Rock Hall of Fame to Induct Sex Pistols, Black Sabbath

They called the institution meaningless, irrelevant and geriatric -- and now they're part of it.

 The Sex Pistols and Black Sabbath, two bands that have been highly critical of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Monday were announced as official inductees. They round out a list that includes the new-wave group Blondie, legendary Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynyrd and jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. Artists were informed Friday, according to a publicist for the Cleveland institution. 



 Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, founders of A&M Records, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award in the non-performer category. The ceremony is scheduled for March 13 at Manhattan's Waldorf-Astoria hotel. 



 Artists become eligible for induction 25 years after releasing their first record. Critics of the Rock Hall had accused the institution of bypassing Black Sabbath, the band that helped create heavy metal, in favor of safer, more palatable acts. Singer Ozzy Osbourne has frequently expressed disdain for the Rock Hall, calling it "irrelevant" and "meaningless" and asking to be removed from consideration. 



 Equally surprising are The Sex Pistols, who kick-started the punk movement in the late 1970s. It seems unlikely that the band would obey the unwritten Rock Hall rules of showing up, playing a few songs and generally behaving. Ruminating over his possible induction a few years ago, singer Johnny Rotten said, "It's such a geriatrics' ball, so smug and self-congratulatory. I'll tell you this much: I ain't going." 



 New-wave group Blondie is being honored fairly soon after eligibility -- its self-titled debut was released in 1976. But Lynyrd Skynyrd, the iconic Southern rock band, has been overlooked for many years. Many were shocked in 2004 when ZZ Top, a pop-oriented Southern act, was inducted instead. 



 "Historically, heavy metal and Southern rock haven't gotten much respect," says Rob Tannenbaum, music editor at Blender magazine. "And the fact that Skynyrd is only now getting in is a sign of that disrespect. They should have been in years ago." 



 Miles Davis becomes the first jazz musician to be inducted as a performer, though other jazz artists such as Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton have been included in the Early Influences category. 



 There's no telling how the late Davis, a rebellious and erratic personality, would have accepted his honor. "Everybody hates the Hall of Fame until they get into it," says Tannenbaum. "It's like the cheerleader in high school. Every guy hates her until he can go out with her."