Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Michael Jackson Among the Official R&B Music Hall of Fame's First Inductees

RBHallofFame.comAretha Franklin, Otis Redding and Michael Jackson are just a few of the many stars who'll be memorialized at a proposed Official R&B Music Hall of Fame Museum. Organizers recently announced plans to construct the building, while revealing at the same time a lengthy list of musical luminaries that will be welcomed into the Hall.

In addition to those three heavyweights, the inaugural class of R&B Hall of Fame inductees also includes The Supremes, The Temptations, The Four Tops, The Miracles, Ray Charles, James Brown and the Famous Flames, The O'Jays, The Chi-Lites, Jackie Wilson, Whitney Houston, Edwin Starr, The Chambers Brothers, Ruby and the Romantics, The Marvelettes, The Impressions and The Manhattans, among many others.

The R&B Hall of Fame's first induction ceremony will take place on May 5, 2013, at Cleveland's Music Hall/Public Auditorium. That's the same venue used for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's induction ceremonies.

Organizers haven't settled on where to build the Official R&B Hall of Fame Museum, but officials in Cleveland and East Cleveland, Ohio, as well as in Detroit and Memphis, say they'd welcome the establishment. Groundbreaking is planned for the summer of 2013. For now, a mobile exhibit tours the country. Visit RBHallofFame.com to see the complete inaugural roster of honorees.