Besides the ceremonies honoring influential people in music, there are also exhibits at the museum. Some of the items you can see on display are Johnny Cash’s tour bus and a Bruce Springsteen display. You can also view a film at the museum, including concert footage. Still more rare artifacts can be seen. There are parts of Otis Redding’s airplane and a hand written copy of “Purple Haze”.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum also has special events, such as discussions and benefits concerts. There are also opportunities to learn about Rock and Roll in a classroom setting. Classes are held for toddlers, children, teens and adults. If you cannot make it to Cleveland to visit the museum or take any of the classes, there is distance education available and you can order tee shirts, videos, coffee mugs and a wide variety of other items at their online store. You can also make donations to the museum, as it is a non profit organization.

Popular music in the 1950’s and 1960’s was non-Cuban in attitude, just as many Americans became anti-Cuban with the advent of Castro’s regime. The music of Elvis borrowed elements from the Blues, from folk ballads, and from Gospel styles that were prevalent in and around the Memphis area. The underlying dance beat in many early Rock and Roll hits can betray a Latin or Cuban influence occasionally, but listeners will find that it is difficult to detect. This was a deliberate effort on the part of record producers, who did not want to be associated with a musical style that was connected to communism. Many other styles such as Doo-Wop were popular in the early days of Rock and Roll, deriving a large following from European immigrant populations in the urban northeast.

British bands such as the Rolling Stones reintroduced a jangly blues guitar style that had its roots in the American South, sometimes overlaid on a syncopated dance beat. Consider the song “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction,” and you can detect a Latin cha-cha-cha beat accompanied by a blues guitar style. As the influence of Doo-Wop faded, fewer vocal harmonies and a more rebellious singing style became the norm for rock groups. This style was borrowed from soul singers such as James Brown, who sometimes shouted the words rather than harmonizing. A percussive style of guitar-playing had its influences from blues, jazz, and gypsy guitar players; names such as Jelly Roll Morton, Bo Diddly, and Jango Rinehart were pioneers in this area.

How does the human ear get used to these new sounds? Does Eric Clapton’s guitar sound a bit like Muddy Waters? In other words, it’s not so novel if the sounds are based in an earlier experience. For example, if the children of the 1940’s heard Mom and Dad listening to big band music on vinyl records, they already would be familiar with the infectious latin dance beat. When that younger population starts to stake their own claim on a musical style, they are often remixing the old familiar beat with a new melody and words that reflect a later culture.

Many trends that seem new in Rock and Roll are actually a return to a basic dance beat from the 1940’s, with a new flourish added in the melody. This recycling pattern of Rock and Roll animates itself in many forms, such as the reintroduction of brass instruments in pop music during the late 1970’s, in such bands as “Chicago.” Since rock is such an adaptable art form, it does indeed appear to live on, to recycle and reanimate classics of the past with a new twist for today’s audience. Just ask Carlos Santana, who has successfully blended the medium of bluesy rock with an international flair for many decades.

Yet one thing everyone was sure of-they would not conform to the optimistic yuppies of the 80’s. Thus Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was born in 1991 and became the anthem for rebellion against structure, conformity, and commercialism. The term “alternative” music meant just that – the alternative to the bubble gum pop culture of N’Sync, and Backstreet Boys. Seattle became the hub of all things 90’s rock. Pearl Jam arrived in August of 1991 and became the flagship rock band for the 90’s. Their lyrics echoed the confusion, angst, heartbreak, and frustration of lost youth in songs like “Alive”, and “Evenflow”.

Alice in Chains released their highly acclaimed album “Dirt” in 1992, which reached into even greater darkness with songs such as “Angry Chair” and “Down in A Hole”. Other bands soon followed such as Temple of the Dogs, Mother Love Bone, Eve 6, Better Than Ezra, Vertical Horizon, 311, and many others. These bands made the 90’s the most unique and alternative decade of music ever.

Pat Benatar made us believe we were “Invincible” while Corey Hart told us to “Never Surrender”. Even in tough times when we were “Livin’ On a Prayer” with Bon Jovi, we still got the “Eye of the Tiger” from Survivor. Asia helped to embrace the “Heat of the Moment” while The Bangles taught us to “Walk Like an Egytian”. The 80’s were the perfect decade to fall in love and fight to keep it. Pat Benatar told us that “Love is a Battlefield”. Billy Joel had his “Uptown Girl” while Jefferson Starship asssured us that “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”.

Most of all, 80’s rock in roll was all about having fun. Poison told us to look for “Nothin’ But a Good Time”. Cyndi Lauper told the world that “Girls Just Want to Have Fun”, while Lionel Richie told us to dance “All Night Long”. Truly no decade of rock and roll will equal the passion, fun, and innocence of the 80’s. So put away that ipod for once, pull out a cassette tape, follow Bobby McFerrin’s advice and “Don’t Worry – Be Happy”.

