The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has announced its inductees for 2008. To be eligible for induction this year, artists need to have released their first single or album at least 25 years ago. There was a ceremony honoring the inductees on March 10 at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York.

This year's Hall of Fame class included Leonard Cohen, Madonna (why I don't know), John Mellencamp, the Ventures and the Dave Clark Five. The Beastie Boys top the list of nominees who were not admitted on this ballot.
Leonard Cohen has been recording and writing for the better part of the last 40 years in an understated, jagged baritone. His novels have been compared to the work of James Joyce, and his music is widely covered - perhaps the most memorable example of this is John Cale's version of Cohen's "Hallelujah" from the movie "Shrek."

Madonna is the most successful female artist of all time, and her dance-pop anthems have been topping the charts since the 1980s. The fact that Madonna's music is not really rock 'n' roll, along with her tumultuous personal life, make the appointment a bit questionable, but there is no doubting her influence on modern music.

John Mellencamp is a folk rocker most famous for his songs "Jack and Diane" and "Hurts So Good." Mellencamp helped found the annual benefit Farm Aid along with Willie Nelson and Neil Young. The Dave Clark Five were one of the more successful and influential British invasion groups, briefly rivaling the Beatles in popularity.

The Ventures are the biggest selling rock-instrumental group in history and helped pioneer the use of weird sound affects and synthesizers. Along with these five artists, the Hall of Fame also admitted producers Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff. These two men worked in the Philly Soul genre on the Philadelphia International label. Finally, blues harmonica player Little Walter was the first person to run a harmonica through an amplifier. He has been admitted in the sideman category.

All of these artists have made significant contributions to rock and popular music and their work is worth a second look. Hopefully, our generation can produce music of the same level of quality as these artists.