Dave Matthews Band Leads Rock Hall Fan Vote Into Final Weekend

Taxes aren't the only things with an April 15 deadline. That's also the last day for fans to vote on the nominees up for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

As of Friday (April 12) evening, Dave Matthews Band were leading the fans ballot with 550,283 votes, followed by Foreigner and Peter Frampton neck-and-neck with 490,613 and 490,082, respectively.

Ozzy Osbourne was in fourth, with 451,022 votes, followed by Cher (319,432), Lenny Kravitz (289,296) and Kool & the Gang (268,221) as the top seven fan-voted acts.

The remainder of the nominees are Mariah Carey (238,713), Sinead O'Conner (158,885), Oasis (158,251), Sade (152,716), Jane's Addiction (133,254), Mary J. Blige (107,569), A Tribe Called Quest (84,174) and Eric B. & Rakim (52,631).

The fan vote counts for a percentage of the overall votes from the Hall's panel of experts who ultimately determine who will be inducted.

Foreigner has staged an aggressive campaign with hopes of getting inducted into the Rock Hall. Leading the charge is Grammy- and Oscar-winning producer/artist/DJ Mark Ronson, who is the stepson of Foreigner founder Mick Jones. Ronson enlisted several other artists, including Paul McCartney, to make public testimonials on video in support of Foreigners induction into the Rock Hall.

"My stepdad, who I've lived with since I was 6 years old and love very much, he's the best. He's in the rock band Foreigner and he's been a huge influence on me," Ronson told Jimmy Fallon during a visit to The Tonight Show last month. "He's written all these great songs like 'Hot Blooded,' 'Cold as Ice,' and 'I Want to Know What Love Is,' which he actually wrote for my mom...The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a really big deal for a rock musician and certainly for him. They've never even been considered for it. And the past few years, he's had some tough health challenges...so we just decided to go all out this year and really try to get Foreigner on the ballot for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."

Ronson went on to explain that he made a trailer video with Jack Black, Dave Grohl and Slash and then he sent it to some others, including McCartney. The ex-Beatle legend not only recorded a message of his support of Foreigner, but he did so while dropping an uncharacteristic F-bomb. "Foreigner? Not in the Hall of Fame? What the f---?" McCartney says in the brief cellphone-shot video.

Tags

Dave Matthews Band, Foreigner, Peter Frampton, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame