Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony lineup announced

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation today announces the artists who will induct this year’s honorees at a ceremony on March 10, 2008, at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City:

· Leonard Cohen will be inducted by Lou Reed
· The Dave Clark Five (Dave Clark, Lenny Davidson, Rick Huxley, Denis Payton and Mike Smith) will be inducted by Tom Hanks
· Madonna will be inducted by Justin Timberlake
· John Mellencamp will be inducted by Billy Joel
· Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff will be inducted by Jerry Butler
· The Ventures (Bob Bogle, Nokie Edwards, Gerry McGee, Mel Taylor, Don Wilson) will be inducted by John Fogerty
· Little Walter will be inducted by Ben Harper

The 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees were chosen by the 600 voters of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. Artists are eligible for inclusion in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25 years after their first recording is released. John Mellencamp and The Ventures are among the artists slated to perform at the event which will air live on March 10th on VH1 Classic and streamed live by Best Buy on BestBuy.com.

In addition to being honored at the ceremony on March 10, 2008, each artist who is inducted is commemorated within the I.M. Pei-designed museum in Cleveland, Ohio. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame displays the signature of each inductee inscribed in glass. In addition, there is an exhibit of artifacts from this year’s inductees, and a multi-media film presentation with highlights from each artist’s career. The exhibit on this year’s inductees will open in March, 2008 and will run for one year.