Archive for April, 2010
A Visit to Cleveland
So I was just passing through Cleveland and I definitely felt the need to stop at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame to check it out. First of all, the building is incredible. What a cool location….in cleveland. The building is right on Lake Erie; parts of it actually hang over the water. The same pier also houses a science center, right next door, and the cleveland brows stadium. In Cleveland though? Cleveland isnt the most happening town. Its population has actually been on a steady decline over the past 1/2 century, moving from over 900,000 in the early 1940’s to a little more than 400,000 today. Regardless, the building was immaculate.
Why Cleveland? Several other locations were considered; Memphis and NYC being a couple of them. The real reason the Rock Hall landed in Cleveland was most likely the root of all evil today…Money. But, they did also have Alan Freed, the DJ who claimed to coin the phrase, “rock n roll”. In actuality he was not the first to use the phrase; though he did bring it to a larger audience. Plus he organized what is considered the first rock n roll concert, “The Moondog Coronation Ball”, in which they sold 20,000 tickets for the 10,000 capacity Cleveland Arena. Five acts were scheduled that night and they only got through two due to the extra 10,000 concert-goers crashed down the gates and they shut the show down.
Anyway, the Rock Hall definitely satisfied the soul. Unfortunately there is always controversy. Too many bands let in, not exclusive enough, only rock critics involved in the voting. As far as Im concerned, there will always be people that disagree with who does or does not get into the hall. Here’s a few that are eligible that I felt had been left out nonetheless:
John Coletrane
Herbie Hancock
Dr. John
Benny Goodman
Link Wray
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Willie Nelson
Slim Harpo
Ella Fitzgerald
Albert King
Toots and the Maytals
Dick Dale
Merle haggard
Donovan
The Troggs
John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers
Cat Stevens
Clarence Carter
Jethro Tull
Lee “Scratch” Perry
Kool and the Gang
James Gang
Joe Cocker
King Crimson
The Faces
Derek and the Dominos
Peter Tosh
Devo
Those are a few. If you want to dispute your fav’s and voice your opinion, visit: https://futurerocklegends.com/index.php
Rock on.