Thank you Alex
We lost an American icon yesterday with the passing of Alex Chilton.
He followed his own path, emerging in the 1960s as a vocalist with the Box Tops—that’s his growl on The Letter—and moved in a different direction in the 1970s with seminal Memphis band Big Star. September Gurls still gives me the chills. He then dropped in and out of view during what some have called his “lost decade.”
I came of age in the early 1980s in dusty record stores and Salvation Army thrift shops and among our crowd Chilton was an enigma that we embraced. He was rumored to be washing dishes in New Orleans, playing gigs overseas, recording with The Cramps, or simply in voluntary seclusion. The Replacements stoked the flames and we tracked down Chilton’s vinyl—especially his messier late 1970s stuff— and passed around the rare live cassette. His EPs from this era are fantastic. You feel a river of American music flowing from them. They would stay parked on your turntable for weeks after you purchased them. The songs were pure, damp, and loose with an acidic edge at times that felt just right. Thank You John, Lost My ...
At the Heart of the Matter
Admittedly, working at the museum provides a unique perspective on the induction ceremony. We sometimes will know far in advance who is or isn’t appearing and who may or may not perform. You look at it on paper and the conversation starts. What will this year’s event be like? It’s taken me a long time to come to a conclusion but I think I’ve figured it out. It doesn’t matter if this band member doesn’t come or that artist doesn’t perform. That’s all distraction. What makes each annual ceremony a singular event is the display of real human emotion. That’s all that truly matters. It’s the moment these performers drop the artifice and protection mode they often employ just to survive being in the spotlight, and genuinely reveal themselves. Last night at the Waldorf, Iggy Pop, the most fearsome and uncompromising performer I have ever seen, spoke of the Stooges and his late friend and band mate Ron Asheton, with tears in his eyes. ABBA’s Benny Andersson wistfully remembering buying his first record (Elvis Presley’s “Don’t Be Cruel” / “Treat Me Nice”) and how this new and totally ...
Does Rock and Roll Belong in a Museum?
I am in the basement of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, staring at the sacred object that is John Cippollina’s amplifier, a Bride-of-Frankenstein creation that shotgun-marries the solid stateliness of Standell with the classique tube overload of Fender, topped by two monstrous horns to ensure the treble frequencies pierce any solar plexus within range.
Of course, I would love to hear this magnificent beast, especially when brought to life by the electric magnetic energy of John’s custom Gibson SG which sits awaiting next to its amplifier; but of course, that is impossible, given Cippollina’s unfortunately early demise. Yet I am as close to it as I might be on any night at the Avalon Ballroom in 1966; and I vicariously partake of its magic, inspiration, and thingness, seeing within it the shadow of its creator.
Over the past couple of months, with the imminent opening of the long awaited Hall of Fame Library, that will provide an archive of this hybrid musical mutation we call rock and roll, of which I have been a longtime vocal proponent and hunter/gatherer, I have been asked whether such enshrinement is good for the unruly immediacy that characterizes ...
The Making of the 2010 Inductees Exhibit
Inductions are always an exciting time at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, made even more so when a new inductee is in the house! Terry Sylvester, lead singer of 2010 inductees the Hollies, made an appearance on the Museum’s Main Stage on March 10. Sylvester performed six songs, including Hollies’ hits “Long Cool Woman (in a Black Dress) ,” “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother” and “Bus Stop.” Inspired by the Rock Hall’s featured Bruce Springsteen exhibit, Sylvester performed the Hollies’ version of Springsteen’s “The Fourth of July, Asbury Park (Sandy).” Sylvester reminded the enthusiastic mid-day audience that the Hollies recorded the first-ever cover of a Springsteen song with “Sandy,” in 1975, well before Springsteen’s break though into superstardom.
After his performance, Sylvester stopped by the Hall of Fame to check on the installation of the New Inductees exhibit. Sylvester handed over the acoustic guitar used on the Hollies 1974 hit “The Air That I Breathe” for the exhibit, giving me information about the guitar for the exhibit text. It’s a curator’s dream to have an exhibit donor at hand to provide pertinent details about the artifacts!
