Chili Peppers, Guns N' Roses, Beastie Boys in Hall of Fame

Guns N' Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers and the Beastie Boys were among this year's inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the hall announced on Wednesday.

Joining the acts were posthumous inductees 1960s singer-songwriter Laura Nyro and producer Don Kirshner, who died earlier this year.

Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan will also be inducted, along with Small Faces/Faces, Freddie King, Cosimo Matassa, Tom Dowd and Glyn Johns.

The choices will ensure a wide-ranging show this year as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony returns to its home in Cleveland, Ohio, in April for its 27th annual event, when the 11 music business giants will be honored.

Joel Peresman, president and chief executive of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, said this year's inductees represent the broad spectrum of artists that define rock and roll.

The Beastie Boys, who have straddled punk and hip-hop since their debut album Licensed to Ill in 1986, and Guns N' Roses, which the hall lauded as one of the most dynamic and explosive hard rock bands in history, should deliver high-energy performances at the ceremony.

Red Hot Chili Peppers, formed in Los Angeles in the 1980s and known for a funky mixture of metal, hip-hop and pop, can also be counted on to give the show an edge.

By contrast Donovan (full name Donovan Leitch) started out as a folk singer and achieved fame for 1960s hits such as Sunshine Superman - which the hall noted ignited the psychedelic revolution virtually single handedly - and Season of the Witch.

His heady fusion of folk, blues and jazz expanded to include Indian music and the TM (transcendental meditation) movement, the Hall of Fame said of Donovan.

Nyro, who died of cancer in 1997 at age 49, was another 1960s and early 1970s icon, writing some of the era's biggest hits for the likes of Three Dog Night, Blood, Sweat & Tears, the Fifth Dimension and Barbra Streisand.

The 1960s London-band Small Faces regrouped in the early 1970s as Faces, when their sound moved harder. Rod Stewart joined the band after Steve Marriott left in 1969.

Faces made joyful roots music with arena muscle, cutting their own immortal body of work such as 1972's Stay With Me, the Hall of Fame said.

The Ahmet Ertegun non-performer award will be given to Kirshner, creator of such pop phenomena as The Monkees and The Archies. Later, he had a television career with performance shows In Concert and Don Kirshner's Rock Concert.

The Hall of Fame ceremony, often held in New York City, is moving back to Cleveland this time, with the gala event set for April 14. Tickets will go on sale starting on December 17.

King, the late Texas-born guitarist cited by Eric Clapton and Carlos Santana as an influence, was honored for early influence.

Matassa, Dowd and Johns will all receive awards for music excellence.

Matassa was owner of New Orleans' J&M Recording Studios, while Dowd was a recording engineer and producer who worked with artists ranging from Cream to Dusty Springfield.

Johns, also an engineer and producer, was largely responsible for developing The Eagles' southern California sound and worked with acts including The Clash, The Rolling Stones, The Who and Clapton.