Congratulations to CHEAP TRICK, CHICAGO, DEEP PURPLE, STEVE MILLER and N.W.A for being inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for 2016.

They’ll be honored in an April ceremony in New York.

“Frankly, I was very surprised that we’d been nominated since we’ve been eligible for so long,” CHICAGO co-founder/keyboardist ROBERT LAMM told ROLLING STONE. “I think that the body of work, even just considering the work we did on the first album and beyond, changed the face of pop music for us to be considered influential.”

“Anyone that was ever in the STEVE MILLER BAND will feel that they were definitely part of what made the band,” MILLER said to ROLLING STONE. “Of course I couldn’t have done it without any of them.”

CHEAP TRICK guitarist RICK NIELSEN told ROLLING STONE, “Usually, I’m a man of many words, but this has got me in a tizzy here. I’m verklempt — Live at Budokan wasn’t too bad. Getting our first record deal wasn’t too bad. Doing 5,000 shows, not too bad. But this might get moved right to the top of our résumé.”

“With so many lineups, it’s a minefield,” DEEP PURPLE’s drummer IAN PAICE told ROLLING STONE. “If I was running the HALL OF FAME, I wouldn’t have known how to do it — But it looks like we’re in and I’m very pleased.”