1983
Ahmet Ertegun, Atlantic Records founder and chairman, sets out to establish an organization which will "recognize the people who have created this music which has become the most popular music of our time." Along with attorney Suzan Evans, now the Executive Director of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation, Ertegun approaches the heads of various record companies with his idea, spearheading the formation of the non-profit organization that would eventually become the Foundation.
A small group of music industry professionals, including Rolling Stone magazine publisher Jann Wenner, attorney Allen Grubman and record executives Seymour Stein, Bob Krasnow and Noreen Woods hold brainstorming sessions with Ertegun and Evans on how to make the idea work.
A nominating committee headed by Stein, and later co-chaired by producer/manager Jon Landau, is appointed to establish nominating criteria. The committee decides that an artist is eligible for nomination to the Hall of Fame 25 years after the release of his or her first recording. In addition to the performer category, two other categories are established for "non-performers" (producers, label heads, songwriters, inventors, etc.) and "early influences" (musicians who laid the groundwork for rock and roll).
October 1985
Officials from Cleveland and the state of Ohio approach the Foundation and suggest the construction of a major museum. "We originally planned to purchase a brownstone in New York City in which to house the Hall of Fame, as well as an archive, library and museum," says Suzan Evans. In November, the city sends a delegation to New York.
"They had these wonderful diagrams for a museum that would be much larger than any town house we had originally thought of," recalls Evans. "Our eyebrows were raised, and somebody at the meeting actually passed me a note that said, 'Pack your bags.'"
As the Foundation considers the offer, several other cities, including New York, Philadelphia, New Orleans, San Francisco, Memphis and Chicago, also make offers. The board members visit each city and are greeted with police escorts, public rallies and marching bands.
January 1986
The first induction dinner is held at New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Inductees include Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley and Little Richard. Robert Johnson, Jimmie Rodgers and Jimmy Yancey are honored as early influences. The first non-performers honored are producer Sam Phillips and disc jockey Alan Freed. Talent scout/producer John Hammond is recognized with a Lifetime Achievement award.
1986
A poll conducted by USA Today ranks Cleveland first in the race for the Hall of Fame.
May 5, 1986
After much competition and many visits to potential sites by Foundation members, Cleveland is chosen as the permanent home for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
1987
Following an extensive search, world-renowned architect I.M. Pei is chosen to design the Museum. Pei had a lot of learning to do. "I didn't know a thing about rock and roll," he confesses.
Not to be discouraged, the board members take Pei on trips to Memphis and New Orleans and to concerts in New York. "We heard a lot of music, and I finally got it: rock and roll is about energy," says Pei. He accepted the challenge.
June 7, 1993
Ground is broken for the Museum in Cleveland. On hand are I.M. Pei and board members including Ahmet Ertegun, Suzan Evans and Jann Wenner. Inductees and other artists present at the ceremony include Pete Townshend, Chuck Berry, Billy Joel, Sam Phillips, Ruth Brown, Sam Moore, Carl Gardner and Dave Pirner.
Townshend makes one of the museum's significant donations on this occasion — the Gibson J-200 guitar used to compose Tommy, including the classic "Pinball Wizard."
July 28, 1994
Under a hot summer sun and Ruby, a larger-than-life inflatable from the Rolling Stones Steel Wheels tour, the Museum is topped off with the last steel beam in its structure. First-year inductee Jerry Lee Lewis, as well as several Cleveland musicians, perform for a crowd that includes Pei, Wenner, Evans and Ertegun.
October 13, 1994
Yoko Ono presents a major collection of John Lennon artifacts to the Museum. The collection includes lyrics, Lennon's guitar from the 1965 Beatles concert at Shea Stadium, a pair of eyeglasses and the leather jacket Lennon wore while in Hamburg.
September, 1995
Twelve years in the making, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum opens with a full schedule of events.
