Bon Jovi, The Cars, Radiohead among Rock Hall nominees

MARK SELIGER

BON JOVI

Bon Jovi is one of 19 nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s class of 2018.

The Jersey rockers, who have been nominated just once before, are joined on the ballot by Kate Bush, The Cars, Depeche Mode, Dire Straits, Eurythmics, The J. Geils Band, Judas Priest, LL Cool J, MC5, The Meters, The Moody Blues, Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine, Rufus featuring Chaka Khan, Nina Simone, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Link Wray and The Zombies.

Rage Against the Machine and Radiohead are both eligible for the first time this year. The rest have all been overlooked at least once. 

Of the 19, The J. Geils Band has the most prior nominations: Four.

In a 2016 interview on Howard Stern’s radio show, Jon Bon Jovi said he had “a big falling out with one of the guys that runs (the hall).”

Stern asked if it was Rolling Stone magazine publisher and Rock Hall Foundation chairman Jann Wenner.

Bon Jovi didn’t confirm that, but said: “I called (the guy) a few choice words, and I’m never shy, when I see him, to call him a few more choice words. And there’s other guys on that thing that have made it their personal mission to fuck with me. And that’s okay. I get it. I’ve sold more records than their artists.”

The inductees will be announced in December, and the ceremony will take place April 14 in Cleveland, with highlights later broadcast on HBO.

Among the eligible acts not nominated are Soundgarden, Nine Inch Nails, Whitney Houston, Willie Nelson, Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Iron Maiden, The Smiths, The Cure, Brian Eno, Gram Parsons, Janet Jackson, Jane’s Addiction, Warren Zevon, Kraftwerk, The Replacements, The Monkees, Roxy Music, Smashing Pumpkins and The New York Dolls.