Heavy metal was basically hard rock played at an even louder. Led Zeppelin incorporated fantasy into their music, Deep Purple incorporated more of an orchestral element to their sound and Black Sabbath incorproated goth, creating a more”dark and demonic” sound. Due to lack of airtime, heavy metal didn’t get much recognition on the Billboard charts. It was still able to draw in the male youth of North America and Europe.

Out of the English psychadelic scene of the 60s, glam rock was born. In 1971, David Bowie created Ziggy Stardust, with the makeup and flashy wardrobe in his performances. With the exception of Bowie, very few acts made their mark in the U. S.

Punk rock came out of garage rock, emerging from New York and London in the mid-70s. A hard-edged, political premise fueled this music. The Ramones and Patti Smith came out of New York while The Clash and the Sex Pistols emerged from London. Although short-lived, punk rock was very popular in the underground world and throughout the United Kingdom.

Brian Jones and Ian Stewart originally formed the band. Mick Jagger joined at the beginning as their lead singer. Brian Jones died in 1969 by misadventure and Ian Stewart died of a heart attack in 1985.

Probably one of there most famous singles, which catapulted The Rolling Stones to stardom was there hit single in 1965 “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction”. Mick jagger and Keith Richards song writing partnership would ensure that they would sell upwards of 200 million albums.

Memorabilia and merchandise

With all this music history from The Rolling Stones, memorabilia and merchandise is plentiful. If you are a fan of The Rolling Stones, you will have no trouble finding posters, photos and original autographs of band members and compared to The Beatles memorabilia, it’s surprisingly cheap.

So what are the Rolling Stones up to?

They have finished a film documentary directed by Martin Scorsese called “Shine a Light” about The Rolling Stones and starring The Rolling Stones with footage from their “A Bigger Bang” tour. The “A Bigger Bang” tour was a world tour and started in August 2005 and finished in August 2007. The tour is reported to have earned over 500 million dollars. Not bad for a bunch of pensioners.

In 2008 they also left the EMI recording company and signed with Universal Music which can only mean there are more Rolling Stones albums on the way and considering that Mick Jagger just turned 65 and Charlie Watts is 67 its makes you wonder where they get their motivation from, they certainly don’t need the money.

Is there really going to be a Rock & Roll band with members in their seventies. There’s only four more years to go before they can celebrate fifty years of the Rolling Stones. Mick Jagger has been quoted has saying he and the other band members have no intention of retiring and they want to make more albums and do more tours.

In January, 1964, British Rock became popular in the U. S. with the arrival of The Beatles. The Beatles would draw their influences from an array of American influences including soul music. They hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with “I Want To Hold Your Hand,” breaking ground on the American music charts. On February 9th, The Beatles would make their American debut on the Ed Sullivan Show. There were 50,000 requests for tickets in a studio that only held a little over 700 people.

Among the bands showing an increasing blues influence were The Rolling Stones, The Animals, and The Yardbirds. Other bands would follow and not only dominate the music charts in the U. S. and the United Kingdom, with one or more singles on the charts. It would also spawn the concept of the singer-songwriter.

With all things new, the old gets pushed aside. With the British Invasion came its share of critics. It had been said that the music of the British Invasion wasn’t that much different than music that originated in the U. S. It halted the careers of musicians such as Fats Domino, Chubby Checker, Smokey Robinson and ultimately Elvis. Teen idols like Ricky Nelson, for a short time, Surf rock, and girl groups like The Supremes and Martha and The Vandellas would ultimately meet their demise.

Haley was born in Michigan and later moved with his family to the Boothwyn, PA area after the Great Depression left the Detroit area in dire straits. At an early age Haley was exposed to a variety of music thanks to his mother and father’s ability to play banjo and keyboard. After fashioning a makeshift guitar out of cardboard at an early age, his parents eventually purchased him a real one and his musical journey truly started to take shape.

Haley can be noted as starting his professional music career as a teenager, playing and entertaining at auctions for a small fee, and eventually formed a group and started to branch out with local bookings featuring himself and his band. From there, his story moves to his mid teens where he left home and sought out fame and fortune by playing around the country with anyone that would have him perform. After many lean years, he eventually started working with a well-known group called the “Down Homers” while in Connecticut. He eventually moved on as a solo act and it then blossomed into greatness.

Bill Haley moved forward as a musical director of a radio station in Chester, PA and led his own band with a country western flare, playing clubs all over until finally striking it big. The Saddleman changed their name to Billy Haley with Haley’s Comets and in 1953 they moved forward to start recording. The band recorded the track “Crazy Man” and it is credited as the first major rock and roll song to hit the American charts. The band continued to make waves, and spawned several hits through the years.

Haley wasn’t without problems, as he struggled with alcoholism throughout the 1970’s, despite being able to manage his rock and roll band. In 1980, Bill Haley was diagnosed with a brain tumor and stopped touring, never to return to music. He would have a well-publicized break down of lifestyle, and died in 1981. He has been heralded as one of the pioneers of Rock Music and is celebrated as a great musical artist to this day.