Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame: Are You Ready for Some Good Times ?

Cleveland Has the Finest Music Industry Museum Housing Legends

Today is the opening of the Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland. It is Labor Day weekend and the year is 1995. This occasion is the most talked about event in the city's history. It has taken ten long years of planning, financing, controversy, but finally the construction is complete. The public awaits. Ron Cesek and I are are standing in a parking lot in downtown Cleveland, where many others are in awe. We are watching the crowds of wandering fellow enthusiasts. No one is quite sure of what the day has in store for them. Vendors have set up small booths from Superior Avenue to the lakefront. Hot dogs, potato chips, soda, popcorn, caps, tee shirts, well they are selling almost everything. Opportunists are everywhere. Most are trying to make money while having a chance to be part of Cleveland's history. Ron & I are listening to musicians who are rehearsing in the background. Surrounded by native Clevelanders, white and blue collar workers with their families, friends, some as old as eighty and some as young as eight months, excited like we are. People of all races, each an individual part of this joyous awakening ready to co-mingle with newcomers. A cast of thousands who are ready to recognize, admire, and appreciate the music industry's greatest achievement. Every major radio station has at least one personality host recording live from downtown Cleveland. We listen to interviews of both celebrities and visitors, from nearby portable televisions and radios. In the streets below the courtyard of this magnificent structure, Ron and I cannot discern where the real center of action is. But we move along with the crowd. We are following formed lines of people to joyfully find ourselves part of a greater awakening. Cleveland has bait and the public has taken it, hook, line and sinker !Off in the distance we hear organized acceptance speeches for well-deserved awards of industry contribution. Bouts of exuberant laughter and songs being practiced loudly, echo between our cities skyscrapers. People are enjoying the musically artistic contributions filling the atmosphere, from almost every corner of the globe, or so it seems. We are following the movement of the crowd using express modes of transportation, our feet. We run to the corner of Superior Avenue and yell, "We will never get close enough to anything, to see anything".  Jon Bon Jovi and Melissa Etheridge are scheduled to appear, giving me such enthusiasm that we are nearly passing everyone along the way. When we get to the gate, we are disheartened that all public tickets have been sold out. We can't get in ! No problem. This is Cleveland. We decide sitting in the courtyard is just as exciting. The Hall itself is larger than we could have imagined. The architecture includes a front pyramid of glass encased in a metal frame creating a 'window effect." The reflections and shadows at this time of day do not allow for a clear view inside. We are now close enough to touch the glass. It appears that everyone else has done this too, for there are thousands of fingerprints higher than even we can reach. Fans are looking from the outside in, while rock n' roll legends look out. As the sun slowly descends into the horizon, a hush comes over and the concert begins. Ron and I sit on the concrete courtyard facing the museum. Fans perched on lawn chairs everywhere crane their necks and cheer in profound appreciation. Chuck Berry and John Mellencamp open this gala event, their first duet performance in over a decade. The backdrop of the Cleveland stadium stage is about one hundred feet away from us. Against the orange, burnt auburn, maize and light-blue colors of the sky, this event is spectacular to the eye and ear.Ron sits down on a monumental piece of concrete that hundreds of local Clevelanders donated money for. It is in front of this great place welcoming all and he feels a sense of pride to be part of this marvelous experience, with his daughter. While sitting and letting the music take us away, we imagine being 'flown' a million miles into the nearing sunset on a cloud of cheerful lyrical delight. Regressing back to my teenage days, I am mesmerized with the sounds. Radios each tuned to a different station mixed with voices, motorcycles, airplanes, sirens, and city busses add to the experience. In awe and all, the gala celebration would have been worth a five hundred dollar ticket, but it was priceless by simply sitting in the courtyard with my dad who shared sodas, hot dogs and a touch of architectural history. I learned about the architectural history our city has to offer and got a great concert as well. Historical in many ways, the opening of the Rock N' Roll Hall of fame Museum was special in only a way two fans of great music can truly appreciate. To a dose of sunshine add an interesting sunset. Then mix well with prophetic dissertation and profound love and laughter, and you have one of my favorite recipes for a fun-filled inexpensive Labor Day weekend in the glorious city of Cleveland, Ohio.