The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum marks 15 years in business next month, preceded by more than a decade of prehistory. Then came exhibits devoted to everyone from John Lennon to Bruce Springsteen, the return of Alan Freed and a couple of induction ceremonies in Cleveland. Let's take a look back at the Rock Hall's long, strange trip.
Sept. 1, 1995
More than 10,000 people gathered under a brilliant blue sky at North Coast Harbor to witness a giddy crew of VIPs dedicate the newly minted Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Cleveland Mayor Michael R. White and Ohio Gov. George Voinovich led the local delegation. The celebrities in attendance included John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono, Rolling Stone magazine publisher Jann Wenner and Atlantic Records founder Ahmet Ertegun. "We did it! We did it! We did it!" exclaimed White, as Stevie Wonder's "Living for the City" blared from speakers on the podium. "I remember all the days and all the times and all the jokes and all the words about Cleveland. I remember people saying, 'I just don't know about Cleveland. I'm just not sure they're gonna make it. I'm just not sure they have what it takes.' Well, today, we're telling the whole world that we've got what it takes and we're doing it. We ought to be proud of what we've accomplished today. But we ought to also tell everybody who will listen, 'Baby, you ain't seen nothing yet!"
Sept. 2, 1995
The Concert for the Hall of Fame at Cleveland Municipal Stadium was part party, part paean, with generations of rock stars coming to Cleveland to play together, and celebrate the opening of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Bruce Springsteen and Chuck Berry got the night started with a duet of "Johnny B. Goode." By the time the final note sound at 2:10 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 3, 1995, 41 different combinations of artists had taken the Stadium stage, playing 68 songs over the course of six hours and 40 minutes.
The all-star lineup included Bob Dylan, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, James Brown, Eric Burdon, John Fogerty, Robbie Robertson, Sam Moore, the Kinks, Martha Reeves & the Vandellas, the Allman Brothers Band, John Mellencamp, George Clinton, Bon Jovi, Sheryl Crow, the Pretenders, Iggy Pop, Melissa Etheridge and Jackson Browne. More than 65,000 fans witnessed the concert, which was one of the most elaborate live productions in Cleveland rock history, rivaling the World Series of Rock events at the Stadium in the 1970s and 1980s.
Jan. 23, 1996
Dennis Barrie, the celebrated Cincinnati art museum administrator who came to Cleveland in 1993 to become director of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, announces he is resigning to pursue "new ventures" in the arts. The resignation is effective March 1, 1996. Barrie's departure comes less than five months after the museum's triumphant Labor Day 1995 grand opening. It also follows closely on the heels of the October appointment of former Stouffer Hotels chief William N. Hulett as the museum's new chief executive officer. Barrie rose to national prominence in 1990 when he was tried and acquitted on obscenity charges for bringing a controversial exhibition of Robert Mapplethorpe photographs to the Contemporary Arts Center. Barrie and his wife, Kathleen Coakley Barrie, later joined Malrite Co. in Cleveland, and helped conceive the content and design for the popular Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., and the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage in Beachwood. They formed their own museum-design consulting company in 2005. They have worked on a number of high-profile projects, including the Grammy museum in Los Angeles and the Mob Museum in Las Vegas.
January 1996
In New York, Rock Hall inducts David Bowie, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Jefferson Airplane, Little Willie John, Pink Floyd, Shirelles and Velvet Underground, nonperformer Tom Donahue and early influence Pete Seeger.
Sept. 29, 1996
Generations of talented American singers and songwriters pay tribute to American folk hero Woody Guthrie last night in a magnificent and heartwarming three-hour concert at Severance Hall. Bruce Springsteen, the Indigo Girls, Arlo Guthrie, Billy Bragg, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, Ani DiFranco, Joe Ely, David Pirner and other stars blended their own music with Guthrie's classics, giving the show a crackling air of contemporary relevance. The concert capped a 10-day "American Music Masters Series" tribute to Guthrie sponsored by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and the Woody Guthrie Archives. The Rock Hall's "American Music Masters Series" focuses each fall on a single American musical pioneer whose work has had a dramatic influence on rock 'n' roll and popular culture.
