The Marvelettes
Hip-O Select
Motown's The Marvelettes are making their first appearance on the nominees list. Per About.com Oldies guru Robert Fontenot, "The Marvelettes got Motown their first Number One hit, and in the process established the girl group as an undeniable hit-making genre of its own with songs such as 'Please Mister Postman,' 'Playboy' and 'Beechwood 4-5789'."
The Meters
Sundazed Music
This the second nomination for New Orleans funk band, The Meters. Among their early members were two of the Neville brothers (Art and Cyril) and their credits include session work with Paul McCartney and Robert Palmer.
- Watch The Meters performance of their 1969 hit, "Cissy Strut" at the 1993 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival
Randy Newman
Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Singer-songwriter Randy Newman is on the nominees list for the second time. The man who wrote and sang of the plight of "Short People" and gently invited us to "Sail Away" has won six Grammy Awards, two Oscars and three Emmy awards.
N.W.A.
Priority Records
Hip hop / gangsta rappers N.W.A. are nominees for the first time. The Rock Hall's description: "one of the most important groups in hip-hop history ... aggressive, boundary smashing."
Public Enemy
King Midas Records
First time nominees Public Enemy use hip-hop as a vehicle for criticizing the media and dealing the issues affecting the African Americans.
