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Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Nominees - Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame In Cleveland - Ohio Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame
Rock On Exhibit
A Decade After Opening, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame And Museum Teaches Musical Lessons
By John Benson
When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum staged its 10th annual American Music Masters concert last November at Cleveland's State Theater as a tribute to Sam Cooke, even the performers were star struck. Elvis Costello, for one, walked offstage in a haze, leaving behind Solomon Burke and Aretha Franklin to sing "A Change Is Gonna Come."
Costello admitted that he had to keep pinching himself, says Warren Zanes, VP of education at the museum, who was standing in the wings that evening. The singer -? a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee in 2003 -- could not believe he was performing with his heroes on such a once-in-a-lifetime bill.
These are the moments the museum's staff works toward.
"If you do it right," Zanes says, "you then have someone of Elvis Costello's stature, who is an ambassador, that goes and says they [the Rock Hall] are about the music, about teaching the lessons that you can teach from the music."
On March 13, 2006, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame will hold its annual induction dinner in New York. Black Sabbath, Blondie, Miles Davis, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Sex Pistols and the founders of A&M Records -- Herb Albert and Jerry Moss -- are this year's honorees.
Meanwhile, at some point this year, the Hall's 6 millionth visitor will walk into the $84 million, I.M. Pei-designed triangular facility, which opened in September 1995.
That milestone will merit a brief celebration, perhaps a few balloons and local TV coverage. But otherwise it will be just another day for the museum, which is scenically perched on the shores of Lake Erie, alongside the Great Lakes Science Center and in the shadow of Cleveland Browns Stadium.
Despite the fact the hall celebrated its 10th anniversary last year, there's little time for reflection for the institution, which has been strengthening its programs, expanding its facilities and enhancing its image.
"I think one of our biggest challenges is to remind people that this is an art form that changed the world, one that continues to sort of be the platform for many idealists on how the world can be different," Rock Hall president/CEO Terry Stewart says.
Just as the hall has drawn tourists to Northeast Ohio, it also has brought together a unique staff: unabashed rock'n'roll believers, dedicated to not only promoting the institution but spreading its gospel. They include Stewart, former president of Marvel Entertainment Group and extensive memorabilia collector; Zanes, former Del Fuegos band member-turned-academic; and VP of exhibitions and curatorial affairs Jim Henke, a former writer/editor for Rolling Stone.
The staff brings rock's past alive for, among others, the fans of tomorrow. In addition to reaching roughly 50,000 school children each year, from elementary to high school age, with various programs held in-house, the hall also offers a distance-learning program via video conferencing, as well as dozens of symposiums and concerts by music industry veterans.
The latest chapter in the hall's educational efforts is coming to fruition this year, with the opening of a 20,000-square-foot archive and library, located on the Cuyahoga Community College downtown Cleveland campus.
"It's a library and archives [that are] unique in the world," Stewart says. It will offer the opportunity "to study original source material and other documents, trying to understand where this art form came from, how it rose to such prominence."
Stewart says the facility's seven-figure price tag has been funded by contributions from the college, which has donated the land, as well as from the New York-based Rock Hall Foundation, with the balance raised by the Hall.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation was founded in 1983 and subsequently licensed the concept of the hall of fame and museum to the City of Cleveland. Although the museum has hosted only one induction ceremony, in 1997, Stewart hints that the high-profile party could have a return engagement at the hall "in the next few years."
The hall is funded by contributions from individuals and foundations, from state and federal sources, and via subscriptions from its 13,000-strong membership base. Overall, Stewart says the hall is doing well financially in a difficult climate for nonprofit organizations.
"2005 was a good year, and we're trying to take it to another level on the development of the philanthropic front," Stewart says. "We're very proud that we just had our 10th year of being self-sufficient and self-sustaining."
The museum's vitality depends on its presentation of artifacts and an ever-changing list of notable exhibits, which are either loaned to or owned by the facility.
Stewart estimates that between 70%-80% of the hall's pieces are in display, with the remaining 20% in rotation on the museum floor. Henke estimates that the hall owns half of the items on display.
"The thing we've found though was that most of the stuff we have from musicians that are on loan, they tend to just keep on renewing the loan and eventually they end up donating it," Henke said.
As for competition within the rock'n'roll memorabilia market, which has proliferated exponentially during the last decade with eBay and other entities, such as the Hard Rock chain, seeking items, Stewart says there's plenty of it to go around, and more than likely, collectors view donations to the hall as a source of prestige.
The current featured exhibit is "Tommy: The Amazing Journey," and an extensive Bob Dylan collection is due later this year. Even though diehard fans may find interest in specialized displays, Stewart says focus groups reveal that the desire to pay homage to the art form rather than specific exhibits attracts first-time and repeat visits.
The hall has created another draw for visitors with the CMJ/Rock Hall Music Fest. Debuting in late spring 2005, the multiple-day, multiple-venue festival attracted more than 18,000 music fans. Hall officials hope it develops the drawing power of the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference in Austin or the CMJ festival in New York.
That's great news for the Greater Cleveland Convention and Visitors Bureau, which estimates the hall's annual 400,000 to 500,000 visitors generate more than $100 million in tourism for Northeast Ohio. More important, 90% of the facility's visitors come from outside of the area, making the hall a first-day destination.
"From the city's point of view, that's why the Rock Hall was built: to attract people from literally around the world," says Dennis Roche, president of the bureau. "And that 90% figure is a low estimate. It's actually higher."
Roche says his organization often supports advertising and marketing efforts for the hall to draw visitors from beyond Cleveland. And that's good news for Stewart and his team of true believers.
"I know we're successful," Stewart says. "It's not a question of being successful, it's a question of being more successful. There's never enough money in a not-for-profit to be able to do all of the things you want to do. But here we're talking about the whole world we have to remind to come to Cleveland. It's a very big deal."
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