Steve Miller ‘Quite Pleased’ To Finally Be Inducted Into Rock Hall

The newest Rock and Roll inductees are Cheap Trick, Deep Purple, Chicago, rap group N.W.A. and singer Steve Miller.

N.W.A. formed in 1986 – two years after James’ birth – and its most influential rap album (Straight Outta Compton, now the name of a biographical, major motion picture) was released in 1988.

Performers and bands including Janet Jackson, Chaka Khan, The Smiths, and Chic were also nominated.

Cheap Trick “display a musical consistency over nearly 40 years”, Hall of Fame organizers said in a statement, while Miller, 72, has moved from blues to pop and back again, producing classic hits like “Fly Like an Eagle” and “Take the Money and Run”.

The guitar riff for Deep Purple’s “Smoke on the Water” remains one of the most recognizable in rock history.

Artists Bun E. Carlos, Rick Nielsen, Tom Petersson and Robin Zander will be honored for their contribution to the music industry as the band Cheap Trick.

But congratulations to this year’s nominees. “We are extremely excited and we are happy for that”.

Ice Cube on the NWA’s induction: “This means that the group’s mark is solidified”.

On Wednesday, one day before the inductees were announce, drummer Paice raised questions about which Deep Purple members would be included. “I think everyone now, at this point, no matter how you feel about us, understands what the group actually did and what it means to modern music”.

“I became eligible and nothing happened and it sort of went on for a while and the people started complaining about it and it became kind of weird”, Miller told Billboard.

“Who would they induct?”

Though Chicago’s popularity is unquestionable, co-founder Robert Lamm thought that the time had passed for the band to get an induction, but was pleasantly surprised they finally were getting the honor. The ceremony rotates on a three-year cycle between the Hall of Fame’s physical home in Cleveland and venues in NY and Los Angeles.

Chicago has produced such hits as “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?” and “Make Me Smile”. What have they ever done for rock “n” roll?