Hall of Fame welcomes Madonna, Mellencamp

NEW YORK, March 10 (UPI) -- Madonna, John Mellencamp, Leonard Cohen, The Dave Clark Five and The Ventures were to be enshrined in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in New York Monday night.

Little Walter will be also be honored in the Hall of Fame's sideman category and the newly named Ahmet Ertegun Award, formerly known as the non-performer prize, will be presented to famed producers Gamble & Huff.

The induction ceremony is slated to take place at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan and is scheduled to air live on VH1 Classic and MHD: MTV Networks' high-definition music channel, VH1 said.

Mike Smith, who was to be inducted with his fellow Dave Clark Five members, died last month of pneumonia.

His U.S. agent Margo Lewis told the BBC at the time, "I am glad that he will be remembered as a 'Hall of Famer,' because he was in so many ways."