Queen, Aerosmith, Valens to Enter Rock Hall

ByABC News
December 12, 2000, 7:39 PM

December 12 -- Classic rockers Aerosmith, Steely Dan, and Queen made it in, along with heavily lobbied candidates Ritchie Valens and Johnnie Johnson but Patti Smith, Lou Reed, and Black Sabbath were spurned by voters choosing the 16th round of inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

During a live broadcast today on VH1, Rolling Stone founder and publisher Jann Wenner also announced repeat inductions for Michael Jackson who made it in 1997 with the Jackson 5 and Paul Simon previously honored with ex-partner Art Garfunkel in 1990. Also to be inducted: R&B great Solomon Burke, doo-wop pioneers the Flamingos, and James Burton, who, with Johnson, will be inducted in the Sidemen category.

Island Records founder Chris Blackwell who exposed the world to Bob Marley and helped build the careers of U2, Steve Winwood, and Melissa Etheridge will be inducted in the Nonperformer category. No one was chosen in the Early Influence category, which, like the Sidemen category, is decided by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation executive committee and not by voters.

Established last year, the Sidemen category honors unsung musicians who helped shape the sounds of their more famous bandleaders. Burton was Elvis Presley's guitarist, and Johnson Chuck Berry's pianist was the subject of "Johnny B. Goode."

The category was created after such artists as Keith Richards and Bonnie Raitt lobbied to get Johnson into the Hall of Fame, which didn't recognize players not formally credited as band members. Johnson is considered the architect of Berry's sound and the likely co-author of most of Berry's music. Ironically, he was not among the category's first five honorees inducted in March. He also recently filed a lawsuit against Berry, seeking songwriting credits and royalties.

Other artists not chosen from among 16 nominees were Bob Seger, AC/DC, Brenda Lee, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and the New York Dolls. Several were previously eligible and previously nominated. Aerosmith, Queen, Lee, Reed, and Lynyrd Skynyrd each had one prior nomination; Steely Dan and Valens each had two; Black Sabbath had three; the Flamingos, four; and Burke, eight.