Cher, Ozzy Osbourne set for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Alexis Korner, John Mayall and Big Mama Thornton earned the Musical Influence Award, while the late Jimmy Buffett, MC5, Dionne Warwick and Norman Whitfield will get the Musical Excellence Award. Pioneering music executive Suzanne de Passe won the Ahmet Ertegun Award.

"Rock'n'roll is an ever-evolving amalgam of sounds that impacts culture and moves generations," John Sykes, chairman of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said in a statement.

"This diverse group of inductees each broke down musical barriers and influenced countless artists that followed in their footsteps."

The induction ceremony will be held October 19 at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. It will stream live on Disney+ and available on Hulu the next day.

Those music acts nominated this year but didn't make the cut included Mariah Carey, Lenny Kravitz, the late Sinead O'Connor, soul-pop singer Sade, Britpoppers Oasis, hip-hop duo Eric B. & Rakim and alt-rockers Jane's Addiction.

Four of the eight nominees - Cher, Foreigner, Frampton and Kool & the Gang - were on the ballot for the first time.

Cher - the only artist to have a No. 1 song in each of the past six decades - and Blige, with eight multi-platinum albums and nine Grammy Awards, will help boost the number of women in the hall, which critics say is too low.

Artists must have released their first commercial recording at least 25 years before they are eligible for induction.

Nominees were voted on by more than 1000 artists, historians and music industry professionals. Fans voted online or in person at the museum, with the top five artists picked by the public making up a "fans' ballot" that was tallied with the other professional ballots.

Last year, Missy Elliott, Willie Nelson, Sheryl Crow, Chaka Khan, "Soul Train" creator Don Cornelius, Kate Bush and the late George Michael were some of the artists who got into the hall.

Australian Associated Press