If you said, "Led Zeppelin, 1971," you get 50 bonus points.
At the recent Gear Fest, I mentioned the demographics: a lot of aging rock 'n rollers, and some whippersnappers. Today, continuing our "Rock 'n Roll Tour," we spent the day at the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH. Pretty impressive...
As we were getting ready to head out this morning, we heard a lawn tractor nearby...
For those not familiar, that is known as a "honey wagon"... a pump device and tank to empty the holding tanks of RVs. We see them at rallies, but generally not at a campground. This place is different, however: only the seasonal rentals (and not all of them) have a sewer connection. The lady at the office didn't tell us we needed to sign up for this... so, we will use the dump station on the way out of the park in the morning.
On with our day - got behind this car when we stopped to pick up a breakfast sandwich...
A bit after the fact. though. On to Cleveland, home to the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. Our first view of the Cleveland skyline...
Like most big cities, you pay to park - the RnR HoF does not have a parking lot. We pulled into the pay lot across the street, parked the CR-V, then waited in line for 20 minutes to give the machine our $12... seems this bit of "automation" did not speed up the process (or people didn't know how to use it)...
A short walk...
Less of a line to get into the Hall of Fame than at the parking lot. We started our tour. I realize some may find this a bore or a commercial "sell-out," but rock music has been the "musical score" to our lives. Still is. We lived through this era. I took a LOT of photos, some will be self-explanatory, some may need a caption. It was a great stroll through a lot of good memories for us...
A poster from the Fillmore, featuring Jefferson Airplane and Jimi Hendrix...
One of my favorite bands of that era, the Animals...
That "little ol' band from Texas"...
The photo above is a display about Blondie. The displays are not just about what they wore: there is documentation on the musical influence, and some of the instruments.
No discussion of rock 'n roll would be complete without the Beatles. Check out the price of admission in the poster below...
$4.50 to $5.75 for tickets. Yes, things have changed. Ringo's drum set...
There were displays about places that influenced the music...
And, some of the outstanding venues of the time...
One of the memorable moments when I played in the Flippers was getting to play at the Roof Garden.
Beyonce and Katy Perry displays...
The Rolling Stones...
The first song Joan and I danced to was "Try a Little Tenderness"...
Bands of the Midwest and the British Invasion...
There are some featured displays, where a particular artist or band is given more space for a certain time period. For our sweet daughter Stephanie, some photos of the John Mellencamp room (including his time as "Johnny Cougar" - management doesn't always make smart decisions...
There was a nice display showcasing Les Paul - older folks may remember "Les Paul and Mary Ford," and all rock 'n rollers are familiar with the guitar that rules rock music, the Les Paul. I enjoyed reading how Gibson had turned Paul away with his guitar ideas repeatedly, and he gave them "one more chance" or he would have worked with Fender...
Like any great museum (and this one is world class), the building itself is very much a part of the character - some views within the museum, looking out...
We watched some well-produced videos of former inductees in the theater:
Bonie Rait, with back up by David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash...
James Taylor...
Smokey Robinson...
Stevie Wonder, being backed up by John Legend - no, Stevie doesn't hold still!
B.B. King...
Another extensive display is an entire floor celebrating 50 years of Rolling Stone Magazine...
Heading down the escalator, in true tourist marketing, it drops you off right in the gift shop...
I enjoyed looking around, even found more views outside, looking towards Lake Erie...
Back to the shopping...
"Does this go with my coloring?"
I am pretty much the tie-one in our family. I thought it was cute, but was out-voted. We did get a shirt each, then headed towards the cafe. I said, "If you're done here, how about a real sit-down supper instead of this?" Agreed.
Leaving the museum, there were scads of kids climbing on the letters out front...
Elvis has left the building.
2 comments:
Did you tour the ore boat or he USS Cod? The Cod is the last unmodified WWII sub...
Hi Paul. No, our day was taken up in the museum. With the 4th coming up, we have had to be a bit less "fancy free" and get reservations where we could find them (in NY State), so we didn't have the time for other touristing.
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