The makeup-clad Rock n' Roll band Kiss and groundbreaking grunge band
Nirvana head a list of 2014 inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Kiss and Nirvana are joined by former Genesis lead singer Peter Gabriel, duo Hall & Oates, and solo artists Linda Ronstadt and Cat Stevens.
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Former Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham and the late Brian Epstein, former manager of The Beatles, will receive the Ahmet Ertegun Award for Lifetime Achievement. Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band will receive the Award for Musical Excellence.
"Few bands short of the Beatles inspired more kids to pick up the guitar than Kiss," the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame website said about the band. "With their signature makeup, explosive stage show and anthems like 'Rock And Roll All Nite' and 'Detroit Rock City,' they are the very personification of rock stars."
The band's original members, founders Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons along with Peter Criss and Ace Frehley, formed in New York City in 1972. The group's signature dark costumes, makeup and pyrotechnic shows were a huge part of their appeal.
Nirvana, behind frontman Kurt Cobain, ushered in the '90s grunge rock era with "Smells Like Teen Spirit" in 1991 and made Seattle the genre's unofficial home.
Cobain became "the voice and conscience of an alternative-rock nation sick of hair metal and the conservative grip of the Reagan-Bush '80s," the website said. The group was founded by Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic and built an underground following before making it big with "Smell Like Teen Spirit." Cobain committed suicide at age 27 in April 1994, suffering from depression and drug addiction.
Nine nominated artists did not make the cut this time around, including the bands Yes, the Zombies, and heavy metal rockers Deep Purple. The R&B group Chic and rappers LL Cool J and N.W.A also did not make the cut.
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