Rock Hall of Fame adds jazz legend Davis, Blondie

Inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class of 2006 includes the late 1970s and early 1980s New Wave group Blondie.

NEW YORK - Jazz legend Miles Davis, Ozzy Osbourne's seminal heavy metal band Black Sabbath and the punk band Sex Pistols are among an eclectic group of musicians named to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The 2006 class of inductees also includes the late 1970s and early 1980s New Wave group Blondie and country rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Herb Alpert will also be inducted into the hall, but not for his work with the Tijuana Brass, which turned mariachi-flavoured tunes into Top 40 music in the 1960s. He and his partner at A&M records, Jerry Moss, were recognised as nonperformer lifetime achievers for their label's success for recording musicians from The Police to The Neville Brothers.

Davis, known primarily as a jazz trumpeter, edged into rock music in the later part of his career with albums like "A Tribute to Jack Johnson" and "Bitches Brew" that fused jazz, soul and rock music in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He died in 1991.

The Sex Pistols, whose members included Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten, influenced many other punk bands in a short and turbulent career that included raucous concerts and fights with record companies. Their best known hit was the ironic, anti-monarchy song "God Save the Queen."

The 21st annual awards ceremony will be held March 13 in New York. Musicians are eligible 25 years after their first recording. Previous inductees include The Beatles, Cream, Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan

- REUTERS