Canadian singer-poet Leonard Cohen has been nominated for a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

Cohen is on a list of nine nominees, including Madonna and the Beastie Boys, released Friday.

Leonard Cohen, shown in 2005, is one of nine nominees.
(Canadian Press)

Only five of the nominated musicians will earn an induction into the hall of fame in March 2008.

This year's eclectic list ranges from '60s rockers to early rappers and includes:

• The Dave Clark Five, a British pop group of the 1960s known for hits such as Glad All Over.
• The Ventures, a Seattle-based 1960s group known for surfer tunes and instrumentals, including Walk Don't Run.
• John Mellencamp, an Indiana-born singer-songwriter known for hits such as Hurts So Good.
• Donna Summer, the 1970s dance music singer known as the Queen of Disco.
• Chic, a 1970s New York electronic and dance music group with hits such as Le Freak.
• Afrika Bambaataa, a Bronx DJ who was instrumental in developing early hip hop.
  

Cohen, a Montreal poet and novelist known for melancholy hits such as Suzanne and Hallelujah, was inducted into Canada's Songwriters of Fame last year.

Madonna burst out of New York dance clubs in the early 1980s with Holiday and became a pop culture icon with her bad girl image and hits such as Like a Virgin.

She has had remarkable longevity as a pop artist and continues to top charts with her latest album Confessions from a Dance Floor.

The Beastie Boys started out as punk rockers and moved into hip hop creating hits such as Fight For Your Right [to Party ].

The hall of fame admitted its first rap pioneers — Grandmaster Flash — earlier this year and more hip hop names are appearing as nominees. Artists must have been around at least 25 years to qualify.

With files from the Associated Press