report to the community - The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and ...

Public ProgramsOur flagship programs, American Music Masters ® and Black History Month, continue to flourishand now integrate all of our regular educational programming, with events for K-12 studentsand teachers, Case Western Reserve University students and the general public.Black History Month - The Sound of Stax:A Celebration of Soul MusicThroughout February, the Rock Hall’s 12th annual Black History Month program celebratedthe sound of Stax Records in a series of free public programs that culminated in a show bylegendary Stax artist William Bell. A corresponding class and student guide, created withsupport from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation, helped students explore Stax musicand its messages in the Museum’s unique K-12 educational program, Rockin’ the Schools.Grammy-winning author Rob Bowman and Deanie Parker, the former CEO of Soulsville,began the month-long tribute with a lecture, “Telling the Stax Records Story,” at theBaker-Nord Center for the Humanities at Case Western Reserve University. Thesecond week featured both a film screening of the acclaimed documentaryRespect Yourself: The Stax Records Story and a Teachers Rock programwith special guest Ashley Davis, artistic director of the Stax Music Academy.Davis’ presentation demonstrated ways that specific songs from the Staxrepertoire can be used to teach a range of academic skills. FromSongwriters to Soundmen featured Al Bell, the former owner of StaxRecords, who told stories that were both poignant and uplifting, discussinghis time studying with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., his years running StaxRecords, and the inspirational story behind how he composed the StapleSingers’ song “I’ll Take You There.” The Rock Hall’s regular Wednesdayevening programs continued with Rock and Roll Night School, whichfocused on classic albums of Stax Records such as Isaac Hayes’ Hot ButteredSoul and Sam and Dave’s Soul Men. The month concluded with a main-stageperformance by William Bell, who presented many of his hits, including “I Forgotto be Your Lover” and “Born Under a Bad Sign.” Bell’s performance with his TotalPackage Band brought the sound to life and reminded everyone why the Staxlegacy is still so vibrant today.American Music Masters ®2008’s American Music Masters celebrated the life and music of Les Paul, featuringthe nonagenarian guitar legend himself and a host of fellow legends, including fourHall of Fame Inductees – James Burton, Duane Eddy, Billy Gibbons and the Ventures.Our week of public programming at the Rock Hall and Case Western ReserveUniversity brought together many different voices to tell Paul’s story and his legacyin rock and roll. Rock and Roll Night School at Case’s Baker-Nord Center for theHumanities on Monday offered an overview of Paul’s career, and Wednesday’sTeachers Rock program featured a virtual tour of the Gibson plant by a Gibson luthier(stringed-instrument maker) explaining each step in the guitar production process.Ace Frehley of KISS and Gibson CEO Henry Juszkiewicz shared the stage in front of acapacity crowd on Tuesday to tell the history of the electric guitar. The Rock and RollRetrospective at Case Western Reserve on Saturday included a range of speakers,including Les Paul himself. This year’s concert was an overwhelming success, sellingout PlayhouseSquare’s State Theatre. We told the story of Paul’s career by artistsperforming his music, interspersed with video clips, photos and narration. A legendaryarray of guitar players, including Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees James Burton,Duane Eddy, Billy Gibbons and The Ventures along with Slash and Richie Sambora(to name a few), then played songs from their own catalog that reflected Les Paul’slegacy. Finally, to close the evening, Paul and his trio came out for six songs andbrought down the house.This year’s American Music Masters celebration also featured a new partnershipbetween the Rock Hall, Case Western Reserve and the Cuyahoga County PublicLibrary. The library produced a 12-page Resource Guide on Les Paul’s career, thehistory of the electric guitar, and instructional materials on learning the electricguitar, as well as an online version of the guide and the “contribute” Web site,where visitors could post comments and stories about Paul.In MemoriamLes Paul, 1988 Rock and RollHall of Fame Inductee1915 - 2009SlashBilly Gibbons and Barbara LynnRichie SamboraRetrospective with The VenturesEducation Supporters:AT&TCleveland ClinicCharter One FoundationCuyahoga Arts & CultureDominion FoundationThe Eaton Charitable FundHarry K. Fox and Emma R. FoxCharitable FoundationHillsdale FundLeBron James Family FoundationMartha Holden Jennings FoundationKeyBankMedical MutualMargaret Clark Morgan FoundationJohn P. Murphy FoundationNational City, now a part of PNCPPG Industries FoundationSaint Luke’s FoundationScripps Howard Foundation/WEWS-TVWilliam Bell10 11“This is a big day in my life. Thank you so much. Thanks to all you people. If it wasn’t foryou, I wouldn’t be here, and if it wasn’t for the wonderful people at the Hall of Fame, and theGibson people and all these wonderful musicians and these great, great guitar players thatyou have here; the entertainers are just great. This is a wonderful night for me.”– Les PaulGuests at the Members-onlyAmerican Music Masters VIP party