U2 headed for Hall of Fame

Irish rockers U2, R&B singers The O’Jays and soul balladeer Percy Sledge are among five musical legends to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during the foundation’s 20th annual induction ceremony next year, the organization announced Monday.

The Pretenders and blues guitarist Buddy Guy also will join the organization’s Class of 2005 in induction ceremonies March 14 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in Manhattan.

U2, which became one of the planet’s most popular bands in the 1980s with its megahit “The Joshua Tree,” is still making the charts. Its November release, “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb,” is the No. 2 album on the Billboard list.

The O’Jays had eight No. 1 R&B hits during the 1970s and ‘80s, including “Love Train” and “Use Ta Be My Girl.” Sledge will forever be associated with “When a Man Loves a Woman,” one of the songs that made him a figure in deep Southern Soul in the late 1960s.

The winners beat out an impressive list of nominees including Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, which would have been the first rap group to be inducted; “Centerfold” singers the J. Geils Band; and the late country singer Conway Twitty.

Musicians, industry professionals and journalists vote on the nominations, which were announced in September. Artists are eligible to be inducted into the Rock Hall after at least 25 years have passed since their first record was released.