Chicago Lead Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Fan Voting

Chicago fans are rallying around the band's candidacy for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The horn-driven jazz rockers have charged to the front in what had been tight balloting among fellow top vote-getters Steve Miller, the Cars, Deep Purple and Yes.

As of this morning, Chicago have received 24 percent of the votes, followed by the Cars, Yes, Miller and Deep Purple – all of whom are holding steady at roughly 16 percent. There previously had been around one percent separating all of the best-polling bands. Janet Jackson is at a distant No. 6 with six percent.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame fan ballot allows up to five selections from the total of 15 nominees. You can still vote for the 2016 class. Next year's Hall of Fame inductees will be announced in December.

As a frame of reference, remember that five of the Top 6 finishers in fan balloting last year were inducted – including Lou Reed, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Joan Jett, Bill Withers and Paul Butterfield. Vaughan ended up winning the overall vote. Nine Inch Nails were also among the best-polling bands last year, but they were replaced by Green Day. Fast forward to 2015, and Nine Inch Nails have just .3 percent of the vote so far, only besting the Smiths and Los Lobos.

The fan vote counts as a single ballot along with votes collected from other musicians, writers and industry figures. The Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be held in April; it will be televised on HBO later in 2016.

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