In the summer of 1996, the American Automobile Association named Cleveland the second most popular summer tourist destination in the nation, behind only Atlanta, host city of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. The AAA Summer Vacation Forecast was based on surveys of auto clubs and AAA travel agency managers and members across the United States. Just a year after its grand opening, the Rock Hall was already being hailed as one of the primary engines driving the rebirth of downtown Cleveland, drawing visitors from around the world and transforming the city into a major summertime tourist destination. The museum celebrated its first birthday in September of 1996, having just attracted its 1 millionth visitor.
October 1996
Melissa Etheridge headlines Rock Hall benefit concert at Gund Arena.
May 6, 1997
The first Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony held in Cleveland takes place in the Grand Ballroom of the Renaissance Cleveland Hotel. The inductees were a diverse group, representing the broad definition of what has become known as rock 'n' roll: the Bee Gees, the (Young) Rascals, Mitchell, Parliament-Funkadelic, Buffalo Springfield, the Jackson 5 and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. One of the highlights was an onstage reunion of the Jackson 5, who were inducted by Motown labelmate Diana Ross. All five Jackson brothers -- Tito, Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael -- spoke, but didn't sing. The Bee Gees, ridiculed for years for their association with the 1970s disco era, brought the crowd to its feet with a tight, rockin' medley of their greatest hits -- from early cuts such as "Massachusetts" and "Words" to disco hits such as "Stayin' Alive" and "Jive Talkin'." George Clinton and Parliament-Funkadelic opened the show with a laid-back seven-minute medley of their greatest hits, including "Give Up the Funk" and "Free Your Mind and Your Ass Will Follow." The (Young) Rascals kicked off the show-ending jam with a strong medley that included "Good Lovin," "Groovin," and "How Can I Be Sure." James Taylor followed with a solo acoustic version of inductee Joni Mitchell's anthemic "Woodstock," a 1970 hit for Crosby, Stills and Nash. He was followed by CSN, which offered up "Teach Your Children." The set ended at 1 a.m. with rocker Tom Petty and members of Buffalo Springfield joining CSN in "For What It's Worth."
May 1997
In a risky move, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum replaces many of the original displays in its main exhibition area with a mammoth, $750,000 installation called "I Want to Take You Higher: The Psychedelic Era - 1965 to 1969." The exhibit, timed for the 30th anniversary of the 1967 Summer of Love in San Francisco, examined one of the most contentious periods in contemporary social history: the drug-fueled flowering of the 1960s counterculture and its role in the evolution of rock music and anti-Establishment literature, poetry, art and politics in the United States and Great Britain. The museum celebrated the grand opening of the exhibit with a take-me-back-to-the-1960s party May 10, 1997, on Key Plaza at North Coast Harbor that attracted more than 4,000 revelers - many in period costume. The party included performances by '60s rock icons such as Donovan, Country Joe McDonald and Big Brother and the Holding Company. Author and Acid Test guru Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters revved up the crowd with a little '60s-style clowning, pulling their colorful, psychedelically painted "Further" bus onto the plaza. The "Psychedelic Era" exhibit was a critical success, but strained the museum's finances because no corporate sponsor could be found to underwrite its cost.
In other news, William N. Hulett, who helped guide the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum from concept to reality, announced his resignation as the rock hall's chief executive officer effective June 1. Former Cuyahoga County Administrator David T. Abbott is named interim director pending a national search.
Sept. 21, 1997
Lynyrd Skynyrd, Levon Helm, Alejandro Escovedo, Guy Clark, steve Earle, Ricky Skaggs, Iris Dement, John Prine, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings and E Street Band members Garry Tallent and Max Weinberg perform at Severance Hall as part of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's American Music Masters salute to Jimmie Rodgers. The concert is the capper of a weeklong celebration of the country music legend's career.
January 1998
Inductions return to New York, where Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Mamas and the Papas, Lloyd Price, Santana and Gene Vincent are enshrined, along with nonperformer Allen Toussaint and early influence Jelly Roll Morton.
1998
The largest exhibition of Elvis Presley artifacts ever shown outside of the rock 'n' roll pioneer's Graceland home opens Aug. 8, 2008 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland. Located on the fifth and sixth floors of the rock hall, the expansive display features more than 100 artifacts covering the singer's personal life and music and movie careers. The items -- many of which have never been publicly displayed -- come primarily from the Presley estate and the collection of his late manager Colonel Tom Parker. The $100,000 installation is the first temporary exhibit to open in the space that originally housed the museum's Hall of Fame chamber, which was moved to larger quarters downstairs in April. The exhibit is a joint venture between the rock hall and Memphis-based Elvis Presley Enterprises, which operates Graceland as a museum and tourist attraction in Memphis.
