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Lou Reed, NIN, Green Day are among Rock Hall nominees for 2015

Lou Reed, in a photo circa 1970, is among 15 acts nominated for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.
(Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)
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Velvet Underground founding member Lou Reed, punk-pop band Green Day, industrial dance-rock group Nine Inch Nails and ‘80s Brit-pop group the Smiths are among the 15 pop music acts that appear on the final nominees ballot for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2015.

They’re joined by Sting, who is already a Rock Hall member as frontman of the Police, along with such repeat nominees as the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, disco group Chic, hard-rocking Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, influential German electronic group Kraftwerk and Compton rap collective N.W.A.

This year’s nominee list is rounded out by the Motown R&B vocal groups Marvelettes and the Spinners, Texas blues singer-guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan, R&B band War and pop-R&B singer-songwriter Bill Withers.

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Final selections as determined by some 700 of the Rock Hall’s voting members will be announced in December. In addition, fans can weigh in with their preferences on the hall’s website for a single fan ballot for the top five vote-getters that will be added in with the rest of the votes.

This year’s batch of nominees “represent the myriad places where rock and roll converges with blues, electronic, dance, Motown, R&B, funk and other genres,” Joel Peresman, president and chief executive of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said in a statement. “Rock and roll incorporates the styles of so many different kinds of music and that’s what makes this group of nominees – and this art form – so powerful and unique.”

Under the hall’s rules, 25 years must elapse from the time an artist’s first single or album is released before they become eligible for induction. That leaves Green Day and Nine Inch Nails as the only acts to make this year’s final ballot in their first year of eligibility.

Follow @RandyLewis2 on Twitter for pop music coverage

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