Perfect day: Lou Reed, Smiths, Green Day among Rock Hall’s 2015 nominees

The punk trio Green Day, the iconic British alternative band The Smiths, “Lean on Me” singer Bill Withers and Sting are among the first-time nominees for enshrinement in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. With “Dookie” and “American Idiot,” Green Day scored two of the biggest albums of the 1990s and 2000s. Withers, who hasn’t released new music in nearly three decades, had a string of 1970s era hits “Ain’t No Sunshine,” ”Just the Two of Us” and “Lovely Day.” Other first-time nominees are the abrasive rockers Nine Inch Nails and the late blues guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan. To be eligible, a musician had to release a recording in 1989 or earlier.

Rock and roll incorporates the styles of so many different kinds of music, and that’s what makes this group of nominees—and this art form—so powerful and unique.

Joel Peresman, president and chief executive officer of the New York-based Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation

With its ninth nomination since 2003, Chic is once again hoping for some good times. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band was nominated for the fourth time. New York rocker Lou Reed, who died last October, was nominated for the third time and the first since 2001. Other nominees are Joan Jett and her band, the Blackhearts; German electronic music pioneers Kraftwerk; Motown’s The Marvelettes; the Los Angeles rap collective N.W.A.; Philly soul singers The Spinners and the rock and soul band War.

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