The Class of '90 will be the most eclectic yet for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, whose induction dinner in January will honor eight acts, from the Who and the Kinks to Bobby Darin and Hank Ballard.
The other "performer" inductees, announced at a press conference in Cleveland this week, are the Four Seasons, the Four Tops, Simon and Garfunkel and the Platters.Inductees in the "early influences" category will include Louis Armstrong, Ma Rainey and jazz guitarist Charlie Christian. All three are deceased (and would probably be amused to find themselves honored as "rock 'n' roll" ancestors).
In the "nonperformer" category, two songwriting teams will be honored: Gerry Goffin and Carole King, and Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Eddie Holland, better known on dozens of Motown classics as Holland-Dozier-Holland.
Eligibility this year was for recording in 1964 or earlier. There were 31 performer nominees; more than 200 performers, producers, writers, record executives, broadcasters and journalists voted.
The black-tie induction dinner will be Jan. 17 at New York's Waldorf-Astoria.