I came back baby, ’cause Rock and Roll never forgets.  I’m not sure how one’s memory works, but there’s rock and roll music constantly playing on the juke box in this cowboys head.  I sometimes can’t remember what I did yesterday, but if an old Elton John, Bob Seger, or Fleetwood Mac song comes on the radio, I can sing all the lyrics.

It must have gotten implanted there when I was in my teens in the late 60’s and early 70’s listening to rock and roll music non stop.  And while my music tastes have expanded quite a bit (I’m now a country music fan), I still like that old-time rock and roll.  That kind of music just soothes the soul.

This was my second visit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.  I first visited with my wife back in 2006.  It was a bucket list thing back then.  Sort of like going to Mecca.  It’s so cool to see memorabilia, costumes, and personal notes from the giants and icons of rock music.

This time, I was returning from a Colorado road trip with my son, Cavin.  He’s a big rock and roll music fan so I figured it would be a treat for him to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Getting to the Hall of Fame

Getting there was pretty easy based on our route of following I-90 right into Cleveland.  The Hall of Fame is right downtown by the waterfront.  Parking for RV’s is nearby, but they charge $25 to park a RV.  Five times the going car rate.  Thought I was being scammed, but I looked it up and that’s the official rate for a downtown city lot.  I was in a secure lot and had an easy walk over the Hall of Fame, but it didn’t sit well with me.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Entrance

When you enter the Hall of Fame, there’s a place to have your picture taken with some guitar props.  You get to pose and then they put some backgrounds in and sell it to you when you leave.  My wife and I did a stand up picture back in 2006.

This time I wanted to do something different with Cavin.  I thought about some iconic rock photos – Chuck Berry’s duck walk, Pete Townsend wind mill stance, Johnny Cash standing with the black Gibson.  Then Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” album cover photo came to mind.  The Boss is leaning on Clarence Clemons holding his guitar.  That would be my pose.  I only had one take but I think it came out pretty good.

J. Dawg and son at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Exhibits and Displays

Much of the displays and exhibits are from groups and performers from the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s.  Some of the displays and exhibits have changed in the past 10 years.  Here’s some items and info that were new to me on this second visit.

• The guitar (Fender Stratocaster) that Jimi Hendrix used to played The Star Spangled Banner at Woodstock.  That song was the last one he played at the end of his two hour set.
  

  Jimi Hendrix guitar

• I didn’t know that Hendrix enlisted in the Army to try to avoid doing jail time for a couple of petty crimes.  He trained as a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne Division.   He was discharged for being unfit to serve.  His sergeant said he missed too many bed checks, was always tired from being up late, and generally unfit to be a soldier.
• The sleeveless leather fringed vest that Grace Slick wore at Woodstock.  She chose it because she wanted to wear something that would be cool in the hot summer weather.  She said she would have chosen something different if she knew it was going to be muddy and rain all weekend.
  

  Grace Slick’s vest

• Famous guitar maker, Les Paul, almost went to work for Leo Fender.  Both Paul and Fender were pioneer builders of solid body electric guitars.  Paul was working on a prototype that had a low action (easier to play) and better treble sound.  He wanted Gibson to accept his prototype and build the guitar.  They initially turned him down.  Leo Fender offered him a job to build it at his factory.  Les Paul said he wanted a few more months to take another run at Gibson.  Gibson finally agreed and the Gibson Les Paul model became one the most popular guitars in history.
•  When David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash formed their new group (Crosby, Stills, Nash) they signed a record deal with Atlantic Records.  Ahment Ertegun, president of Atlantic Records, suggested they add Neil Young to the group to get better sound.  Stephen Stills and Neil Young had played together as members of the Buffalo Springfield, but they were antagonists.  When Ertegun made his suggestion Stills said it would be like “throwing a grenade into a room”.  He felt Young was too disruptive.  But Ertegun knew that the competitive presence of Young made Stills play better.  A good example to hear this is on the song Ohio.
• I saw some new guitar displays – Muddy Waters Fender Telecaster, Maybelle Carter’s Gibson, John Lennon’s Rickenbacker, and Eric Clapton’s hollow body Gibson he played at the Concert for Bangladesh.
  

  Chuck Berry outfit and guitar

  

  John Lennon’s suit from the St. Peppers Album cover.

  

  Eric Clapton’s hollow body Gibson

Much of what is on display at the Hall of Fame is geared towards baby boomers who you grew up in the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s listening to rock music.  You have to know the artists or have listened to the music to fully appreciate much of what you’re seeing.

Johnny Cash’s tour bus that he had custom made . He used it from 1980 until 2003.

I noticed there were some new displays with items from Beyonce, Katie Perry, and Lady Gaga.  These folks aren’t inducted into the Hall of Fame but my guess is that the people who run the Hall of Fame are trying to appeal to a younger visitor.

The Future

Which makes me wonder who will be the inductees 10 years from now.  Rock and Roll isn’t a dominate music category like it was back in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s.  Just turn on the radio.  You can still hear classic rock but now there’s more rap, hip hop, pop, gospel, electronic, and country.   And many of the classic rockers are passing away.

It seems today that music performers now tend to be more individual versus groups.  Will Whitney Houston, Jennifer Hudson, Beyonce, the Foo Fighters, Adele, and Katie Perry be future inductees?  Will people come to see Justin Bieber’s tee-shirt, Pharrells hat, or a Britney Spears outfits?  Perhaps the millennials will want to see the stuff they grew up with.

But, a lot of the old music I listened to is timeless and won’t be going away.  I have the Sirius/XM Rock and Roll Hall of Fame radio as one of my favorite stations to listen to while traveling.  When one of those old AC/DC songs plays, it still gets this old geezer’s blood pumping.  

” Rock ‘n’ roll ain’t noise pollution
Rock ‘n’ roll ain’t gonna die
Rock ‘n’ roll ain’t noise pollution
Rock ‘n’ roll it will survive
Yes it will.”    

Same thing happens when I hear one of those 80’s Hair Band anthems like Bon Jovi’s “Bad Medicine” or Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar on Me”.

I guess Neil Young’s probably right – Rock and Roll can never die.