Randy Newman's glad he didn't have to do anything drastic to get into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The members of Rush are choosing to let bygones be bygones. And Quincy Jones, well, he's still mad.
For most of this year's inductees, inclusion was a long time coming.
"I'm very happy," the 69-year-old Newman said Monday from his home in Los Angeles. "I thought I'd have to die first, but I'm glad I'm around to see it."
Newman is joined in the 2013 class by the eclectic group of rockers Rush and Heart, rap group Public Enemy, "Queen of Disco" Donna Summer and bluesman Albert King. Jones and his friend Lou Adler will enter the hall as Ahmet Ertegun Award winners for their contributions to rock beyond performance.
They will be inducted into the hall of fame in Los Angeles on April 18.
Summer, who passed away at age 63 in May, gains entry after six years as a nominee. King, a deep influence on Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn who died in 1992, now takes his place along all the other legendary blues guitarists in the hall.
Rush, one of the most-played staples of classic rock radio, gained entry following its first appearance on the ballot. But the Canadian trio became eligible in 1998 and was repeatedly left off the list, to the great consternation of its legion of fans who cried bias against prog rock. Heart also waited a decade to make it on the ballot, gaining entry during its second appearance.
Rush's Alex Lifeson said the band feels "wonderful" about its entry into the hall and is especially happy for its followers.
"First of all, it's all water under the bridge and it was a very tiny bridge," the 59-year-old guitarist said in a phone interview from his home in Toronto.