Mary J. Blige, Cher, A Tribe Called Quest get into the Rock Hall of Fame

NEW YORK (AP) – Mary J. Blige, Cher, Foreigner, A Tribe Called Quest, Kool & The Gang and Ozzy Osbourne have been inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, a category that also includes folk-rockers Dave Matthews Band and singer and guitarist Peter Frampton.

Alexis Korner, John Mayall and Big Mama Thornton won the Musical Influence Award, and the late Jimmy Buffett, MC5, Dionne Warwick and Norman Whitfield will receive the Musical Excellence Award. Pioneering music director Suzanne de Passe won the Ahmet Ertegun Award.

“Rock ‘n’ roll is an ever-evolving amalgam of sounds that influences culture and touches generations,” John Sykes, president of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said in an announcement. “This diverse group of candidates broke down musical barriers and influenced countless artists who followed in their footsteps.”

The induction ceremony will likely be held on October 19 at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. It will likely be streamed live to tell the tale Disney+, aired on ABC at a later date, and available on Hulu the following day.

This yr’s musical act nominees who didn’t qualify included Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, the late Sinéad O’Connor, soul-pop singer Sade, Britpoppers Oasis, hip-hop duo Eric B. & Rakim and alt-rockers Jane’s Addiction.

There was a furious push for Foreigner – with hits “Urgent” and “Hot Blooded” – to be released, with Mark Ronson, Jack Black, Slash, Dave Grohl and Paul McCartney publicly supporting the move. Ronson’s stepfather is Mick Jones, Foreigner’s founder, songwriter and lead guitarist.

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Osbourne, who had many parents clutching at their pearls in the ’80s together with his devilish imagery and dirty music, is stepping out as a solo artist after already being introduced to the hall with metal masters Black Sabbath.

Four of the eight nominees – Cher, Foreigner, Frampton and Kool & the Gang – participated in the voting for the first time.

Cher – the only artist to have a No. 1 song in each of the last six a long time – and Blige, with eight multi-platinum albums and nine Grammy Awards, will help increase the number of women in the audience, which critics say is just too low.

Artists should have released their first industrial recording for a minimum of 25 years before they will apply for induction.

More than 1,000 artists, historians and music industry specialists voted for the nominations. Fans voted online or in person at the museum, and the top five artists chosen by the public created a “fan card” that was tallied with the votes of the remaining skilled artists.

Last yr, Missy Elliott, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Chaka Khan, “Soul Train” creator Don Cornelius, Kate Bush and the late George Michael were just a few of the artists who attended.