If you put them on the ballot, they will get elected to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Cheap Trick, Chicago and Steve Miller -- all of whom started in the Midwest -- were voted into the rock hall on their first appearances on the ballot, it was announced late Wednesday night.
Three-time nominees Deep Purple and N.W.A. also got elected. N.W.A. was obviously buoyed by the well received 2015 biopic "Straight Outta Compton" that profiled the influential Los Angeles rap crew that included Dr. Dre, Ice Cube and Eazy E.
The still tickin' British hard-rock band Deep Purple, which started in the late 1960s, is remembered for the hits "Smoke on the Water" and "Hush" as well as myriad personnel changes.
Power popsters Cheap Trick of Rockford, Ill., landed in the hall on the strength of such 1970s hits as "I Want You To Want Me" and "Surrender" as well as the enduring fun of their live performances.
Chicago, which started out as a horn-fueled jazz-rock band Chicago Transit Authority with the hits "Beginnings," "Make Me Smile" and "25 or 6 to 4," eventually devolved into a pop group known for the ballads "Hard To Say I'm Sorry" and "If You Leave Me Now."
Miller, the Milwaukee native who had been nominated previously as the bluesy rock Steve Miller Band, earned recognition solely under his name for a string of catchy hits including "Take the Money and Run," "The Joker" and "Abracadabra."
Other finalists who were not elected included Janet Jackson, Chaka Khan, the Cars, Chic, the Smiths, Nine Inch Nails, Los Lobos, the JBs, the Spinners and Yes.
The winners will be inducted April 8 in ceremonies at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, with a subsequent broadcast on HBO.
