The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: The Outrageous, Definitive & Untold History

by Craig Inciardi

Told with grit, reverence, and doses of gleeful mischief, The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is a front-row seat to music history—and the madness behind chasing down the world’s greatest collection of rock relics.

Craig Inciardi was a rising star at Sotheby’s, wheeling and dealing in rock memorabilia, when he got the call to help launch the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum. The catch? There was no museum. Just a “guitar of no importance and three interesting sheets of paper.”

With a green light and few guardrails, Inciardi hit the road and became the Indiana Jones of rock history—working out of Rolling Stone’s offices, answering to Jann Wenner, and tracking down legends for their sacred stuff. His journey took him to Ozzy Osbourne’s country estate (where Ozzy greeted him with a gun), Keith Moon’s boyhood home, and Art Garfunkel’s secret stash of letters from Paul Simon. Along the way, he landed the guitar Pete Townshend used to write “Tommy,” Otis Redding’s leather coat worn before his fatal plane crash, Patti Smith’s duct-taped boots, Aretha
Franklin’s handwritten notes, Debbie Harry’s stagewear, and John Lennon’s glasses that were worn on the day he died.

And that’s only a fraction of the rock-relic stories on offer.

Meanwhile, Inciardi pulls back the curtain on the hall’s chaotic the cutthroat induction debates, the backstage meltdowns, and the legendary all-star jams with Jagger, Dylan, Springsteen, and more.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

342 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 30, 2025

Reviews

[Adam Weiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy fun read that checks just about all of my boxes.. rock and roll, Cleveland, and an artist’s journey. Tells the story of the man who curated the exhibits, the story of the pieces themselves, and the infrastructure it took to make a museum out of nothing in Cleveland. Loved it!

[Martin Maenza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Diversion Books provided an early galley for review.

As a librarian, I can relate to Inciardi as a curator (archivists is another aspect of MLIS studies). The hunt for the interesting to build a collection is always thrilling and full of surprises. As a music nerd, this book also connected to me on that level.

Inciardi's stories are informative and fun. Hearing about the behind-the-scenes of induction ceremonies and the interactions of music personalities was interesting. I found myself devouring the stories as a very quick, easy read.

Strongly recommended for fans of music and the Rock Hall itself.

[Mark Lieberman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book from Netgalley, so I can read and review it before it’s published. As a music fan, when I saw this book, I was definetely intrigued. I did get the opportunity to visit the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame once, but that was many years ago. I also own most of the live albums from the induction ceremonies, and really enjoy jamming to them as the collaborations are absolutely amazing.

Craig is the founding curator of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which basically means he was the primary person responsible for gathering rock & roll memorabilia, documents pertaining to songs, and overall schmoozing with musicians, managers, and family members all around the world.

The story of how it all went down is in the book and we have to thank Jann Wenner and Ahmet Ertegün, along with some others, but they were the keys. A lot of insight regarding how the Hall of Fame came to be, induction ceremonies, the location of the Hall of Fame itself, the reunions of bands, the bad blood amongst bands, and a lot of awesome stories from Craig.

Craig tells the story of how he got started in the business, and all the people he met throughout his curatorship (lots of musicians, and he never got awestruck by them). Just knowing how much effort he went through to get the stuff is pretty cool; no Internet, so letters were mailed and telephone calls were placed. Scavenging in basements, looking in bankers boxes, seeing the rooms and instruments from where history was made, I have to admit, that is a cool job.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, and the read was easy for me.

[J Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: The Outrageous, Definitive & Untold History by Craig Inciardi is a fun read that is largely anecdotes from his years acquiring items for the museum.

This is neither definitive nor really a history in the usual sense, we don't get the details of the happenings that took place above where he operated. Other than a semantic issue with the title, that is not a negative. I don't know how enjoyable a true history would be, the conflicts in boardrooms and between all of the people with distinct but varied ideas of what the Hall should be. Instead we get an outline of the history through the acquisition of valuable artifacts and the many wonderful, and often strange, interactions in finding and retrieving them.

There are plenty of stories of how certain items were found or brought to Inciardi's attention and these will appeal to anyone who, on a much smaller scale, ever had a collection they painstakingly tried to grow and improve. Most of the more personal anecdotes, such as Lou Reed driving maniacally, aren't really part of the "history" but are still interesting and allows Inciardi to inject more of himself into the story.

Recommended for those who love music, regardless of your opinion of the Hall of Fame itself. Also for those readers who enjoy reading about how so many little things contribute to making a larger entity work.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Rachael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having visited the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year, I was intrigued to read about how the museum came to be, especially why it was built in Cleveland. Told from the perspective of the museum's founding curator, Craig Inciardi spent four decades meeting, uncovering, and preserving music history. The plans and opening of the museum coincided with the rise of rock and roll memorabilia being collectible. But this book highlights the challenges a curator faces in building a collection.

What I particularly enjoyed about this book is learning why Cleveland was selected, little details about how they made the mannequins to display the clothing, how it was often the mothers of the musicians who held the key to providing artifacts, and spilling the tea regarding in-band tensions and drama. I don't think you necessarily need to be a fan of classic rock to get something out of this book, as most of the names are pretty familiar. Although I will note the endless listing of executives and musicians got a bit tiring, as did the chronological format. It started becoming a little samey by the end.

Nevertheless, whether you're interested in museum curation or rock and roll history, this book is an easy and enjoyable read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Diversion Books for providing me with an eArc in exchange for an honest review.

[Wendi Manning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really solid work went into this and I couldn’t be happier!

The Rock Hall has always seemed mysterious. How did they get that outfit? This guitar is so cool, I wonder who was holding on to that! This book opened the doors to that world. There were a lot of great stories and a little dirt. I hope he writes a volume 2!

I recommend this to anyone who loves music.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about more than just the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame! It’s about artifacts, history, musical scenarios and those who made it happen. The author has had a wonderful profession for over 30 years. Being able to travel the world, meeting artists, musicians, managers and other curators paid for by the Rock ‘n Roll hall of fame museum, has allowed him a very well paid occupation! I highly recommend this book to all who have ever spun an LP on a turntable!!

[Ward Whipple · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good inside overview of the machinations not only of the organization's induction process, but what the curators had to go through to build the museum. Exclusive inside stories, and some dirt, but no real scandal. The author does not detail being sued by the Eagles. (review copy provided by NetGalley)

[Bruce Raterink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any fan of rock'n'roll will find enjoyment in these numerous anecdotes and behind the scenes stories about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum and induction ceremonies. A fun, quick read. Highly recommended

Thanks to NetGalley and Diversion Books for an advanced reader copy.

[Tfalcone · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a great job to have. I enjoyed this hugely and had to listen to all the induction ceremonies on youtube.

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0

[Deanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting look into the Rock n Roll hall of fame. You get a behind the scenes look at multiple celebrities in this story.