Rush, Deep Purple Among Nominees for Rock&Roll HOF

Deep Purple

UPDATE 3:30P Thursday: Traditionally, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees are determined by the hall's voting body of roughly 600 artists, historians and music industry professionals. But for the first time since its 1986 inaugural ceremony, fans will have a say in the outcome.

A small say, according to USA Today.

Beginning today and through Dec. 5, fans are invited to cast votes for the 2013 class at rockhall.com, hbo.com, cnn.com and rollingstone.com. The top five artists selected by the public will comprise a single ballot to be tallied with membership picks. The five will be culled from this year's slate of 15 diverse artists, announced today.

Original Posting....

Rush and Deep Purple are among the nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's class of 2013, according to Rolling Stone. The list, unveiled late Wednesday night (October 3rd), also includes Albert King, Chic, Donna Summer, Heart, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Kraftwerk, the Marvelettes, the Meters, N.W.A., Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Procul Harum, Public Enemy and Randy Newman. The five acts who get the most votes will be inducted next April 18th at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles.

For the first time, the public will get to vote alongside other artists, music historians and industry insiders. Fans can vote from now until December 5th at RollingStone.com for the nominees they'd like to see inducted.

The top five acts compiled from fans' votes will be submitted on a "fan's ballot" and will count as one of the more than 600 ballots that determine the inductees. The results will be announced in mid-December.

Rush

Rush is nominated for the first time, although they've been eligible since 1998 and fans have been demanding their inclusion for years. The Canadian power trio's career has lasted for nearly 40 years and 20 albums, they still regularly pack arenas and they've influenced generations of heavy and progressive rock bands.

Deep Purple is considered one of the biggest influences on the heavy metal genre, alongside Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Several of the group's albums, like Machine Head and In Rock, are considered masterpieces of the genre, along with songs such as "Smoke On The Water" and "Highway Star." Both Slash and Metallica's Lars Ulrich have lobbied for their induction.