Cyndi Lauper, Chubby Checker Chosen for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 

Cyndi Lauper performs on the Pyramid Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 29, 2024. (Reuters)
Cyndi Lauper performs on the Pyramid Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 29, 2024. (Reuters)
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Cyndi Lauper, Chubby Checker Chosen for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame 

Cyndi Lauper performs on the Pyramid Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 29, 2024. (Reuters)
Cyndi Lauper performs on the Pyramid Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 29, 2024. (Reuters)

"The Twist" singer Chubby Checker, pop star Cyndi Lauper and grunge rock band Soundgarden were among the acts chosen for induction this year into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

"American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest announced the 2025 inductees during the ABC singing competition show on Sunday.

Others selected for the Rock Hall in Cleveland included English rock group Bad Company, hip-hop act Outkast, rock and blues singer Joe Cocker and garage rock duo The White Stripes.

The artists will be inducted during a ceremony that will stream live on Disney+ from Los Angeles on Nov. 8.

Inductees were chosen by fans and industry experts. Artists must have released their first recording at least 25 years ago to be eligible.

A singer and dancer, the now 83-year-old Checker was known for popularizing various dance styles including the twist and the limbo in the 1960s.

Bad Company came together in 1973 and recorded hits such as the self-titled "Bad Company".

British singer Cocker made the music charts with songs such as "You are So Beautiful" and "Up Where We Belong" with Jennifer Warnes, and was known for his legendary cover of The Beatles' "With a Little Help from My Friends" performed at Woodstock.

Lauper, 71, stood out in the 1980s during the heyday of music videos with her colorful hair and outfits and upbeat songs such as "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun."

Soundgarden, part of the 1990s grunge rock scene in Seattle, was led by Chris Cornell, who died by suicide in 2017.

"Hey Ya!" band Outkast was formed in Atlanta by Big Boi and Andre 3000 in 1992. The White Stripes, from Detroit, led a resurgence of garage rock in the 2000s.



Brian Wilson's Top Five Beach Boys Songs

Musician Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys performs onstage at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. KEVIN WINTER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File
Musician Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys performs onstage at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. KEVIN WINTER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File
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Brian Wilson's Top Five Beach Boys Songs

Musician Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys performs onstage at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. KEVIN WINTER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File
Musician Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys performs onstage at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. KEVIN WINTER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File

From the carefree sound of California surf music to the sophistication of later darker works, here are five of the top hits penned by influential Beach Boys founder Brian Wilson.

'Surfin' USA' (1963)

"Surfin' USA" was the Beach Boys' first global hit, taken from their eponymous debut album. A youthful ode to sea, sun and girls, it became an anthem for the West Coast and beyond.

It demonstrated Brian Wilson's increasing songwriting prowess as well as the band's unique vocal sound achieved thanks to double tracking.

"We'll all be gone for the summer/ We're on safari to stay/ Tell the teacher we're surfin'/ Surfin' USA," it rang out.

Wilson intentionally set his lyrics to the music of "Sweet Little Sixteen," by Chuck Berry, leading Berry to take legal action.

'California Girls' (1965)

On the big hit of the summer of 1965, Wilson's cousin Mike Love burst into song to celebrate the sun-tanned women of California.

"I wish they all could be California girls," the band members sang in seemless harmony.

It was also the first song written by Wilson under the influence of LSD, "which could explain why the accompaniment seems to move in a slow, steady daze at odds with the song's bright, major-key melody," Rolling Stone magazine wrote.

'God Only Knows' (1966)

It took Wilson just 45 minutes to write "God Only Knows," the legendary eighth track on the album "Pet Sounds" which has gone down as one of the greatest love songs ever.

Sung by brother Carl Wilson, Brian's rival Paul McCartney declared it to be his favorite song of all time and said it reduced him to tears.

But the record company and other members of the group were wary at the new turn in style.

'Good Vibrations'(1966)

"Good Vibrations" was a massive commercial success, selling one million copies in the United States and topping charts there and in several other countries including the UK.

At the time the most expensive single ever made, the "pocket symphony" was recorded in four different studios, consumed over 90 hours of tape and included a complexity of keys, textures, moods and instrumentation.

The song was a far cry from the group's surf-and-sun origins and the enormity of the task brought Wilson to the brink. He was unable to go on and complete the album "Smile," of which the song was to have been the centerpiece.

- 'Til I die' (1971) -

On side B of the album "Surf's Up,'Til I die" was composed in 1969 by a depressed Wilson worn down by mental illness and addiction.

He wrote in his 1991 autobiography that it was perhaps the most personal song he had written for the Beach Boys.