WHO’S NEXT?

The actual nominees won’t be announced until fall, but it’s not too early to look at the candidates for next year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. Under voting rules, artists become eligible 25 years after their first recording.

Among those eligible for the first time this year: Jackson Browne, the Eagles, Dave Edmunds, the Electric Light Orchestra, Hall & Oates, Peter Frampton, Bette Midler, Lou Reed (who is already in the hall as a member of the Velvet Underground), Roxy Music, Sparks, Styx, Richard Thompson and Pete Townshend (who was already inducted with the Who).

Don’t expect more than a few of them to be among the 15 nominees on the final ballot, which goes to some 500 musicians, record executives and critics. That’s because there are some imposing names who remain eligible after failing to get inducted in past years.

This long list includes Alice Cooper, Joan Baez, Black Sabbath, Captain Beefheart, Chicago, Eric Clapton (as a solo artist), Patsy Cline, Leonard Cohen, Fleetwood Mac, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Genesis, Jethro Tull, Kraftwerk, Paul McCartney (solo), the Moody Blues, Laura Nyro, Pink Floyd, Bonnie Raitt, Charlie Rich, Paul Simon (solo), the Stooges, Supertramp, James Taylor, Traffic and ZZ Top. Up to seven acts can be inducted.