Five New Inductees For The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame

11/28/05 5:00pm

Sex Pistols, Blondie, Black Sabbath, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Miles Davis have all been voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The Sex Pistols only lasted a few years, and released just one official album in that time (the soundtrack to their film, The Great Rock 'N' Roll Swindle, came out a year after their demise), but the British group still symbolize punk rock almost 30 years after the key players originally went their separate ways. The Pistols were lightning rods for controversy and outraged staid society with the anti-authoritarian lyrics of their Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols album and live shows that fostered slam-dancing, spitting and broken beer bottles being hurled on stage. They broke up after an ill-fated U.S. tour in 1978, but reformed again for the "Filthy Lucre" tour in 1996, with original bassist Glen Matlock returning to replace his deceased successor, Sid Vicious. Another comeback tour took place in 2003.

Blondie helped commercialize punk and ushered in the new wave movement in the late '70s after breaking out from Manhattan's exciting lower east side music scene. With former Playboy bunny Deborah Harry front and centre, the group had a major run of success with such hits as "Denis," "Heart Of Glass," "Call Me," "Dreaming," "Rapture" and "The Tide Is High." Guitarist Chris Stein then became seriously ill, and Blondie called it a day in 1982. The original lineup reunited in 1998 and have toured and released two new studio albums since then.

Black Sabbath, who many consider to be the first true heavy metal band, have finally been inducted to the Hall — even if it's somewhat reluctantly. Ozzy Osbourne, the British group's singer, wrote a letter to the Hall in 1999 asking that their names be taken off the list of potential nominees because the honour was voted on by members of the music and media industries instead of fans. But Osbourne, bassist Geezer Butler, guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward were recently inducted into the U.K. Music Hall Of Fame, and there's no denying their credentials to be ensconced in the landmark on Cleveland's lakefront as well.

Sabbath released their first album in 1970 and followed it with the legendary Paranoid (featuring the title track, "War Pigs" and "Iron Man") later that same year in the U.K. Osbourne left to pursue a solo career in 1979 and was replaced by Rainbow's Ronnie James Dio, who departed in 1983 and was replaced by Deep Purple's Ian Gillan for a year. The band went through a number of other changes after that, but the original lineup reformed in 1997.

Lynyrd Skynyrd are making it into the Hall on their seventh attempt. The southern rock group, who took a verbal shot at Canadian icon Neil Young in "Sweet Home Alabama," have become a staple of classic rock radio playlists with "What's Your Name" and the epic "Freebird." Guitarist Ronnie VanZant and two other band members were killed in a 1977 plane crash, bringing the group's activities to an end until a reformation with a new lineup in the early '90s.

Davis had a professional career that lasted almost 50 years until he died in 1991 at age 65. The enigmatic trumpeter is one of the all-time jazz legends who continually pushed the genre forward with his innovative style, explorations in different directions and choice of collaborators, including Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea and Quincy Jones.A&M Records founders Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss will be inducted into the Hall for lifetime achievement in the non-performer category. The pair launched the label in 1962 and released albums from such acts as Peter Frampton, The Police, Joe Jackson, The Neville Brothers, Cat Stevens and Alpert's group, The Tijuana Brass.The 21st annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place on March 13 at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.