R.E.M., Van Halen among Rock Hall inductees

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http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Musi....ap/index.html

CLEVELAND, Ohio (AP) -- Van Halen made a "jump" into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday along with Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, R.E.M., the Ronettes and Patti Smith.

A panel of 600 industry experts selected the five artists to be inducted at the annual ceremony, to be held March 12 in New York.

Van Halen was the 1980s hard rock quartet led by guitarist Eddie Van Halen, outrageous lead vocalist David Lee Roth, and later rocker Sammy Hagar, that put out hits such as "Jump" and "Dreams."

R.E.M. was the quintessential indie rock band until breaking through to mass success in the early 1990s with songs like "Losing My Religion."

Grandmaster Flash led the most innovative act in early hip-hop, and the song "The Message" was like a letter from urban America.

Punk rock poet Patti Smith and Phil Spector favorites the Ronettes round out the 2007 class.

To be eligible, artists must have issued a first single or album at least 25 years before nomination.