April 2, 1998
The museum opens a new hall of fame chamber in a spacious, circular theater on the third floor. Built with a $5 million grant from AT&T, it is a large multimedia exhibit combining audio, video and interactive computer installations with artifact displays. The centerpiece of the exhibit is a mammoth, three-screen video setup designed by the Irish multimedia production company Dreamchaser Productions, best known for creating the high-tech video staging of the Irish rock group U2's "Zoo TV" concert tour. The Rock Hall also unveils a new "Legends of Rock" exhibit, replacing "I Want to Take You Higher: The Psychedelic Era - 1965-69" as the showcase installation on the main exhibition floor. It is a collection of displays on notable rock artists, including Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Z.Z. Top, the Bee Gees, the Beatles, the Who, and others.
August 1998
Rock Hall executive director David T. Abbott resigns to become president of University Circle Inc. Former Citizens League Executive Director Janis Purdy is appointed interim director to replace him.
September 1998
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's "American Music Masters Series" tribute to Delta bluesman Robert Johnson wraps up Sept. 27, 1998, with a concert at Severance Hall featuring Taj Mahal, Cassandra Wilson, the Allman Brothers Band, John Hammond, Keb' Mo', Bob Weir and Jimmie Vaughan.
Jan. 4, 1999
Terry C. Stewart, an avid record collector and a longtime executive of the Marvel Entertainment Group, is named the new chief executive officer and the executive director of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Stewart, a New York-based attorney and business executive who specialized in mergers and acquisitions, joined Marvel as president and chief operating officer in 1989. Stewart left the company in 1997 to become president of Diversified Entertainment Strategies, a private partnership that explored developing "destination entertainment centers," including bowling centers and a permanent home for the Ice Capades. A native of Daphne, Ala., Stewart is an enthusiastic collector of rock memorabilia and music. His personal collection, which he began when a relative gave him his first record at age 3, includes more than 200,000 vinyl records, 5,000 compact discs, concert posters, rare jukeboxes and one-of-a-kind artifacts.
March 1999
Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, Curtis Mayfield, Del Shannon, Dusty Springfield, Bruce Springsteen and Staple Singers inducted in New York, along with nonperformer George Martin and early influences Charles Brown and Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys.
Oct. 4, 1999
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's weeklong salute to R&B trailblazer Louis Jordan gets off to a swinging start with an all-star tribute concert in Playhouse Square's Allen Theatre. The show kicked off "At the Swing Cat's Ball: Louis Jordan's Rhythm & Blues," the rock hall's fourth annual American Music Masters series. It featured performances by Ruth Brown, Bo Diddley, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and B.B. King.
Nov. 11, 1999
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum opens "Roots, Rhymes &; Rage: The Hip-Hop Story," its most ambitious exhibition since a controversial 1997 installation devoted to 1960s psychedelia. The exhibit is divided into five main areas, spread over nearly 6,000 square feet. It traces the development of hip-hop from its origins in the Bronx, N.Y., in the 1970s to the so-called "golden era" of the'80s to the gangsta rap and pop-crossover success of the'90s. A VIP grand opening party the night before features performances by several high-profile hip-hop acts, including members of Cleveland's Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Public Enemy, Nas, OutKast, Grandmaster Flash, Slick Rick and Doug E. Fresh.
March 2000
In New York, Rock Hall inducts Eric Clapton, Earth, Wind & Fire, Lovin' Spoonful, Moonglows, Bonnie Raitt and James Taylor, sidemen Hal Blaine, King Curtis, James Jamerson, Scotty Moore and Earl Palmer, nonperformer Clive Davis and early influences Nat "King" Cole and Billie Holiday.
May 12, 2000
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled its new "Rock Style" exhibition in a fine fashion May 12, 2000. A party to celebrate the opening of the exhibit, which features costumes and fashion accessories from pop music's best-dressed men and women, brought 600 people to the rock hall. They nibbled beef tenderloin sandwiches and sushi, sipped wine and rocked to the music of Cheap Trick, the Neville Brothers and pop-rock rookie Michael Fredo, nephew of "Rock Style" sponsor and fashion mogul Tommy Hilfiger. "There isn't one artist who's a mega-star who doesn't have a great sense of style, from Michael Jackson to Madonna," said Hilfiger, not too shabby himself in a dark gray suit and pink paisley shirt. He was accompanied by model Maggie Rizer. "Rock Style," which opened to the public May 13, 2000, was a collaboration between the rock hall and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Sept. 23, 2000
Bonnie Raitt headlines a Muddy Waters tribute concert at Severance Hall, the climax of a weeklong "American Music Masters Series" lovefest in honor of the legendary bluesman presented by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Also on the bill are Levon Helm of the Band, former Waters sideman James Cotton, Johnnie Johnson and Paul Rodgers, among others.
Oct. 19, 2000
Fans of the late John Lennon come together at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum to celebrate the opening of a major exhibition devoted to the legendary rocker. His widow, Yoko Ono, was the guest of honor. As spotlights outside the rock hall danced across the sky and projected images of Lennon flashed across the exterior of the building, partygoers grooved to the sounds of keyboardist Billy Preston, pop singer Cyndi Lauper, retro-rocker Matthew Sweet and the Austin, Texas, band Dexter Freebish. "Lennon: His Life and Work," is a major retrospective mounted in conjunction with Lennon's widow Yoko Ono. The rock hall exhibit occupies the fourth, fifth and sixth floors of the museum and is the largest installation ever devoted to a single artist by the institution.
March 2001
Aerosmith, Solomon Burke, Flamingos, Michael Jackson, Queen, Paul Simon, Steely Dan and Ritchie Valens inducted in New York, along with sidemen James Burton and Johnnie Johnson and nonperformer Chris Blackwell.
July 11, 2001
MTV premieres a new series called "Live at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame." It aims to show that today's music took root generations earlier. The 10 half-hour programs are slices of a summer concert series the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is staging in its dramatic glass atrium. Each show includes concert footage plus a tour with band members visiting the shrines of their heroes. The show premieres with Sum 41, a teenage punk band, and Saliva, which has a Top 10 song on Billboard's mainstream rock charts, "Your Disease." Despite the show's title, concert footage is taped in architect I.M. Pei's angular atrium, which has been reconfigured as a TV soundstage. About 1,500 people fill the hall, some hanging from the balconies and waving tiny flashlights handed out at the door.
Dec. 8, 2001
The museum had planned to host an elaborate "American Music Masters Series" tribute to blues legend Bessie Smith in September, complete with a keynote address by Angela Davis and a concert at Severance Hall with Odetta, Shemekia Copeland, Deborah Coleman and others. But those events were canceled because of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. A scaled-down tribute, featuring Broadway singer Linda Hopkins and former Mother Earth singer Tracy Nelson, took place Dec. 8, 2001 at the Rock Hall's fourth-floor theater. Hopkins portrayed Smith in the Broadway musical "Me and Bessie."
In New York, Rock Hall inducts Isaac Hayes, Brenda Lee, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Gene Pitney, Ramones and Talking Heads, sideman Chet Atkins and nonperformer Jim Stewart.
May 24, 2002
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum lays off 21 employees -- nearly one-fifth of its full-time staff -- as part of a $2.4 million budget cut to compensate for depleted funds from national sponsorships. Jobs were eliminated in all departments except for security and visitor services, leaving a work force of 92 people. The cost-saving measures also include pay cuts for museum management and pared-down education programming.
June 2002
Legendary Cleveland DJ Alan Freed made news in March when a brass urn containing his ashes was exhumed from a mausoleum in New York and reburied under an escalator at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland. In June, the urn was exhumed again -- this time to be put on public display on the rock hall's second floor.
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July 2002
MTV's "Live at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame" returns for second season, including performances by Hoobastank and John Mayer.
Sept. 28, 2002
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum pays tribute to Hank Williams with an "American Music Masters Series" tribute concert featuring performances by Don Helms and singer-guitarist Jett Williams, daughter of the country icon. Also on the bill are country artists Marty Stuart, Jack Scott and Brett James and rockers Tommy Shaw of Styx, Joe Grushecky and Bonnie Bramlett of Delaney & Bramlett. Actor-musician Billy Bob Thornton serves as master of ceremonies.
