The entrance to the Main Exhibit Hall inside the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

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Ahmet Ertegun

Main Exhibit Hall

The history of rock & roll is far from linear. Explore the sonic history and many evolutions of the music that changed the world starting with the Roots of Rock, through the Legends of Rock, to today's artists in Right Here, Right Now.

The Beatles and The Rolling Stones

The two biggest bands to come out of the British Invasion exist harmoniously in an Extension of the Legends of Rock & Roll exhibit. Find iconic Beatles instruments and artifacts from their days in the Cavern Club through their solo careers and show off your best moves like Mick Jagger in front of an amazing collection of stage outfits and posters from the Rolling Stones.

It's Been Said All Along

It's Been Said All Along: Voices of Rage, Hope & Empowerment explores how music and visual artists have created art as a response to unspeakable tragedy and to promote social justice for decades. Beyond the art form, artists have fought for equal rights and opportunity.

Right Here, Right Now

What's next for rock? Explore some of rock's most recent chart-topping artists and see how the next generation's influences have been shaped.

Elvis

The largest public collection of The King of Rock & Roll outside of Graceland. Featuring artifacts and an exclusive film (14 minutes) created in collaboration with Elvis Presley Enterprises.

Legends of Rock & Roll

Get closer to rock’s iconic artists, from David Bowie to James Brown and The Supremes to Bruce Springsteen. Explore the unforgettable moments from rock’s history and their impact on generations of fans.

Jimi Hendrix by Baron Wolman courtesy Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Legends of Rock & Roll continued

Explore the Rock Hall's massive collection of Jimi Hendrix stage outfits, guitars, handwritten lyrics, and drawings as well as exhibits featuring U2, The Doors, and Public Enemy.

To shoot Janis Joplin for Rolling Stone, Wolman “walked with my cameras to her nearby flat in the Haight-Ashbury where she lived with her cat and dog. I, too, lived in the Haight where I had turned two bedrooms of our three bedroom house into a photo studio: the same studio in which Janis subsequently gave an unforgettable full-out performance for me and my camera in what I have come to call the ‘concert for one.’”

Iconic: Baron Wolman Images of an Era

Baron Wolman’s photographs of musicians in the late Sixties encapsulate an unparalleled time in American history. As the first chief photographer for Rolling Stone magazine, Wolman not only documented the era but helped to define it in images for subsequent generations of fans.

Rapper's Delight

Not since the early days of rock & roll has an African American-driven cultural art taken such a strong hold of mainstream American society as hip-hop. From Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five to Jay Z and beyond, explore the movement that has taken the world by storm.

Cities & Sounds

Drop into the cities that sparked major shifts in rock & roll - rock's Big Bang in Memphis, Detroit's Motown scene, the Summer of Love in San Francisco, the supergroups of 70's L.A., Philly Soul, the simultaneous birth of Punk in New York, London, and L.A., and the Grunge movement from Seattle. You can also explore the early days of rock & roll in Rave On, the soulful sounds of R&B, and raw power of Hard Rock & Heavy Metal.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

A special exhibit inside Right Here, Right Now that spotlights the Wildflowers album. On display you'll find artifacts surrounding the Wildflowers era sessions and corresponding tour including work-in-progress handwritten lyrics to songs like "Crawling Back To You" and "You Don't Know How It Feels," Petty's custom Blonde Toru Nittono electric guitar.

1997 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee Mahalia Jackson

Roots of Rock

The indisputable origins of rock. Hear and see the story unfold from the early influences that were the trailblazers for all other inductees and the foundation of rock and roll.

“For [this session], the Dead band members and their managers came to my Belvedere Street studio where I photographed them one by one, very simply, against a plain background, in the manner of one of my heroes, Richard Avedon,” Wolman said. “…Jerry openly flashed me his hand with the missing digit in a photograph that has subsequently achieved iconic status, one which I call ‘Jerry Waving.’”

An Odd Little Place: The Digital Works of Jerry Garcia

Explore the digital artwork series created by music legend and visual artist Jerry Garcia, a collection that offers an exciting glimpse into his passion and inspiration.

1993 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee Dick Clark

Forest City Charitable/RMS Foundations Theater

From 1952 to 1989, American Bandstand brought the latest dance crazes and the most popular artists of the day into American living rooms, sparking the imaginations of teenagers from coast to coast. This film features segments from the show. The film is approximately 30 minutes and is shown continuously.

The Music of Cleveland and the Midwest

Cleveland earned its place on the rock and roll map in the early '50s when local disc jockey Alan Freed was the first to call the R&B music he was playing on his nightly radio show “rock and roll.” From then on, the Midwest has played a crucial role in rock's expansion across the country and generations.

THE BEAT GOES ON

Explore the 500 Songs That Shaped Rock & Roll and some of the most iconic One Hit Wonders.

DON'T KNOCK THE ROCK

How do early rock & roll songs go from being the devil's music to being used in prescription drug ads? How does Heavy Metal music go from being labeled as profane go on to be high school marching band staples? Rock & Roll has always been music for the young people, so history keeps repeating itself.

Rock out inside the fully stocked Jam space

The

Garage

The Garage consists of five main areas where for the first time, fans can pick up real instruments, learn to play, jam with friends, brand their band with custom merchandise, and check out great gear and instruments from the Museum’s collection.

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Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Union Home Mortgage Plaza
1100 Rock and Roll Boulevard
Cleveland, Ohio 44114
216.781.ROCK (7625)

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