The Notorious B.I.G., Whitney Houston, Nine Inch Nails, And More Are 2020's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Inductees

This year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2020 class of inductees is here and, it's quite the doozy. It's the class of rap, rock, and R&B, with just a sprinkle of electronic music. And yes it feels special. The Notorious B.I.G., widely celebrated as one of the biggest rappers of all time, Nine Inch Nails; the legendary industrial rockers led by Trent Reznor; and Whitney Houston, one of soul music's most revered singers; lead the impressive and varied class.


The Rock Hall is also set to welcome fabled English electronic musical group Depeche Mode, the long-running rock order the Doobie Brothers (that have been mobile for nearly five decades), and glam rock frontrunners T. Rex. Everyone's set to be inducted at the ceremony on May 2 in Cleveland.


The Notorious B.I.G.'S induction comes immediately after being nominated in his first year of eligibility. For Houston, the Doobie Brothers, and T. Rex, this class was the opening that they were imagined for. And for both Nine Inch Nails and Depeche Mode, they've been nominated more than once.


Reznor of Nine Inch Nails expressed how happy he was in a statement: "A straightforward thank you goes out to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame voting body — it habitually feels wonderful to be recognized for your artsy efforts and I am honored. Several congratulations to this year's fellow inductees (DM finally!) — Visualize you back in Cleveland where it all started for me!"


Guitarist Patrick Simmons of the Doobie Brothers also expressed both shock and humility at the induction. "I was really happy about it," he revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone. "It's something that we've been thinking about for a long time. That's sort of one of the things you routinely hope will happen, especially with a musical group like ours that has been around this long."


This year's other nominees who didn't make induction were Motörhead, Dave Matthews Band, Judas Priest, Soundgarden, Kraftwerk, MC5, Thin Lizzy, Rufus with Chaka Khan, Pat Benatar, and Todd Rundgren. Aaliyah, Daft Punk and Weezer were eligible yet weren't nominated.


Last year's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class was made up of Janet Jackson, The Cure, Radiohead, Roxy Music, Def Leppard, The Zombies, and Stevie Nicks.