MC5, but not Delaware's Durant, earns Rock and Roll Hall of Fame nomination

The News Journal

Next year's Rock Hall could have a sweet new classmate.

Def Leppard is up for induction into the 2019 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The "Pour Some Sugar on Me" hitmakers join other first-time nominees including prog-rock icon Todd Rundgren, folk singer John Prine, New Wave pioneers Devo and British band Roxy Music.

Stevie Nicks is also nominated for induction for the first time as a solo artist, having previously been welcomed into the Rock Hall in 1998, as a member of legendary rock group Fleetwood Mac. If she makes the cut when the 2019 class is announced in December, Nicks will become the first female artist to join the Hall a second time.

Voters have cast "a very broad net" with this year's ballot, says Rock Hall CEO and president Greg Harris. "It's exciting, because it represents the diversity of rock and roll."

Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac performs on NBC's "Today" October 9, 2014 in New York, N.Y.

Returning nominees include Janet Jackson and Radiohead. Other notable contenders are rapper LL Cool J and Rufus with Chaka Khan – each earning their fifth nominations – as well as '60s bands The Zombies and MC5, both in the running for a fourth time.

MC5 has been touring for its 50th anniversary with a Delawarean front and center: Marcus Durant, the dynamic former singer of Zen Guerrilla, a '90s rock act that grew out of the University of Delaware music scene.

Newark rock standout went from stomping holes in Deer Park stage to singing with Pearl Jam

His career started with Newark basement shows. Now he sings for famed rockers MC5.

A former manager of Durant's was contacted by MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer, who was in search of a fire-breathing frontman since MC5's singer, Rob Tyner, died of a heart attack in 1991 at the age of 46.

So although he's now a touring member of the group, Durant would not be inducted as a member of the Hall of Fame. He could, however, perform with the group at the induction if it's voted in.

The 2019 induction ceremony will be held at Brooklyn's Barclays Center in New York on March 29. Inductees will be voted on by a group of more than 1,000 artists, historians and music-industry professionals.

In order to be eligible for induction, artists must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination (1993, for 2019 nominees).

Starting Oct. 9, the public can visit rockhall.com to cast their votes for who they would like to see in the Class of 2019. Voting ends Dec. 9 and the top-five artists will make up a fan's ballot, which counts as a single vote.

The full list of nominees:

Def Leppard

Devo

Janet Jackson

John Prine

Kraftwerk

LL Cool J

MC5

Radiohead

Rage Against the Machine

Roxy Music

Stevie Nicks

The Cure

Todd Rundgren

Rufus & Chaka Khan

The Zombies