The Rock and Roll Hall of fame has found what it's looking for...and then some.
U2 leads the list of rock royalty set for enshrinement next spring. Joining the Irish quartet in the class of 2006: the Chrissie Hynde-fronted New Wave fixtures the Pretenders, '70s R&B stars the O'Jays, soulster Percy Sledge and iconic blues guitarist Buddy Guy.
Of all the inductees, U2 is the lone act to make the Cleveland-based Rock Hall in its first year of eligibility. To make the ballot, the 2005 inductees had to have released their first album at least 25 years ago. Nominees are picked by a 70-member committee of rock 'n' roll historians, journalists and label execs, with ballots then mailed to an international voting body of 700 music industry types for the final decision. Up to seven performers can be elected each year.
As fortysomethings, Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. seem like whippersnappers compared to the usual slate of inductees, but the Dubliners have been rocking since their high school days in the mid-1970s, with their first release, Boy, coming in 1980. Masters of reinvention, Bono and the boys went from earnest, Christian rockers influenced by the New Wave to politically-minded songwriters full of Big Ideas. By the end of the decade the band achieved arena-sized stardom behind such anthems as "Sunday Bloody Sunday," "New Year's Day" and "Pride (In the Name of Love)" and 1987's Grammy-winning, mega-platinum smash The Joshua Tree.
During the '90s, the band switched it up again, synthesizing techno, electronica and house music with a big dollop of irony for Achtung, Baby!, Zooropa and Pop, and despite the occasional lemon, the band remained the most popular in the world.
With the release of 2000's All That You Can't Leave Behind, U2 proved they were still capable of making music that mattered, winning seven Grammys and providing an uplifting, post-9/11 soundtrack.
This year is proving one of their biggest yet. U2's latest, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, debuted atop the Billboard charts last month, garnered rave reviews, inspired a new iPod model and will serve as the basis for a world tour scheduled to kick off next year, right after the Rock Hall inductions.
The Pretenders were another dominant '80s act. Led by lead singer Hynde, the group formed in London in the mid-'70s and went on to record such pop classics as "Back on the Chain Gang," "Brass in Pocket," "Don't Get Me Wrong" and "Middle of the Road."
With their silky smooth vocal stylings, the five-member, Ohio-based O'Jays amassed dozen of hits in the '70s on the influential Philadelphia International Records, including "Love Train," "Backstabbers" and "For the Love of Money."
Nicknamed the Golden Voice of Soul, Sledge will forever be known for his soul-stirring signature ballad, "When a Man Loves a Woman." His catalogue also includes such tunes as "Take Time to Know Her," "It Tears Me Up" and "Warm and Tender Love."
A Chicago institution, guitar god Guy influenced legions of younger axmen, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend and Keith Richards, among them.
Honored in the non-performer category this year are music executive Seymour Stein and booking agent Frank Barsalona.
As chairman and cofounder of Sire Records, Stein discovered and signed such groundbreaking artists as the Ramones, the Talking Heads, Madonna and the Pretenders. Barsalona is being feted for founding Premiere Talent Agency, the first legitimate rock 'n' roll booking agency, which repped the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Led Zeppelin, the Who and U2.
Those on this year's ballot but not making the cut: Hip-hop trailblazers Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five (the first rap act to be nominated for the Rock Hall), punk pioneers the Sex Pistols, late country singer Conway Twitty and jukebox stalwarts the J. Geils Band.
The new crop of honorees will officially join the 2004 class, headed by Prince, ZZ Top and George Harrison, and the rest of the rock pantheon at the 20th annual induction ceremony March 14 at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. The party, featuring the traditional all-star jam session, will be taped and air on VH1 at a later date.