Whitney Houston, The Notorious B.I.G. and More to Join Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 2020

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced its latest inductees on Wednesday. Whitney Houston, The Notorious B.I.G., Depeche Mode, the Doobie Brothers, Nine Inch Nails and T. Rex will join the institution’s pantheon of 330 artists at the 35th annual ceremony in Cleveland on May 2.

The class of 2020 inductees acknowledge the achievements of black artists, while nodding to more recent stars from the 1980s and 1990s.

Whitney Houston, who died in 2012, was one of the 20th century’s most commercially successful artists, influencing generations of pop divas. The Notorious B.I.G., killed in 1997, was widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time, and helped turn hip-hop into a cultural force through his vivid storytelling.

Depeche Mode popularized moody synth-pop, while Nine Inch Nails pioneered the dark, angsty sounds of industrial rock.

In the 1970s, the Doobie Brothers combined soul, rock and pop to become one of California’s most popular groups. T. Rex, led by the late Marc Bolan, offered crunchy glam-rock.

To qualify for a nod, artists must have released their first commercial work at least 25 years ago. Ballots to determine final induction voting were sent to approximately 1,000 artists, historians, and other members of the music industry.

In 2019, Janet Jackson, Radiohead, Stevie Nicks, the Cure, Def Leppard, the Zombies, and Roxy Music were inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The 2020 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held on May 2 at Cleveland’s Public Auditorium, where the ceremony will be broadcast live on HBO at 8 p.m. ET.

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