Finally! Rush, Deep Purple Amongst Hall Of Fame Nominees

Despite being eligible for entry into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame for 18 and 13 years respectively, Deep Purple and Rush are finally amongst the candidates to be honoured in LA next April.

They are joined on the nominees list by rock acts such as Heart, Procul Harum and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, as well as hip hop pioneers NWA and Public Enemy and disco legends Chic and Donna Summer.

The shortlist will be narrowed down to a final five inductees by a ballot of 600 musicians and music industry types and those five will be honoured at a ceremony at L.A.’s Nokia Theater on 13 April 2013.

Rush released a statement which simultaneously managed to sound gracious and ambivalent about the nomination after so many years of being snubbed (and generally not caring about that snub).

"We are honored to be among the nominees for this year's Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame. We are especially thrilled for the many, many dedicated RUSH fans to whom this nomination is so very important," they said in a joint statement.

This year fans can have a small say in the outcome by voting on their five favourite acts. The combined vote over at RollingStone.com will count as a Fan's Ballot that will count as one of the 600+ ballots that make up the voting for the induction. 

If you want to vote for the Hall Of Fame induction then CLICK HERE

Here's the list of nominees:

• Albert King

• Chic

• Deep Purple

• Donna Summer

• Heart

• Joan Jett & the Balckhearts

• Kraftwerk

• The Marvelettes

• The Meters

• N.W.A.

• Paul Butterfield Blues Band

• Procol Harum

• Public Enemy

• Randy Newman

• Rush