Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - 2013

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - 2013

The 28th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inducttion Ceremony will be held on April 18, 2013 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angels.  The following musicians will be inducted.

Rush is a Canadian rock band which was formed in 1968 in Toronto, Ontario.  The band consists of Geddy Lee (bassist, keyboardist and lead vocalist), Alex Lifeson (guitarist and backing vocalist), and Neil Peart (drummer, percussionist and lyricist).  Past members are John Rutsey and Jeff Jones.

Rush's music began with blues-inspired heavy metal and then moved on to hard rock, progressive rock and a period of heavy use of synthesizers.

Rush was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in 1994.  They possess 24 gold records and 14 platinum records.

Heart is an American rock band who started in Canada, came to the United States and then went worldwide.  Members include Ann Wilson (lead singer), Nancy Wilson (guitarist), Ben Smith, Craig Bartock, Debbie Shair and Dan Rothchild.

Heart has been known as The Army (1963/1967-1969), White Heart (1969-1972), and Hocus Pocus (1972-1973). Their music is influenced by hard rock, folk rock and heavy metal.

Heart has sold over 30 million records worldwide.  They rank number 57 on VHI's "100 Greates Artists of Hard Rock."

Randy Newman (born November 28, 1943 in Los Angeles, California) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer and pianist.  He is known for his pop songs and for film scores.  

One of his biggest hits is "Short People."  His film scores include Ragtime, Awakenings, The Natural, Leatherheads, James and the Giant Peach, Meet the Parents, Cold Turkey, Seabiscuit, The Princess and the Frog, Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Cars and Toy Story 3.

Newman was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002 and inducted as a Disney Legend. 

Public Enemy is an American hip hop group (also know as PE!) consisting of Chuck D, Flavor Flav, Professor Griff and his S1W group, DJ Lord, and Music director Khari Wynn.  They were formed in 1982 in Long Island, New York.  They are best known for their criticism of the American media and concerns of the African American community.

Public Enemy has been ranked number 44 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.  They were inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2007.

Donna Summer (December 31, 1948 - May 17, 2012) was an American singer and songwriter.  She was a five-time Grammy award winner and has three consecutive albumes reach number on on the Billboard chart.  She began singing in church choir groups and then joined bands influenced by the Motown Sound in the 1960s.  She spent several years in Germany after joining a touring version of the musical Hair.

After returning to the United States, she co-wrote the song "Love to Love You Baby" with Pete Bellotte.  It was released in 1975.  Other disco hits followed, such as "I Feel Love", "MacArthur Park", "Hot Stuff", "Bad Girls" and "No More Tears (Enough is Enough)".

She was posthumously described as the "undisputed queen of the Seventies disco boom."

Albert King (April 25, 1923 - December 21, 1992) was an American blues guitarist and singer.  He was one of the "Four Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with B.B. King, Earl King and Freddie King) and was known as "The Velvet Bulldozer".  King was left-handed, but usually played right-handed guitars flipped over upside-down.  He played his signature Gibson Flying V guitar.

King greatly influenced many rock and roll guitarist, including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Michael Bloomfield and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

His real breakthrough came in 1966 when he recorded such classics as "Crosscut Saw" and "As the Years Go Passing By."  He continuted playing until his death in 1992.