Rock Hall Strives for Longevity

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

CLEVELAND – The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has embraced the slogan “Long Live Rock,” which is the title of a song written by Pete Townshend of The Who in 1971. The three words stand in 6-foot-tall red letters in front of the building. 

And the Hall is taking measures to ensure that rock lives long.

On a recent Tuesday morning there were busloads of elementary school children in the museum on the shore of Lake Erie before the building was open to the public. The roots of rock and roll go back decades before these kids were born, but immersing them in the music at an early age gives them something to grasp as they develop their own musical tastes.

Additionally, the Hall has included documentation and displays of the music and musicians of the new millennium to help draw in young fans. The rap/hip-hop genre is well represented.

The six-story glass pyramid that serves as rock’s official Mecca has dozens of displays that  enable a visitor to read about the music and the artists, hear some of the songs, view video clips and see photos and memorabilia. 

While a 10-year-old may not be able to understand that Jimi Hendrix is considered the greatest guitarist in rock history, that child will be touched by seeing a Hendrix guitar and one of his colorful costumes and by hearing a few seconds of “Purple Haze.”

To the kids peering into the glass cases, the colorful and often outlandish costumes turn old-time musicians like Elton John, Freddie Mercury, Janis Joplin and Sly Stewart into superheroes. I’ll bet that many never grow tired of hearing and reading about those mystical, magical rockers of yesteryear.

I can imagine an exchange like this when a schoolboy comes home from a day at the Rock Hall:

Mother: “Johnny, what did you learn at the Rock Museum today?”

Johnny: “Mommy, did you know that Keith Moon didn’t just play the drums – he attacked them with his sticks! And at the end of the show, he blew them up!”

Any visitor can get a sense of history just by comparing the stars of the 1950s to those of the ensuing five decades.

Interestingly, some exhibits document 1950s protests against rock and roll and the 1980s movement to put warning labels on recordings that contained explicit lyrics. Even a 1966protest against the Beatles is noted. 

In 2017 the top three floors were dedicated to exhibits concerning Rolling Stone Magazine, which was observing its 50th anniversary. One room depicted the way the publication’s office appeared in 1967, with little more than two desks, a telephone and a typewriter.

While Rolling Stone did extensive reporting on politics, it hitched its star to rock music and quickly became the industry standard for music news and artist interviews. The music and the magazine have been good for each other. Publisher Jann Wenner became a Hall inductee in 2004 for lifetime achievement as a non-performer.

According to the Hall’s publications, leaders in the music industry united in 1983 to create the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation. One of the Foundation’s functions is the recognition of people who have had a significant impact on the evolution, development and perpetuation of rock and roll through induction into the Hall.

Inductees fall into four categories:

1) Performers, who become eligible 25 years after the release of their first recording.

2) Ahmet Ertegun Award, for songwriters, disc jockeys, record executives and other industry professionals who have had a major influence on the creative development of rock and roll. Ertegun (1923-2006) is best known as the co-founder and president of Atlantic Records, and he spearheaded efforts to form the Foundation.

3) Early Influences, for artists whose musical style and influence helped create, expand and evolve rock and roll.

4) Award for Musical Excellence, to honor musicians, songwriters and producers who have spent their careers creating music whose originality, impact and influence have changed the course of music history. Previously this was called the Sidemen category.

Special committees select the inductees in the last three categories.

Per a pamphlet, “The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s nominating committee is composed of a cross section of rock and roll historians, artists and industry personnel. Nominee ballots are sent to an international voting body of approximately 900 voters, including past inductees, musicians and industry experts. Those performers who receive the highest number of votes by the voting deadline date, are inducted. The Foundation generally inducts five to seven performers each year.”

A Hall of Fame manager was unresponsive to questions attempting to obtain more details about the voting process and inner workings of the Foundation.

The Foundation inducted its first class in 1986. The performers were Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Elvis Presley. Early influences were Robert Johnson, Jimmie Rodgers and Jimmy Yancey. John Hammond received the Lifetime Achievement Award. Non-performers were Alan Freed and Sam Phillips.

In the class of 2017, the performers were Joan Baez, ELO, Journey, Pearl Jam, N.W.A and Steve Miller. Nile Rodgers was voted the Award for Musical Excellence.

Eric Clapton is the only three-time inductee – as a member of the Yardbirds (1992) and Cream (1993) and as a solo act (2000). Rod Stewart, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Jeff Beck, Neil Young, Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Paul Simon, Jimmy Page, Ron Wood, Peter Gabriel, Curtis Mayfield, Clyde McPhatter, Stevie Nicks and Michael Jackson have been inducted into the Hall twice each.

Many photographs on display in the museum have been greatly enlarged, and why not? Most legendary musicians have become larger than life.

If the amount of memorabilia on display appears to be somewhat small, one should remember that the Hard Rock chain had a big head start, piling up artist-used clothing and equipment for display in its 200-plus cafes and hotels since 1971.

Photography without flash is permitted throughout the museum.

Since 2012 fans have had the opportunity to cast votes online for their favorite nominees. The top five vote-getters in the public poll form one ballot, which is weighted the same as the rest of the submitted ballots.

When the Foundation was considering a permanent home for the Hall in 1985, the City of Cleveland threw its hat into the ring for consideration and committed $65 million. On the strength of 600,000 fans’ signatures on a petition, it beat out cities like Memphis, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Philadelphia and New Orleans in 1986.

Why Cleveland? It was the home of Leo Mintz’s Record Rendezvous shop, where he purveyed rhythm and blues recordings instead of promoting the jazz and big band music that was popular at the time. And disc jockey Alan “Moondog” Freed began his stint on local radio station WJW in 1951, playing Mintz’s favorite music and later referring to it as “rock ‘n’ roll.”

On March 21, 1952, the Moondog Coronation Ball took place in Cleveland as the first-ever rock concert. The event was shut down after a riot broke out, but the show’s effect on the future of live music was profound.

Groundbreaking for the I.M. Pei-designed structure was held on June 7, 1993, and the ceremony was attended by the likes of Townshend, Sun Records founder Sam Phillips, Chuck Berry, Billy Joel and Ruth Brown. The grand opening was held on Sept. 2, 1995, and was graced with a concert featuring Berry, Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, the Allman Brothers Band, Lou Reed, Jackson Browne, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard.

Since that day more than 10 million visitors have entered the building, and an economic impact in excess of $2 billion has been generated in northeastern Ohio.

The annual induction ceremonies and accompanying concerts, previously held in Cleveland and   New York City, moved back to Cleveland in 2017.

The Hall already has made inroads in becoming an international institution. A temporary facility opened in Tokyo in September 2016, with a permanent facility to follow. The executives in Cleveland forged a licensing agreement with a group of Japanese collaborators in music, media and business, who have a budget of $24 million to build a stand-alone museum, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Japan is the world’s second largest rock market. Deals to place similar satellite facilities in England and Germany have fallen through to this point.

The museum is open seven days a week, closing only on Thanksgiving and Christmas. In addition to daily admissions ($23.50 adults, $21.25 senior, $13.75 youth), the Hall sells memberships on five different levels.

In 2016 total attendance reached 543,000.

The Hall’s mission: Engage, teach and inspire through the power of rock and roll.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is a place where old and young music lovers can peacefully coexist. Those who influenced music rest side-by-side with those who have been influenced. And history really comes alive.