September 1, 1995
The celebration begins Friday with a playful parade through the streets of Cleveland, followed by a ribbon cutting ceremony in front of the Museum. Present for the ceremony are Pei, Ertegun, Wenner, Evans, Ohio Governor George Voinovich, Cleveland Mayor Michael White, celebrities including Little Richard and Yoko Ono, and press from around the world. A gala private dinner attended by board members, celebrities and many Cleveland residents ends the evening in grand style.
September 2, 1995
Saturday, the first day the Museum is officially open, is kicked off with a ceremony presenting the Ahmet M. Ertegun Exhibition Hall, the Museum's main exhibit space named in recognition of the founder of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
Saturday evening tops the weekend with a benefit concert at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. An incredible roster of the rock and roll greats performs -- Chuck Berry, Bob Dylan, Al Green, Jerry Lee Lewis, Aretha Franklin, Johnny Cash, The Pretenders, John Fogerty, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, George Clinton, the Kinks, John Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen, Booker T. and the MG's, Eric Burdon and Martha Reeves.
February 1996
As part of Black History Month, the Museum begins an ambitious series of educational programs with "A Celebration of the Black Roots of Rock and Roll," a month-long program of performances, lectures, films and exhibits. Chief among the lecturers is influential rock critic Robert Palmer, who speaks of the impact of the blues on rock and roll.
April 1996
The museum kicks off its innovative Hall of Fame Series designed to honor Hall of Fame inductees and educate the public on the history and importance of rock and roll. Programs include performances, lectures and informal question and answer sessions. Held in the Museum's It's Only Rock and Roll Theater, the inaugural events include a conversation with Ray Davies of the Kinks, a conversation and performance from Dickey Betts of the Allman Brothers, and a performance by the Band. The Hall of Fame Series continues with Roger McGuinn and Jerry Wexler in May, Martha Reeves in June, Ray Manzarek in July, and rounds out the year in October with Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller.
August 1996
The Museum celebrates its one-millionth visitor just weeks before its first anniversary. Crowds line up around the building to be the millionth attendee, an honor granted to Clevelander Cathy McDonnell, the proud recipient of a classic 1965 Ford Mustang.
September 1996
In conjunction with the Woody Guthrie Archives, the Museum presents "Hard Travelin': The Life and Legacy of Woody Guthrie," a ten-day long celebration honoring the American folk legend. Events include an exhibit of Guthrie photographs at the Museum, screenings of several Guthrie films, and speakers including author Joe Klein and British songwriter Billy Bragg. Later, artists such as Syd Straw, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, and Country Joe McDonald take part in an old fashioned hootenanny.
The Guthrie series culminates Sunday evening with a musical tribute featuring an array of artists influenced by Guthrie, including Ani DiFranco, Billy Bragg, Pete Seeger, Rambiln' Jack Elliot and Arlo Guthrie, the concert is a moving end to the ten-day series.
January 1997
Members of the Outsiders, the Poni-Tails, the Michael Stanley Band, the Raspberries, Glass Harp, the Dead Boys, Pere Ubu and the O'Jays were on hand at the opening of My Town, the Museum's new exhibit on Cleveland's music history.
May 1997
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Summer of Love, the Museum unveils its first major temporary exhibition, I Want to Take You Higher: The Psychedelic Era, 1965-1969. The exhibit includes more than 500 artifacts, ranging from John Lennon's psychedelic Rolls Royce to original lyric manuscripts, costumes, instruments, posters and album covers. The exhibit opens with a day-long music festival featuring Big Brother and the Holding Company, Donovan and Country Joe McDonald.
The 1997 Induction Ceremony is held in Cleveland.
June 1997
Aretha Franklin performs for the Hall of Fame Series. Other Hall of Fame Series this year include Holland-Dozier-Holland, the Temptations, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Four Seasons and Little Richard.
