Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
Cleveland, Ohio
Photo Courtesy of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
In need of a weekend getaway, my team member and his significant other headed to Cleveland. The famed city offers much to do and see; however, one stop that was firmly placed on top of the priority list was the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
Set on the shore of Lake Erie, this glass-dominated building makes
an incredible first impression. This 150,000 square foot geometrically formed
building was designed by architect I.M. Pei and opened to the public in 1995.
Much as the name suggests, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and
Museum combines history, pop culture and honors those who have been pivotal to
the rock music industry of both yesterday and today.
Appropriately, the museum is located in Cleveland where in the
1950s, disc jockey, Alan Freed first used the term “rock and roll”. The rest,
as they say, is history.
Today, the museum includes a variety of frequently changing
exhibits that includes artifacts, photos, images and of course, the music that
showcases just what rock and roll is and how it has evolved through the years.
Along with dynamic and engaging exhibits, the museum has also now
introduced The Garage. The Garage consists of five main
areas where visitors can play real instruments (or learn to play), jam with
friends, as well as even brand their own band with customized merchandise and much
more.
The Garage allows visitors the opportunity to
connect first-hand with the music they love. It brings the museum experience to
a new level. Through videos, visitors can learn about some of the key
instruments of rock and participate in a brief lesson on how to play major
riffs from curated Inductee songs.
The Garage features a variety of instruments
from the museum. This exhibit is currently featuring the following artifacts:
- Original wooden plank guitar prototype made and played by Les
Paul.
- 6-string Fender Telecaster guitar used in studio by various
artists, including B.B. King, Jeff Beck and Johnny Marr of The Smiths, among
others.
- Ludwig floor tom drum played by Tobi Vail of Bikini
Kill throughout her tenure with the group.
- Fender Custom Shop Stratocaster guitar with synchronized
Tremelo and original custom body, played by Buddy Guy.
- Technics Quartz direct drive turntable used by Terminator X of
Public Enemy.
- Goya 6-string electric guitar played by Debbie Harry of Blondie.
- Black Sabbath crash cymbals.
- Fender Telecaster 6-string electric guitar played by Susan
Tedeschi.
- Fender Bassman amplifier used at FAME Studios by Rick and Rodney
Hall
Along with the exhibits and The Garage, the Museum also offers educational programming and has a large research library.
Of course, we simply can’t overlook the fact that it is sometimes an artist’s dream to become inducted into the Hall of Fame. Musicians become eligible for induction into the Hall of Fame 25 years after the release of their first commercial release. From there, a committee selects nominees each year. The nominees are then narrowed down to approximately five to seven Inductees being chosen each year. Along with musicians, others who have made a significant impact on rock (producers, disk jockeys, etc.) can be inducted into the Hall of Fame as well.
To plan your own visit to the Rock & Rock Roll Hall of Fame, please visit rockhall.com.
