Here is a list of the exclusive group of musician/performers who were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in their very first year of eligibility.

If the nomination and voting process is fair, this list should include the “no-brainer” selections that almost all of us could agree deserve to be in the Hall of Fame, even before discussing criteria. This should be the list of the best of the best in Rock & Roll since its inception. Let’s see how they’ve done.

Class of 1986 [First recording in 1960 or earlier]
01-Chuck Berry
02-James Brown
03-Ray Charles
04-Sam Cooke
05-Fats Domino
06-The Everly Brothers
07-Buddy Holly
08-Jerry Lee Lewis
09-Elvis Presley
10-Little Richard

Class of 1987 [First recording in 1961]
11-Aretha Franklin (May have been eligible in the first class?)
12-Marvin Gaye
13-Roy Orbison
14-Smokey Robinson

Class of 1988 [First recording in 1962]
15-The Beach Boys
16-The Beatles
17-Bob Dylan
18-The Supremes (Had singles released earlier, not sure if they counted.)

Class of 1989 [First recording in 1963]
19-Otis Redding
20-The Rolling Stones
21-The Temptations
22-Stevie Wonder

Class of 1990 [First recording in 1964]
23-The Four Tops (Had singles released earlier, not sure if they counted.)
24-The Kinks
25-Simon and Garfunkel
26-The Who

Class of 1991 [First recording in 1965]
27-The Byrds

Class of 1992 [First recording in 1966]
28-Jimi Hendrix

Class of 1993 [First recording in 1967]
29-Creedence Clearwater Revival
30-The Doors
31-Van Morrison
32-Sly and the Family Stone

Class of 1994 [First recording in 1968]
33-The Band (Robbie Robertson is on the nominating committee, isn’t he?)
34-Elton John
35-John Lennon
36-Bob Marley (Had singles released earlier, not sure if they counted.)
37-Rod Stewart

Class of 1995 [First recording in 1969]
38-The Allman Brothers Band
39-Janis Joplin
40-Led Zeppelin
41-Neil Young

Class of 1996 [First recording in 1970]
[None]

Class of 1997 [First recording in 1971]
[None]

Class of 1998 [First recording in 1972]
42-The Eagles

Class of 1999 [First recording in 1973]
43-Bruce Springsteen

Class of 2000 [First recording in 1974]
[None]

Class of 2001 [First recording in 1975]
[None]

Class of 2002 [First recording in 1976]
44-Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
45-Ramones (Joey died the year the voting took place.)
46-Talking Heads

Class of 2003 [First recording in 1977]
47-The Clash
48-Elvis Costello & the Attractions
49-The Police

Class of 2004 [First recording in 1978]
50-Prince

I think that’s an excellent list, but they lost some credibility back when they missed inducting the following artists in their first year of eligibility:

01-Joni Mitchell [Should have been in Class of 1994, not 1997]
02-David Bowie [Should have been in Class of 1993, not 1996]
03-Frank Zappa [Should have been in Class of 1992, not 1995]
04-Parliament/Funkadelic [Should have been in Class of 1996, not 1997]

How long it took Prince’s class of 2004 to be inducted:

Prince – 1st year of eligibility
Jackson Browne – 7th year of eligibility
ZZ Top – 9th year of eligibility
George Harrison - 11th year of eligibility
Bob Seger – 11th Year of eligibility
Traffic – 12th year of eligibility
The Dells – 19th year of eligibility

respect!

wotabout the SEX PISTOLS !...not fair !

Nice to see ya, Brendan!

Brendan said:

wow I didnt realize he was the only one this year coming in as a first timer. makes the accomplishment even that much more special.

oh, and HI Brendan

All this about first year of eligibility etc. And the press is all over Jackson Browne. I take ZZ Top over that dork. He ain't done shit!!!

garnis said:

I’ve scanned through dozens of headlines of R&R Hall articles appearing throughout the world and George Harrison and Prince are overwhelmingly being featured as the anchors of the class.

--

Here is a quote that I ran across that I hadn’t seen yet:

"It's not a surprise; he deserves it," said Twin Cities producer Bobby Z, Prince's drummer from 1978 to 1988. "From the first day I met him in '75 or '76, I could see it immediately: He had a magical gift. One in a billion ! Just oozing talent."

danielboon said:

yeah, i was hopin they'd be in, too...

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

They'll make it in eventually, no doubt.

They had too much influence to ignore. But I don't think it's that unfair to have them wait a couple years, after all, they only had one truly incredible record. Of course that record is one of the greatest, most influential of all time, but it's still just one record.

Supernova said:

Back at you, Super Duper Baby Nova.

NuPwrSoul said:

Always a distinct pleasure, NuPwr.

I'm not real excited about the inductees this year other than Prince. There are several artists I would rather see up there with him this year like Blondie, The Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop and what about Donna Summer? Was she ever inducted?

Kraftwerk, Joy Division and The Cure should be due for their soon too, but I can see all 3 being overlooked for years.

TRON said:

Basically the "Disco" genre still carries the same stigma it did 25 years ago at its peak. But if any group or artist coming from that era gets in, and they will eventually, it should be CHIC first simply for being the most influential.

Van Halen released their self-titled debut in 1978. Why the hell aren't they in this year?