February 2003
The museum unveils "In the Name of Love: Two Decades of U2," a major exhibition devoted to Ireland's most famous rock 'n' roll export. The U2 retrospective -- the Rock Hall's first large-scale installation devoted to a contemporary act -- occupies the top three floors of the museum, replacing the popular John Lennon exhibit. Two dozen U2 photographs by Anton Corbijn, the group's de facto visual biographer, fill the fourth floor. The fifth floor is crammed with mementos, including press clips, posters, Mullen's first drum kit, one of the Edge's guitars and singer Bono's handwritten lyrics for "Bad," "Out of Control" and other tunes. Stage costumes, Adam Clayton's bright yellow bass from the "PopMart" tour and other artifacts from U2's most recent major roadshows are featured on the sixth floor.
March 2003
AC/DC, Clash, Elvis Costello & the Attractions, Police and Righteous Brothers inducted in New York, along with sidemen Benny Benjamin, Floyd Cramer and Steve Douglas and nonperformer Mo Ostin.
December 6, 2003
Buddy Holly's trailblazing brand of rock 'n' roll came alive again at the Cleveland Play House's Drury Theatre, where John Mellencamp, Marshall Crenshaw, Nanci Griffith and other top musical talents performed in honor of the late 1950s superstar. The sold-out tribute concert was the climax of "Rave On: The Life and Music of Buddy Holly," the eighth installment of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's annual American Music Masters series. Holly was one of the first performers inducted into the Rock Hall.
March 2004
In New York, Rock Hall inducts Jackson Browne, Dells, George Harrison, Prince, Bob Seger, Traffic and ZZ Top and lifetime achievement award winner Jann Wenner.
November 7, 2004
Hailed as "King of the 12-String Guitar,"Â Leadbelly also popularized such tunes as "Goodnight Irene," "Midnight Special" and "Rock Island Line." Now he's the toast of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's ninth annual American Music Masters series. The weeklong salute -- "Shine a Light on Me: The Life and Music of Leadbelly" -- culminated with a tribute concert Sunday, Nov. 7, at Severance Hall, headlined by Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant. The array of other performers on the bill -- from veteran folkies Harry Belafonte and Odetta to Chicano roots-rockers Los Lobos to neo-bluegrass fiddler Alison Krauss to Cleveland bluesman Robert Lockwood Jr. -- is a testament to the far-reaching shadow cast by Leadbelly.
March 2005
Buddy Guy, O'Jays, Pretenders, Percy Sledge and U2 are inducted in New York, along with lifetime achievement award winners Frank Barsalona and Seymour Stein.
April 8, 2005
The Who's groundbreaking rock opera "Tommy" ricocheted like a pinball from double album to film to Broadway musical, among other permutations over 30-plus years. It became a major exhibition at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. "Tommy: The Amazing Journey" showcasing lyric manuscripts, production notes, correspondence and other mementos from the archives of Pete Townshend, the Who's guitarist and chief songwriter, as well as the principal visionary behind "Tommy." The exhibit fills the fifth and sixth floors of the Rock Hall, marking the first time the museum has built an entire installation around a single work, albeit a work with multiple guises.
June 2005
The inaugural CMJ/Rock Hall Music Fest is launched, with more than 100 bands performing over three days and four nights at venues across Northeast Ohio. The event draws more than 17,800 people.
July 2005
Satellite radio network Sirius begins broadcasting programs from the museum.
August 2005
After years on the drawing board, the Rock Hall unveils plans for its long-sought library and archives. The facility will be a part of the new Center for Innovation in the Arts at Cuyahoga Community College's Metropolitan Campus and is set to open in late 2007. The 70,000-square-foot building at CCC is projected to cost $20 million, with the Rock Hall responsible for raising $10 million for its 20,000-square-foot section of the property. The New York City-based Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, which runs the Rock Hall in conjunction with a Cleveland board of trustees, has pledged $5 million toward the project.
November 2005
Sam Cooke is the toast of American Music Masters, with two all-star concerts featuring performances by Aretha Franklin, Elvis Costello, Solomon Burke, Lou Rawls and others.
January 2006
Rock Hall launches $35 million capital campaign to raise money for library and archives, redesign of museum interior and operating reserve.
March 2006
In New York, Black Sabbath, Blondie, Miles Davis, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Sex Pistols are inducted, along with lifetime achievement award winners Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss.
April 2006
The museum opens "Haunting & Yearning: The Life and Music of Roy Orbison," an exhibition celebrating the legendary rocker with the operatic voice.
