The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recognized a historic array of African-American artists from many genres and eras on Jan. 18, 1989. The group of inductees included Stevie Wonder, the internationally acclaimed songwriter and singer, as well as the Temptations, the vocal group known for their success with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. Stevie Wonder began as a musical child prodigy and became one of the most creative and successful musical figures of the 20th century and beyond.
Also inducted was Otis Redding, the singer and composer who is considered one of the greatest vocal talents in soul and rhythm and blues.
But the Hall of Fame also recognized Black artists from other eras, including Bessie Smith, who is considered one of the most popular female blues singers of the 1920s and 1930s. They also inducted the Soul Stirrers, the gospel group that first started singing in the 1920s and had a major influence on soul and doo-wop music.
Also inducted in that 1989 class was the vocal group the Ink Spots. The Ink Spots were one of the early crossover groups that appealed to Black and white audiences in the 1930s and 1940s. They also were an important presence in the development of rhythm and blues and doo-wop music.

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 (Photo: Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images)