Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Nominees Announced; List Includes Green Day, Nine Inch Nails, Stevie Ray Vaughan

The nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2015 have been announced and among the 15 music acts included in the list are Bill Withers, dance rock band Nine Inch Nails, punk band Green Day and British group the Smiths.

In order to be eligible for a nomination for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, an act need to have released their first album 25 years ago or in 1989.

Also included in the list of nominees are Sting who fronted the Police, and Velvet Underground founding member Lou Reed, whose bands are already Rock Hall members.

According to Rolling Stone contributing editor Anthony DeCurtis, the nomination of Reed, who died last fall, "acknowledges not just the significnace of his solo career, but the huge influence he exerted on younger generations of artists, which became movingly clear with the outpouring of grief around the world after his death."

Repeat nominees include Chic, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts and Paul Batterfield Blues Band. This year's roster also includes less-traditional nominees such as N.W.A. And Kraftwerk.

The Spinners, Marvelettes, Stevie Ray Vaughan and War are also included in this year's field.

This year's roster "represents a broad, diverse group of artists and demonstrates how rock 'n' roll has evolved over the years," said Joel Peresman, the president and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation.

Rock Hall's voting members who will determine the inductees will include 700 artists, historians and music-industry professionals.

This is the third year fans can vote for their favorite to be inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The act who gets the most number of votes will be announced before the year ends and will be inducted on April 18, 2015 in Cleveland, Ohio.

The public voting is reportedly available via Rollingstone.com and the official Rock Hall website from today until December 9.