September 1997
Based on the success of last year's tribute to Woody Guthrie, the Museum commits to an ongoing series that pays tribute to an Early Influence inductee. The honoree this year is the Singing Brakeman and Father of Country Music, Jimmie Rodgers. The tribute concert features performances by Iris DeMent, Ricky Skaggs, John Prine, Junior Brown, Lynyrd Skynyrd, David Rawlings and Gillian Welch and a special appearance by the Band's Levon Helm.
April 1998
The Museum's most dramatic new exhibit to date is unveiled when the Hall of Fame is moved from its former location on the sixth floor to the huge, drum-shaped theatre located on the west side of the building. The new wing is officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony that culminates in a concert by Bo Diddley, which sparks impromptu performances by some of the artists in attendance: Joe Walsh, Ruth Brown, Ike Turner, Little Richard, George Clinton, Eddie Levert and Michelle Phillips.
August 1998
An exhibit examining the life and music of Elvis Presley opens to coincide with annual Elvis Week festivities. Presented in conjunction with Graceland, this exhibit looks at the entire scope of Elvis' life and includes costumes, documents and other artifacts related to Elvis' career. The Flying Elvi parachute troupe drops in on the Museum to mark the public opening of the exhibit.
September 1998
The Third Annual American Music Masters series honors legendary bluesman Robert Johnson. Performers include the Allman Brothers Band, Bob Weir and Rob Wasserman, Jorma Kaukonen, Keb' Mo', Chris Whitley, Cassandra Wilson and Robert Lockwood, Jr.
October 1998
John Lee Hooker rounds out the 1998 Hall of Fame Series with an evening of conversation and performance. This year's series also includes appearances by Ruth Brown, Jerry Butler, Joe Walsh, Wilson Pickett and Bo Diddley.
January 1999
Sam Phillips starts off 1999's Hall of Fame Series. Al Green, Michelle Phillips and the Staple Singers make appearances in February, June and July, respectively.
February 1999
The high notes of the annual tribute to the black roots of rock and roll reaches even higher this year as the Museum explores rock's gospel influences with a month-long series of events entitled "A Joyful Noise." Performers include Take 6, Candi Staton, Richard Smallwood, Darlene Love and Donnie McClurkin.
October 1999
The Museum's fourth-annual tribute to an Early Influence inductee celebrates the legacy of rhythm & blues artist Louis Jordan. B.B. King and Bo Diddley join Ruth Brown, the Duke Robillard Band and Hank Crawford for an all star concert at the Allen Theater. Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Al Kooper, Johnnie Johnson, Bobby Rush, the Atomic Fireballs and the cast of Five Guys Named Moe team up for another tribute to Jordan at the Odeon Concert Club.
November 1999
More than 2,500 people pack the opening party for the Museum's latest temporary exhibit, Roots, Rhymes and Rage: The Hip Hop Story. The exhibit examines hip-hop's history, from its roots to the present, and includes interactive computer stations, films and more than 500 artifacts. Performers at the opening include Public Enemy, Slick Rick, Bone Thugs n Harmony, Outkast and the Goodie Mobb.
December 1999
Rock and Roll invades the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City at the opening of Rock Style, the rock and roll fashion exhibit co-curated by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute. The opening party attracts an array of stars from the fashion and entertainment worlds, including Gwenyth Paltrow, Heather Graham, Liv Tyler, Whitney Houston, Jerry Seinfeld, Stella McCartney and Liz Phair. Rock Style will open at The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland in May.
February 2000
Folk legend and Hall of Famer Pete Seeger discusses his 60-year career during the first Hall of Fame Series concert of the new millennium.
March 2000
The Museum opens a new permanent exhibit, Rave On: Rock and Roll's Early Years. Among the artists featured in the exhibit are Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, the Coasters, Buddy Holly, the Drifters, Rick Nelson, Bobby Darin, and Dion.
May 2000
Rock Style opens at the Museum. The Neville Brothers, Cheap Trick and Michael Fredo perform at the gala opening party.