U2 [ tickets ], Buddy Guy [ tickets ], Percy Sledge [ tickets ], The O'Jays [ tickets ] and The Pretenders [ tickets ] will become the 20th class to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fam, the Rock Hall foundation announced Monday (12/13).

The five acts, along with two Non-Performer inductees, will be enshrined during a March 14 ceremony at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel.

Irish quartet U2, which still ranks among rock's most popular acts, recently scored a No. 1 album with its latest set, "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," and is planning a 2005 world tour.

Bluesman Guy's influence can be heard in the playing of guitarists ranging from Eric Clapton to Keith Richards. He emerged in the late '50s, joining a Chicago blues scene that included Muddy Waters and Freddy King. He owns the Chicago nightclub Buddy Guy's Legends, which has long been the city's most popular blues club.

Soul singer Sledge--who remains active on the road--personified the Muscle Shoals sound, named for the Alabama studio at which he recorded such songs as "When a Man Loves a Woman" and "Take Time to Know Her."

Ohio-based vocal group The O'Jays became stars while recording for the Philadelphia International label in the early '70s, where they were known for the smooth, Philly soul sound of such tracks as "Love Train" and "Give the People What They Want."

Though singer/guitarist Chrissie Hynde was a native of Akron, OH, she and The Pretenders developed as a band and first broke in the U.K. Among the band's many hits were "Brass in Pocket," "Stop Your Sobbing," "My City was Gone," and "Back on the Chain Gang."

Agent Frank Barsalona, the founder and president of Premier Talent Agency, will be inducted for Lifetime Achievement in the Rock Hall's Non-Performer category. Among the acts on his roster were Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, The Pretenders, The Who and U2.

Sire Records co-founder and chairman Seymour Stein--whose signings included The Ramones, Madonna, The Pretenders, Talking Heads, Seal, Depeche Mode, Ice-T, The Cure, The Smiths, K.D. Lang and Barenaked Ladies--will also be inducted in the Non-Performer category.

Artists become eligible for induction into the Rock Hall's ranks 25 years after the release of their first record. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation's nominating committee, which is "composed of rock and roll historians," selects eligible nominees, and ballots are then sent to "an international voting body of about 1,000 rock experts," according to the Rock Hall's official website.

Earlier this year, Prince, the late George Harrison, Bob Seger, ZZ Top, Jackson Browne, Traffic and The Dells were inducted.