May 2006
Bob Dylan is the toast of a thoroughly absorbing new exhibition at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. "Bob Dylan's American Journey: 1956-1966" focuses on Mr. Voice of a Generation's early years. "It represents probably the most creative and most prolific period in Bob Dylan's career," says Jasen Emmons, senior curator at Seattle's Experience Music Project, which put together the retrospective. Spread across the Rock Hall's fifth and sixth floors, the installation includes handwritten lyrics, musical instruments and other relics, film clips of Dylan interviews and performances and listening booths devoted to key Dylan albums. "Dylan always has been mysterious, which is part of his appeal," Emmons says. "The exhibit tries to humanize him."
June 14-18, 2006
The second annual CMJ/ Rock Hall Music Fest takes place in Cleveland. The event brings 100-plus acts representing a range of styles -- from indie rock and heavy-metal to hip-hop -- to town for performances at several venues. More than 19,000 attend.
June 20, 2006
Joel Peresman, a veteran concert promoter and music booking agent, has been appointed president and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, replacing longtime executive director Suzan Evans. The move was announced by the New York City-based foundation, which oversees the Rock Hall induction process. The foundation also runs the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland in conjunction with a local board of directors.
Oct. 21, 2006
The museum unveils "Revolution Rock: The Story of the Clash" new exhibition retracing the career of the British punk band. The retrospective features 120 artifacts.
Nov. 4, 2006
Raul Malo, Ricky Skaggs, the Velvets, Patty Griffin, the Crickets, Mandy Barnett, Cowboy Jack Clement and Billy Burnette are among those honoring the late, great rock pioneer Roy Orbison at the 11th annual American Music Masters series at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
Dec. 8, 2006
The board of the Cleveland Foundation approves nearly $18 million in grants, including $2 million to help build a permanent library and archive for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
Dec. 14, 2006
Ahmet Ertegun, a founder of Atlantic Records and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, died at New York City's Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center. He was 83. The music industry mogul was instrumental in the careers of Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin and Led Zeppelin, among many others. He began rallying support for a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the early 1980s. In 1986, the first honorees were inducted, and Cleveland was chosen as the home of the $93 million Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, which opened in 1995.
January 2007
"Warped: 12 Years of Music, Mayhem and More" exhibit opens.
March 2007
Hip-hop enters Rock Hall as Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five are inducted in New York, along with R.E.M., Ronettes, Patti Smith and Van Halen.
October 2007
Ground broken for library and archives.
November 2007
Jerry Lee Lewis becomes first living American Music Masters honoree and performs at tribute concert, along with Chrissie Hynde, Kris Kristofferson, Wanda Jackson and others.
December 2007
Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson and Rock Hall officials announce plans to hold induction ceremony in Cleveland every three years, starting in 2009.
March 2008
In New York, Dave Clark Five, Leonard Cohen, Madonna, John Mellencamp and Ventures are inducted, alongside sideman honoree Little Walter and nonperformers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff.
November 2008
Les Paul performs at American Music Masters tribute in his honor, along with the likes of Slash, ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons and Bon Jovi's Richie Sambora. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex opens in New York.
April 2009
Inductions return to Cleveland, with Jeff Beck, Little Anthony and the Imperials, Metallica, Run-D.M.C., Bobby Womack, early influence Wanda Jackson and sidemen Bill Black, D.J. Fontana and Spooner Oldham enshrined during a ceremony at Public Auditorium. Leading up to big night is full week of festivities, including Moondog Coronation Ball, free concert headlined by the O'Jays and opening of exhibit "From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen."
October 2009
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame celebrates its 25th anniversary with two superstar-stacked concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden, including performances by Bruce Springsteen, U2, Mick Jagger, Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder, with proceeds earmarked for creation of Rock Hall endowment. "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Live" DVD set and coffee-table book "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The First 25 Years" issued. Museum unveils Foster Theater.
November 2009
Lucinda Williams, Guy Clark, Country Joe McDonald and others take part in American Music Masters salute to Janis Joplin.
January 2010
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex closes in New York City.
March 2010
In New York, Rock Hall inducts ABBA, Jimmy Cliff, Genesis, Hollies, Stooges and nonperformers David Geffen, Jesse Stone, Otis Blackwell, Mort Shuman, Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil.
August 2010
Rock Hall announces establishment of $5 million endowment.