Meet legendary authors and dive into the stories behind some of the greatest moments in rock history. This is your chance to snag signed copies of must-read books and get up close and personal with the writers who bring the music to life:
Alan Light takes you on an unforgettable journey through rock legend with “Peter Frampton: Do You Feel Like I Do”—an inside look at the man behind the iconic guitar sound that defined a generation.
Ben Wynne unpacks the tale of two legends in “A Hound Dog Tale: Big Mama, Elvis, and the Song That Changed Everything”—the song that broke barriers and set the stage for rock ‘n’ roll.
Brad Tolinski chronicles the revolutionary sound of MC5 in “MC5: An Oral Biography of Rock’s Most Revolutionary Band”, featuring the voices of those who lived through the rise of this groundbreaking group.
John Gorman celebrates 50 years of Cleveland’s beloved Buzzard with “Buzzard Archives Vol. 1”, a behind-the-scenes look at the radio station and iconic logo that rocked the airwaves.
Carlo Wolff shines a light on Cleveland’s hidden gems in “Invisible Soul: Uncovering Cleveland’s Underground Soul Scene”, exploring the untold stories of the underground soul movement that helped shape the city’s vibrant musical identity.
Deanna Adams explores how rock and roll has been as much a part of the north coast city of Cleveland as the lake that hugs it in “Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Roots” and honors the astute owners and their venues from yesterday to today-that present fans with the music they crave in “Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Venues”.
Rock Hall legends, stories that shaped the music, and signatures to make it personal—see you at the signing table!
Parking: Paid meters and parking lots are available around the museum on East 9th St., Erieside Ave., Alfred Lerner Way (in front of FirstEnergy Stadium) and at the Great Lakes Science Center. You can also use these links to park in other downtown lots, reserve your parking spot in advance or to take public transportation.
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame features full slate of events for Induction Week, including the inaugural Rock & Roll Hall of Fame-themed Cleveland Browns game, live music, inductee events, book signings and more.
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Emmy Award-winning music journalist and author Alan Light is the co-host of the podcast Sound Up! Alan’s books include The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, and the Unlikely Ascent of “Hallelujah” (which was adapted into the acclaimed documentary Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song), as well as biographies of Prince, Johnny Cash, Nina Simone, and the Beastie Boys. He co-wrote best-selling memoirs with Gregg Allman and Peter Frampton. A former Editor-in-Chief of Spin and Vibe magazines, Alan was a Senior Writer at Rolling Stone, and contributes frequently to the New York Times, Esquire, and the Wall Street Journal, among many publications.
Brad Tolinski was the editor-in-chief of Guitar World magazine, the best-selling magazine for musicians in the world, for over twenty-five years. He is also the author of Eruption: Conversations with Eddie Van Halen, Play It Loud: An Epic History of the Electric Guitar and Light & Shade: Conversations with Jimmy Page.
Ben Wynne is a native of Florence, Mississippi and serves as professor of history at the University of North Georgia in Gainesville, Georgia. He earned an undergraduate degree at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, and a doctorate in history from the University of Mississippi. He specializes in cultural studies of the American South, antebellum America, and the history of American popular music. He has authored multiple books related to southern history and culture, including In Tune: Charley Patton, Jimmie Rodgers and the Roots of American Music and Something in the Water: A History of Music in Macon, Georgia, 1823-1980.
John Gorman began his broadcasting career in Boston and in 1973 moved to Cleveland to join WMMS, a small, free-form FM station then under new ownership. Over the next thirteen years he helped turn WMMS into one of the most popular and influential rock stations in the country, serving as music director and program director, and eventually operations manager of WMMS and WHK. He helped start 98.5 WNCX in Cleveland and has worked with stations in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Cleveland, and other markets. He was inducted into the Ohio Radio-TV Hall of Fame in 2000.
Deanna Adams is an award-winning, multi-genre writer, speaker, and author of nine books, both fiction and nonfiction, including rock books, Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Roots (Arcadia Publishing, 2010), Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Venues (Arcadia Publishing, 2020) and wrote on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum for the Encyclopedia of the Midwest. Her latest book, A Place We Belong, is an historical novel set in Cleveland during Eliot Ness’s reign as city safety director. Deanna is also the longtime coordinator of the Western Reserve Writer’s conference. She is also the “Book Whisperer” for The Cuyahoga County Library’s Writers Center, and, as a Published Penn, she teaches online writing courses for the Pennwriters organization.
