The Rock Rises in Cleveland

It was July 18, 1985 when a group of Cleveland policians and business leaders, with the help of a few music industry folks, first proposed Cleveland as the site for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum to the New York-based board of directors. Now ten years later, it's finally shaping up, but there were many scary years. If it weren't for the current director's hands-on desire for quality, rock music fans might have been wandering through "the Soda Shop" gallery when the $92-million Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum ribbon-cutting on September 1 in Cleveland's North Coast Harbor. Since this project has been in the planning stages for more than a decade, designs have come and gone over the years, even the site was moved so that architect I.M. Pei's six-story ice-palace could rise from Lake Erie. At one low point, in 1986 or so, there was an incredible press conference where over-enthusiastic administrators unveiled a model of a Rock Hall design that showed six different connected rooms or "environments" where one might have first heard rock music. Besides the soda shop scene there was a dorm room with posters on the wall; a back alley fire escape where doo-wop groups presumably hung out; and a high school gym where a sock hop might have occurred. Thankfully, that's not what's in store for opening day dignitaries -Ñ and more than 800 media representatives from around the world including Australian television -Ñ to the Rock Hall. Instead, Rock Hall Director Dennis Barrie, who came to this job from Cinncinnati and the Mapplethorpe censorship fight, and Chief Curator James Henke, a former editor at Rolling Stone, is overseeing the assembly and presentation of what appears to be a real museum. Although there will be areas still unfinished (the library archives and the circular theater will not be completed by the opening) and collections are still being pursued (Henke is hot the trail of Bob Dylan, who is still holding out), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum looks like it will be a respectable representation of the once-cursed art form. The physical installation of exhibits into the 150,000 square foot museum began on June 28 and crews are working round the clock to have things in order for opening day. The 30,000 sq. ft. main floor, which is partially underground, contains two 50-seat theaters running two different introductory 12-minute films -- one on the roots of rock and the second on rock as a social force from Elvis on. On a nearby wall, beautifully printed black-and-white portrait photos of early influences like Louis Jordan and Hank Williams hang next to interactive computers which allow you to pick an artist and discover who their influences were. Chuck Berry sites Louis Jordan, for example, so you can read a quote from Berry and hear a Jordan song back to back with one of Berry's. Listening posts offer a selection of 500 songs that shaped rock and roll with explanations of why each song was picked. Six floor to ceiling panels depict major protests of the "devil's music" including Frank Zappa testifying in Congress and a San Antonio councilman's 1985 statement, in reference to Ice-T's song "Cop Killer" that "the first amendment should not apply to rock and roll." The large main floor, which houses the Ahmet Ertegun Exhibit Hall, is dotted with exhibit platforms sporting mannequins, equipment, artifacts and memorabilia. The Allman Brothers donated early instruments so their display will be set up like a stage. George Clinton's area will focus on his flashy costumes. The Everly Brothers donated their entire lives, including report cards and early lyric sheets. Other displays will center on Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Alice Cooper, The Supremes, The Beatles and Elvis, whose platform includes materials on loan from Graceland. On the smaller floors above, there will be moving exhibits on the Byrds, The Band, Chuck Berry, Neil Young, Bob Marley and U2. Collectibles include Buddy Holly's high school diploma, Roger McQuinn's 12-string Rickenbacker, The Band's studio log book, hand-written lyrics for "Four Dead in Ohio" and one of Bob Marley's dreadlocks donated by his wife Rita. Henke says these displays will be changed periodically as more material becomes available or when they decide to rotate in other pieces from the permanent collection. Along one long wall is a series of glass cases focusing on regional music scenes starting with Memphis in the '50s and going through Detroit, San Francisco, London/New York for punk, New York with rap and Seattle. Still on the first floor is an exhibit on fans -- interviews with fanatics such as the guy who makes Mr. Tamborine Man dolls for sale. One New York collector donated his 3000 pairs of autographed drumsticks. You'll also find Janis Joplin's psychedelic Porshe on display, donated from her sister. Another theater shows What I Say, a 30-minute film of songwriters telling stories about creating their songs from Carl Perkins and "Blue Suede Shoes" to the Brian Wilson and "Good Vibrations." There is a fun audio tribute to One-Hit Wonders. Henke says they tracked down 14 different one-hit artists to interview including Bubble Puppy, Syndicate of Sound and Cleveland's own Joe Jeffrey Group, who hit the charts with "My Pledge of Love" in 1969. A special display will honor the pioneering work of both the Atlantic and Sun record companies. Henke is particularly proud of the Sun Records donations to the Rock Hall. Not only did Sam Philips donate the original equipment from his Memphis recording studio but the museum has studio log books, incorporation papers and telegrams back and forth from Colonel Parker concerning the sale of Elvis' contract. Upstairs in the white tower that rises out of the Harbor, the smaller second floor concentrates on rock and the media, including radio, film, television and print. The radio section includes a film on early 1950s' Cleveland DJ Alan Freed, who is credited with coining the term rock and roll, as well as a replica his 1954 radio studio. Airchecks and radio programs Ñ stretching from the '40s through the '80s Ñ from more than 100 different stations can be dialied out on headsets. The television exhibit will range from The Monkees to MTV. Rock video trees will run constant clips and show a history of videos. A continous loop display will show rock movie clips, such as Spinal Tap, Hard Day's Night and Tommy. There is a large poster collection and walls of music magazines from early Creem to Punk. Upstairs are more exhibits, a cafeteria and the circular theater that will not open until sometime in 1996. A 175-seat auditorium will be used for lectures and films. During museum hours a short documentary-style film on what rock is and how it's changed will be shown. On the fifth floor is a functional radio studio where visting disc jockeys can broadcast live from the site. From there a circular staircase leads to the actual Hall of Fame, the sacred darkened chamber where the rock hall inductees are represented by their signatures on etched glass lit from behind. Scattered video monitors show short profiles. The dark chamber with its high ceilings is the only place in the whole building which will be silent, devoid of piped in music. The museum's installation was in full swing when the announcement was made of Jerry Garcia's death. There in the darkened chamber, scratched in marker on the brown packing material was written "Goodbye. Be Free Jerry & Thanks." Outside, the flags flew at halfmast. Though there's much work yet to do, even beyond opening day, the spirit of rock does indeed seem to be rising in Cleveland.