This year’s group ...
Introducing the NEW rockhall.com!
Big news today! We are proud to tell you that the newly-designed rockhall.com website is up and running. On any given day, more people connect with the Rock Hall via the website than in any other way. Our mission, as you know, is to educate visitors, fans and scholars about the history and continuing significance of rock and roll music. The new website brings that to life.
This new site encourages users to go deeper within the site, to stay longer on the site and to connect with us. It will be filled with exclusive artist interviews, induction videos, photo galleries, songs, transcripts of induction speeches and merchandise.
The redesigned site is fueled by a new content management system in which Rock Hall staffers can use one interface to post more quickly video, blogs, photo galleries and other content to different pages.
Amazing things happen here in Cleveland. Legendary artists tell stories you’ve never heard. New artists are discovered. People behind the scenes share different perspectives and history is both documented and made here.
The website and digital strategy was provided courtesy of a generous grant from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation in New York ...
Inside look at Insights Education Course
The Rock Hall Education Department teaches over 20,000 K-12 students every year through our Rockin’ the Schools programming. These hour-long classes, which cover topics from the history of hip-hop to the science of sound, teach the rich history of rock and roll, while meeting and exceeding educational content standards in areas like social studies, science, mathematics, and the language arts. It’s amazing to watch learning come alive for the students who visit us at the Museum.
A group of ten middle school students from Hawken School, led by teacher, Tim Desmond, worked in residence at the Rock Hall as part of an experimental Insights Course offered at the school. The students spent three full days at the Museum, attending Rockin’ the Schools classes, exploring exhibits, and working together on self-directed research projects. Participants even got the chance to interview members of the Education Department on topics ranging from hip-hop to heavy metal. These interviews were later used in short documentaries developed and produced by the students themselves.
It was an honor to work with such thoughtful and engaged students and exciting to watch their progress over the three days of their stay. I was continually impressed by the ...
What's Happening at the Library and Archives
Andy Leach, director of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's Library and Archives, gives a behind the scenes look at the Library and Archives in downtown Cleveland.
Things are coming along at the Library and Archives. Our staff moved into our brand new facility in December, and since then, we’ve transferred about a third of our materials from offsite storage and have begun processing these collections in order to make them accessible to the public someday. We’re also in the midst of determining our needs for online systems and data storage and planning our in-house digitization and conversation labs for the long-term preservation of our collections. Behind the scenes, making all of this happen is a very talented and hard-working group of employees, interns, and volunteers. As we continue to interview job candidates and fill new positions, it is increasingly clear to me that by the time we open our doors to the public in late 2010, our Library and Archives will be staffed by a first-class group of music librarians and archivists.
Equally outstanding are the archival collections that ...
Happy Birthday, Beachland Ballroom!
In the spirit of rock and roll and pride for the Cleveland music scene, the Rock Hall frequently partners with area venues in celebration of rock and roll as an art form, and one such venue is the Beachland Ballroom and Tavern. In its now 10 year run, the Beachland has become one of the most renowned places to perform at and see live music. Rock Hall Assistant Curator Meredith Rutledge shares its history and hopes with Beachland co-owner Cindy Barber.
A local and national music treasure celebrates its 10th anniversary March 5. Cindy Barber, co-owner of the Beachland Ballroom and Tavern, an anchor of Cleveland’s North Collinwood neighborhood, is planning on commemorating this milestone with t-shirts sporting the slogan, “The Beachland – Celebrating 10 Years of Deficit Spending!” When asked about her inspiration for starting a music venue, Barber replies, “Insanity is what made me think of starting the Beachland!” Barber is only half-joking about the challenges that have faced the Beachland during its run as one of the nation’s premier and most eclectic venues. She had been working as co-founder and editor of the Cleveland Free Times, and at the end of the 1990s was offered another ...
