Pop star Madonna, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Monday night, thanked the people who had told her she was "talentless" and said they pushed her to excel.

Besides Madonna, whose hits include Into the Groove and Like a Virgin, the Hall of Fame installed Leonard Cohen, the Dave Clark Five, John Mellencamp and the Ventures at the 23rd annual ceremony in New York.

Cohen, a singer-songwriter from Montreal and a contemporary of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez in the folk revival of the 1960s, is known for songs such as Suzanne and Hallelujah.

The Dave Clark Five came on the scene in the early 1960s as part of the British Invasion, making the charts for the first time with Glad All Over. Their lead singer, Mike Smith, died on February 28.

Mellencamp, an Indiana native, is known for his rocking songs about the American heartland including Small Town and Rain on the Scarecrow.

The Ventures created guitar-driven instrumentals in the Sixties and their biggest hit was Walk Don't Run.

Chicago blues harmonica player Little Walter, who played in Muddy Waters' band, was inducted in the sideman category.

The award to a non-performer, renamed the Ahmet Ertegun Award in honor of the late co-founder of Atlantic Records, went to R&B producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, known for the Philly Soul sound of hits such as TSOP and Love Train.

Singer Justin Timberlake introduced Madonna at the ceremony. She didn't perform, though some of her songs were played by punk rockers Iggy Pop and the Stooges.

Six hundred voters in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation decided on the inductees. Artists are eligible 25 years after the release of their first recording.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is based in Cleveland.