The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will hail, hail, rock and rollers Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, and Paul McCartney in next year's inductions (March 15). To be eligible, artists have to have been solo performers for at least 25 years: Springsteen's debut, "Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.," came out in 1973. Joel released "Cold Spring Harbor" in 1972. (The Piano Man was widely rumored to have nailed a slot last year, but that hope fizzled.) And Paul McCartney was already inducted as part of the Beatles in 1988, but his first solo album was 1970's "McCartney."

This career appreciation comes at an appropriate time for Springsteen, who on Tuesday released "Tracks," his four-CD retrospective of mostly unreleased cuts from 1972-1998. Joel is also reflecting on his past tunes with a greatest-hits tour (he stops in Cleveland on Thursday and Pittsburgh on Monday). But in the future he'll head in a very un-rock direction, having vowed that he is dedicating himself to composing classical music. McCartney already made the leap to classical in 1991, with his "Liverpool Oratorio." But unlike Joel's all-or-nothing promise, McCartney has alternated between orchestral pieces and new pop albums, like last year's Grammy-nominated "Flaming Pie." He also produced his wife Linda's recent posthumous release, "Wide Prairie."

Joining these three giants in the Hall next year will be Dusty Springfield, Del Shannon, Curtis Mayfield, and the gospel-soul group the Staples Singers. The entry for the "Early Influence" category is Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, the 1930s group that melded country-western with jazz and blues. George Martin, the legendary Beatles producer, will be inducted in the non-performer category. He also took a look back this year, producing a CD of Beatles tributes, "In My Life," which includes a version of "Hard Day's Night" by Goldie Hawn. Don't look for that song in the Hall in 25 years.