Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum

James Henke: Vice President of Exhibitions and Curatorial Affairs

Jim Henke joined the staff of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in 1994 after a long career as a music journalist. As the chief curator, he is responsible for all of the Museum’s content, from exhibits to films to interactive displays.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Henke returned to his hometown to assemble and direct the team that put together the initial exhibits for the Hall of Fame’s opening in September 1995. Since then, he has curated several special exhibits for the Museum. In 1997, he was responsible for I Want to Take You Higher, an exhibit about the psychedelic era. In 1998, he curated a special exhibit on Elvis Presley, and in 1999, Henke and his team put together Roots, Rhymes and Rage: The Hip-Hop Story. That exhibit was the first major museum exhibit devoted to hip-hop.

In 2000, Henke and his team curated two major exhibits: Rock Style, a look at rock and roll fashion that was a joint venture with New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Lennon: His Life and Work, a major exhibit on the life and career of John Lennon. More recently, Henke was responsible for In the Name of Love: Two Decades of U2, a major exhibition on the Irish band. In 2007, he curated an exhibit on the Vans Warped Tour.

While at the Hall of Fame, Henke has written The Rock Pack, a three-dimensional book about the history of rock and roll. He also has served as editor of two books: I Want to Take You Higher and Lennon: His Life and Work. His book Lennon Legend, a biography of John Lennon, was published in the fall of 2003 by Chronicle Books. Bob Marley Legend, his biography of Bob Marley, was published in 2006. His latest book, The Jim Morrison Scrapbook, was released in fall 2007.

Henke began his career at Rolling Stone magazine in 1977. Over the course of 16 years, he wrote numerous stories for the magazine, including cover stories on such artists as Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, U2, the Clash, Bruce Springsteen, the Pretenders, Jerry Garcia, Bonnie Raitt and others. He also served as the magazine’s music editor for nearly a decade. While at Rolling Stone, Henke co-edited The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll and The Rolling Stone Album Guide.

In 1988, Henke was asked by Amnesty International to write a book about the Human Rights Now concert tour. This tour featured Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Peter Gabriel and others and was organized to call attention to the International Declaration of Human Rights. The tour went around the world, with stops in India, Argentina, Brazil, the Ivory Coast, Zimbabwe, France, Italy, Japan, England, Costa Rica and America. Henke’s book was published in December 1988.

In 1992, Henke won the ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award for excellence in music journalism.

In addition to his work at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Rolling Stone, Henke also served as vice president of product development for Elektra Records, where he worked with such developing artists as Moby and the Breeders.

Henke sits on the board of governors for the Chicago chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. He is also on the board of Roots of American Music.

Henke holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Ohio Wesleyan University, where he has been honored with a Distinguished Alumni award.

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