Rock and Roll

Perched on the Lake Erie shore in downtown Cleveland is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.  My family and I visited yesterday on a dazzlingly bright early summer day.  Designed by architect I.M. Pei, the building expresses Pei's conviction that rock and roll music is all about energy!

"Rock Hall" from the north (or lake) side.

A broad plaza welcomes visitors to Rock Hall's main entrance. 

Why Cleveland?  Here's the answer.

A "memorial brick" program helps raise funds for Rock Hall.
These bricks are set into the Hall's entrance plaza.

After a lengthy selection process in which several cities competed to be the hall's home, Cleveland was selected.  At the groundbreaking in 1993 Pete Townshend of The Who made one of the first donations of memorabilia — the Gibson J-200 guitar used to compose the 1969 rock opera Tommy.  As it happens, I listened to Tommy as I drove to Cleveland on Monday!  Rock Hall, as it is informally styled, opened its doors in 1995 and to date has hosted over 8 million visitors.

Sister-in-law Tish (near left) and cousin Mary (right)
wait for the next movie showing.

Mahalia Jackson is one of many early influences on rock.

Jackson remains one of the most remarkable
American voices of the 20th century.

One of the first things you do at the Hall of Fame is to view the "Mystery Train" film.  This movie provides background on the development of rock and roll as a genre, using the imagery of trains (mostly from the steam era) to suggest the energy inherent in this music.  One early influence was gospel.  In this area Mahalia Jackson looms especially large in my memory, because my mother used to listen to her on TV.  While Jackson recorded only sacred music, she inspired scores of secular singers with the power of her delivery.

Bo's guitar...

...and why such an artifact matters.

Museums are all about artifacts.  Rock Hall has been blessed with a remarkable number of important donations, including guitars owned and used by famous musicians.  These items range in size from one of Michael Jackson's fancy gloves to a 1975 Lincoln Mark IV Coupe owned by Elvis Presley.  I was also amused to see a poster from the early years of Presley's career when "The King of Rock and Roll" was almost a footnote in the concert's lineup.

Michael's glove.

Elvis' wheels.

And a poster showing Elvis listed under
the legendary Wilburn Brothers.

Rock and roll has never pleased everyone.  Self-proclaimed guardians of morality have warned that this kind of music will surely lead the innocent into Satan's grip.  These folks would rather have us listen (as I so often did!) to Patti Page's immortal 1953 rendition of The Doggie in the Window.  "How much is that doggie in the window (arf, arf), the one with the waggley tail?...."

Brother Brad, Tish, and sister Joyce watch a film
of people protesting the baleful influence of rock music.

Costumes used by rock artists are a common type of memorabilia at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.  I was especially pleased to find dresses worn by The Supremes.  In 1964, when I was a student at Denison University, the "dream girls" came to Granville, Ohio, for a concert.  After about four songs the sound system stopped working.  You could tell how disappointed the women were to be unable to perform.  We students were even more disappointed.

The Supremes' costumes.

Rock Hall's current major exhibit is a 50th anniversary
retrospective on the Stones.

It takes a rock fanatic to recognize this!

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum has a logo, seen on the hat above.  It's a 45 rpm spindle adapter, the gadget used to play 45 rpm records on "normal" turntables.  How appropriate! •••