Hang On Sloopy

Hang On Sloopy: The Music of Ohio

Throughout the 20th Century, Ohio has been blessed with an enormous amount of musical talent within its borders. Artists and performers covering the full spectrum of popular music have nurtured their careers here. The exhibit Hang On Sloopy examines the long history of Ohio’s music, from Dean Martin to Devo, through the use of artifacts (instruments, costumes, original recordings), photographs and music. The exhibit includes a soundtrack of top hits by Ohio artists, and focuses on particular cities and their impact on popular music. Visitors see and feel the influence that popular music has had in Ohio, and the impact that Ohio’s talent has had on the world of rock and roll.

More On Ohio Artists

From the southern hills to the shores of Lake Erie, every region of the state has produced great talent. Country artists Bobby Bare and Earl Thomas Conley hail from the Ohio River towns of Ironton and Portsmouth, respectively. Sydney Nathan, a Cincinnati native, founded King/Federal Records in his hometown. The label was extremely influential in the birth of rock and roll, bringing to the world legendary recordings by Hank Ballard, James Brown and Little Willie John. Additionally, King issued seminal blues, gospel and country records. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees the Isley Brothers also hail from Cincinnati, as does another inductee, funk master Bootsy Collins. Modern rockers Afghan Whigs and the poetical Over the Rhine called the Queen City home.

Dayton has been a breeding ground for a remarkably diverse group of musicians. Funk artists the Ohio Players, the Troutman-family led groups Zapp and Roger and alternative rockers the Breeders and Guided by Voices were all Dayton based. The city also produced Richie Furay, a founder of Buffalo Springfield and Poco, and Tommy James. The state capital, Columbus, has an equally diverse roster. Both jazz singer Nancy Wilson and saxophonist Rusty Bryant got their start there. Proto-folk rockers McKendree Spring, woodwind master Rahsaan Roland Kirk, funk rockers Royal Crescent Mob and hip-hop sensation Bow Wow all have Columbus roots.

In the Seventies, Akron was a rock and roll hotbed. Stiff Records, a highly respected British label, even released an album entirely devoted to Akron acts. The city developed a scene that was tagged as punk rock but, in fact, ran much deeper. Certainly there were hard-edged rock bands like the Rubber City Rebels and the Bizzaros. Groups like Devo and Tin Huey, however, bordered on experimental. 15-60-75 (a.k.a the Numbers Band) was a blues band at heart, and Rachel Sweet and the Waitresses had a distinctly pop bent. Nearby Canton was best known for many years as the home of the O’Jays. Recently, the city has gained a wider reputation as the birthplace of two widely divergent stars, Macy Gray and Marilyn Manson.

Cleveland has always been a music town. As Alan Freed was lighting up the airwaves with what he called rock and roll, rhythm & blues stalwarts Bull Moose Jackson, Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, the Moonglows and Tiny Bradshaw were all based in Cleveland. The mid-Sixties brought forth a bumper crop of rocking bands like the Outsiders, the Choir and the James Gang. The power pop of the Raspberries, the heartland sentiment of the Michael Stanley Band and the disco-jazz of the Dazz Band kept Cleveland on the map through the Seventies. Simultaneously, bands like Pere Ubu, the Dead Boys and the Electric Eels were rewriting the rules and moving boundaries. If those performers don’t represent enough diversity, consider this: composer Henry Mancini, soul singer Edwin Starr, industrial rock icons Nine Inch Nails and hip-hop vocal group Bone Thugs-n’-Harmony all came from Cleveland.

From Toledo (Theresa Brewer, Art Tatum) to Youngstown (Dave Grohl, Robert “Kool” Bell), Lima (Al Jardine) to Steubenville (Dean Martin), Akron (Chrissie Hynde) to Piqua (the Mills Brothers), many Ohio natives have gone on to international acclaim. The great diversity of Ohio’s population is reflected in the legacy of the State’s music and musicians. In fact, so pervasive is pop music’s impact on Ohio that the State Legislature voted “Hang on Sloopy,” recorded by another group of Ohioans, the McCoys, as the state rock song.

LaVern Baker's Blue And White Beaded Dress

Photo by Design Photography
Gift of LaVern Baker