together as the Beatles in 1988.

Reed, who died in 2013, performed solo and with the Velvet Underground.

Also receiving the honor in 2015 are singer Bill Withers, best known for his song "Ain't No Sunshine," Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, famous for their hit "I Love Rock 'n' Roll," and the late blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan and his band, Double Trouble. Rounding out the group of eight are the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and the rhythm and blues group The "5" Royales.

Artists are eligible for the Hall of Fame 25 years after their first recording’s release.

More than 700 artists, historians and music industry professionals help choose the inductees from a group of nominees. The Rock Hall also allows members of the public to cast votes online, forming a "fans' ballot" that is tallied as one vote along with the other ballots.

  • 16x9 Image

    VOA News

    The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports.

XS
SM
MD
LG