By MESFIN FEKADU
AP Music Writer
NEW YORK
Nirvana, Kiss and Peter Gabriel will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year.
The Rock Hall announced Tuesday that Hall and Oates, Linda Ronstadt and Cat Stevens also will be inducted April 10 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Artists are eligible for induction 25 years after their first release. Nirvana received a nomination in its first year of eligibility and next year the band will celebrate the 25th anniversary of its debut, “Bleach.” The induction comes 20 years after frontman Kurt Cobain committed suicide at age 27.
This year also marked first-time nominations for Hall and Oates, Gabriel and Ronstadt. Kiss and Stevens, who have been nominated in the past, made the cut after being absent from the list for several years.
Peter Criss, Kiss’ original drummer and vocalist, said the band changed rock forever by raising the bar for live performances.
Singer/guitarist Paul Stanley, who with bassist Gene Simmons has anchored Kiss’ changing lineup for 40 years, said the band never cared when critics slammed them.
Also at the ceremony, The Rolling Stones’ managers, Andrew Loog Oldham and Brian Epstein, will receive Ahmet Ertegun awards, a non-performing honor. And Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band will get the award for musical excellence.
N.W.A., one of the 16 nominees announced in October, did not make the cut. The iconic rap group includes Dr. Dre, who has launched successful solo albums and is the producer behind Eminem, 50 Cent and Kendrick Lamar.
More than 700 Rock Hall voters determined the 2014 class.
The 29th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be open to the public. Tickets go on sale next month.
The event will air on HBO in May.
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Associated Press writer Wayne Parry in Point Pleasant, N.J., contributed to this report.