Music Saves on Waterloo Road

“Why is Cleveland home to the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum?”

We get this question a lot. Once or twice a month and almost always when a journalist is in town, so I thought you might want to know a few of the reasons:

1. Cleveland radio deejay Alan “Moondog” Freed is credited with perhaps coining and definitely popularizing the term “rock and roll.” His oversold and ultimately canceled 1952 Moondog Coronation Ball is considered the first “rock and roll” concert. Cleveland lobbied for the museum partially based on his legacy.

2. As a finalist for the museum, Cleveland pushed hard to win the decidedly cool honor of being the chosen location for this pop culture treasure. Hundreds of thousands of Clevelanders signed a petitition. The city’s civic leaders pledged considerable monies. And a USA Today poll of proposed sites showed the Lake Erie city as the clear fav.

Today the glass I.M. Pei-designed museum sits on Northcoast Harbor. It is one of the biggest attraction draws for out-of-town visitors. And, although the annual induction ceremonies have historically been held in New York City, beginning in 2009, they will move to Cleveland every three years.

3. Cleveland rocks. Really. Ian Hunter sang it. Drew Carey burned it into our collective memories. And we live it every day. We have a host of really great live music venues including (but not limited to) the House of Blues, the history-infused Cleveland Agora Concert Club, Beachland Ballroom and Tavern, Grog Shop, Cain Park, Jigsaw Saloon & Stage, Wilberts, The Winchester Tavern & Music Hall, Pats in the Flats, Time Warner Cable Amphitheater at Tower City, Plain Dealer Pavilion, Blossom Music Center, Fat Fish Blue (blues), Nighttown (jazz), Peabody’s, Brother’s Lounge, Phantasy Concert Club, the Symposium, Barking Spider Tavern and others.

Whether or not you agree with many Northeast Ohioan’s reverence for Michael Stanley, it’s hard to deny that we are not rock fans. You can read more about our rock and roll legacy in Carlo Wolf’s book, Cleveland Rock and Roll Memories. It’s a little “insider,” but it gives a little of the story behind things like broadcaster Kid Leo and 100.7 WMMS “The Buzzard” (or you can totally in-depth on that with John Gorman’s The Buzzard) and bands we help make and then revered like Pere Ubu, The Raspberries and The James Gang. –Samantha Fryberger