Metallica Enter Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame

Metallica, Run-D.M.C. and Jeff Beck are among this year's inductees to the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

They'll also be among those who'll perform at the April 4 induction ceremony, which returns to the Hall's home in Cleveland this year after previously being held in New York, along with newly inducted doo-wop group Little Anthony & The Imperials and Bobby Womack. Rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson will be inducted in the early influence category. Elvis Presley bassist Bill Black and drummer D.J. Fontana will be inducted along with organist and frequent Neil Young collaborator Spooner Oldham as sidemen.

Run-D.M.C. are the second rap act to be inducted into the Hall, following Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five in 2007. Beck was previously inducted as a member of The Yardbirds in 1992.

Metallica have released nine studio albums since forming in Los Angeles in 1981. They're widely considered one of the most influential metal and hard rock bands of all time. Their 1983 Kill The Lightning debut was listed among Rolling Stone magazine's top albums of the decade, and 1986's Master Of Puppets was #167 on the mag's list of the 500 greatest albums ever.

Run (real name Joseph Simmons), D.M.C. (real name Darryl McDaniels) and Jam-Master Jay (real name Jason Mizell) formed Run-D.M.C. in Queens, New York in 1983. Their self-titled 1984 debut and 1986's Raising Hell are considered old-school hip-hop classics, and the trio influenced virtually every rapper or hip-hop act that followed them. Their last album was 2001's Crown Royal before Jam-Master Jay was murdered in 2002.

Beck was recruited as Eric Clapton's replacement in The Yardbirds in 1965. He played with the band for 18 months before he left to go solo and form The Jeff Beck Group. Beck has released eight studio albums as a solo artist and is considered one of the first guitarists to use electronic distortion in his playing.

The Stooges, War and Chic are the nominees who didn't make the cut this year. The Stooges have been nominated several times, but have never been inducted. To those who may be upset about this, remember that the Sex Pistols were nominated a few times before they finally made the cut in 2006. Mind you, once they were voted in, they called the Hall Of Fame a "piss stain" and refused to attend the induction ceremony.

The 2009 inductees were chosen by a panel of 600 voters from the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Foundation. Artists become eligible for inclusion 25 years after they release their first studio recording.