At the Library and Archives: Storm Thorgerson Retrospectives
Storm Thorgerson, arguably best known as the designer of Pink Floyd’s album cover for Dark Side of the Moon, died Thursday, April 18, 2013, after a battle with cancer. He was both a close friend to the band and integral to their artistic vision. The Library and Archives has two compendiums of his career, which lasted from the 1960s well into 2012. The first, Mind Over Matter : the Images of Pink Floyd, concentrates on his breakthrough work with the influential rock band and 1996 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees. The second is a lavish, limited edition set by Genesis Publications called Taken by Storm : the Album Art of Storm Thorgerson (pictured below), which features a 203-page book edited by Thorgerson himself, as well as full-color prints, a bonus retrospective book on SunStorm Studios and a 3-D Viewmaster of cover images.
The Library and Archives also holds several album cover collections edited and compiled by Thorgerson:
Classic album Covers of the 60s / compiled and written by Storm Thorgerson
Album Cover Album / edited by Storm Thorgerson & Roger Dean
Album Cover Album : the Second Volume / edited by Storm Thorgerson, Roger Dean & David Howells
Album Cover Album : 5 / compiled by Roger ...
At the Library and Archives: The Smith Tapes 1969-1972
Howard Smith was a man both on the scene and of the scene in late-1960s New York. As a photographer, columnist and broadcaster, Smith immersed himself in the emerging subculture of music and art while maintaining a keen journalist’s eye on the revolution happening around him. The interviews that comprise the set, The Smith Tapes 1969-1972, recently acquired by the Library and Archives, are raw, unedited recordings with those at the forefront of the hippie subculture as well as the era’s rock superstars, including John Lennon, Abbie Hoffman, Lou Reed, the authors of Hair, and Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper talking about their new film Easy Rider.
Within this compelling collection there are some true gems. A USB flash drive – cleverly housed in a replica audio cassette with faux-stained labels – contains a collection of reports from the Woodstock Music and Arts Festival, where Smith describes both the serenity of the fans and the struggle of organizers amidst the rain and near-overwhelming crowds. On one of the final discs in the collection is a brief phone interview with Janis Joplin who, when questioned about the burgeoning women’s liberation movement, initially dismisses it but encourages women not to settle ...
Celebrating Record Store Day In Cleveland – and Beyond
I’m a native Clevelander, and have always been a keen record shopper. I bought my first record with my own money, Lulu’s “To Sir, With Love,” at the Disc record store in Severance Center mall, across from the cinema where my Mom and I had just seen the movie starring Sidney Poitier. As a kid I shopped ‘em all: Record Revolution and the Record Exchange on Coventry Road in Cleveland Heights; Tommy Edward’s Record Heaven in the Memphis-Fulton Shopping Center in Cleveland and the venerable Record Rendezvous in downtown Cleveland, among others.
When I moved to New York City in the late Seventies, my record jones sent me out on regular excursions around Greenwich Village, both east and west. Sounds on St. Mark’s Place was my East Village haunt, while Bleeker Bob’s, closer to the West Side, was a little more out of the way. It took awhile for me to warm up to Bleeker's – or rather – for the store to warm up to me. I experienced my own ...
Inside the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
On April 18, 2013, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame officially ushers the 2013 class of inductees into the Hall of Fame during the 28th annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The class – Lou Adler, Heart, Quincy Jones, Albert King, Randy Newman, Public Enemy, Rush and Donna Summer – are represented in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland's newest exhibit. In the series of clips below, get a behind the scenes look at the 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees exhibit. Visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum to see the new exhibit!
Lou Adler
Heart
Quincy Jones
Albert King
Randy Newman
Public Enemy
Rush
Donna Summer
American Treasure: 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee Randy Newman
“See, if I were to write Billy Joel’s ‘Just The Way You Are,’ I’d wreck it,” he said, explaining why his instincts run contrary to pop music. “I’d have written ‘I love you just the way you are, you stupid little bitch.’ Which really isn’t as good.”
Of course, he’s joking. But he’s also serious. And it’s that’s precise blend of humor and gravity that has distinguished the songs of Randy Newman from the start. He’s both one of the most hilarious and most serious of all songwriters. A compositional genius, he’s the only great American songwriter to become an accomplished film composer (with some 26 films to date, each with a fully orchestral score he wrote and conducted himself). But he’s also a lyrical genius who has done more than created a style; he’s created his own school of songwriting.
Newman’s songs use the novelistic technique of the untrustworthy narrator, a sometimes funny, often dark, always effective way of shaping a song.
Asked why he chose this indirect method of songwriting, he said: “Maybe it’s a psychological defect. I don’t want to stand up ...
Interview with John Mayer, reflecting on 2013 Hall of Fame Inductee Albert King
The consistency with which John Mayer combines word craft and melody has earned him rarefied status as a respected songwriter and musician. As one of few musicians to achieve both critical acclaim and popular appeal, the seven-time Grammy Award winner has earned accolades for each album release while selling more than 17 million albums worldwide.
Known as a musician who defies genre boundaries, Mayer is well known for collaborations with a range of artists. From rock to blues, hip-hop to jazz to country, Mayer has performed and/or recorded with Hall of Fame inductees Eric Clapton, BB King and Buddy Guy, as well as T-Bone Burnett, Herbie Hancock, Dixie Chicks, Jay Z and Alicia Keys.
On April 18, 2013, John Mayer will induct legendary blues man Albert King into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the 28th Annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. Mayer will also perform a tribute to Albert King with Gary Clark Jr.
In this interview with John Mayer, the musician reflects on the lasting influence of Albert King, including how King's music first resonated with him and why King belongs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Rock Hall: What's your ...
Interview with Hall of Fame Inductee Rev Run of Run-DMC
2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Rev Run of Run-DMC recently visited the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, where he sat down with the Rock Hall to discuss what it was like to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and his impressions of 2013 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees Public Enemy.
Public Enemy will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on April 18, 2013, in Los Angeles. The 2013 Hall of Fame inductee exhibit opens at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 16, 2013!
Muddy Waters and the Rolling Stones
In the history of rock and roll, Muddy Waters represented the tide that brought the Southern blues traditions to the north and amplified them. Along the way, he inspired the name of among the biggest rock and roll bands of all time – the Rolling Stones – and countless other artists who emerged in his wake.
Muddy Waters was born McKinley Morganfield on April 4, 1913, in Issaquena County, Mississippi. Following his mother’s death in 1918, McKinley, the son of a farmer, was raised by his grandmother who lovingly gave him the nickname “Muddy” after his fondness for fishing and playing in a muddy creek. Being a pioneer of the Delta blues, Waters eventually took his talents on the road and landed at Chess Records in Chicago, Illinois. Many of the songs that Waters recorded have become blues landmarks, including “Honey Bee,” “(I’m Your) Hoochie Coochie Man,” “I Just Wanna Make Love to You” and “Got My Mojo Working.”
In the Sixties, Waters played a large role in the blues revival that took American blues “across the pond.” A youthful group of Brits who formed a band in 1962 – Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Charlie Watts, Ian Stewart and ...
