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The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The First 25 Years
One of music journalism’s most celebrated writers takes you behind the scenes of the hallowed temple of rock and roll in this in-depth retrospective of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Holly George-Warren, author of Punk 365 , Grateful Dead 365 , and co-author of The Road to Woodstock , offers a penetrating look at every musician, writer, producer, and performer inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during its first twenty-five years. George-Warren recounts in detail their careers, influences, greatest hits, and tons of behind-the-scenes lore, along with hundreds of transcriptions of acceptance and induction speeches from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s vast archives that have never been published anywhere ever before. An unforgettable story accompanied by dozens of dazzling photographs, this unique compendium of rock’s greatest achievers is a crucial treasure for music lovers everywhere.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 4, 2020
I was thrilled to receive The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: The First 25 Years as a Christmas gift this year in preparation for a visit to The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio later this spring. Covering the first 25 years of induction ceremonies, this hefty book includes overviews of each year’s inductees, excerpts from induction speeches, descriptions of each year’s musical highlights, and photos of the inductees in their primes along with pictures from the induction festivities. It’s interesting to see not only who was chosen to give the speech for each inductee, but how each presenter or inductee prepared (or not) remarks for the occasion. More than one presenter said, in effect, “I’m a musical improviser, so I didn’t prepare anything, and here goes.” If there is one message that emerges from 25 years of rock and roll greats looking back on their careers, it is simply to not give up your dreams.
January 4, 2022
I really wasn't as pleased with this as I thought I would be. While the photos were decent they did not even half portray the excitement of each event. I would much rather see a video form of these.
July 13, 2016
“Roots and antecedents come from black American blues, gospel and jazz, American folk and country,” said Ahmet Ertegun, a co-founder of the Rock Hall, at the 2005 ceremony. I especially enjoyed the introductory exhibition in the museum about the musical influences — which also included doo wop, Texas swing, hillbilly and jump blues — that coalesced into rock and roll.
This book is a twenty-dollar souvenir from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame of a fun four-hour recent visit, three hours in the museum and another hour in the terrific gift shop.
For the first time, induction stories, anecdotes, roasts and testimonies appear here in print in one collection. These are mostly pithy comments and accolades by musicians about other musicians during each year’s induction ceremonies.
This fun book organizes itself into twenty-five chapters, one for each year of inductions. A preface introduces each year, giving history and context to the rock and roll of the preceding twelve months. The body of each chapter includes highlights from people making the inductions and those receiving the honor. Funny, quirky, musical, and behind-the-scene slices of life. The final paragraph of each year describes the party.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened in 1995 on Cleveland’s North Shore. Nine months later, my ex and I stopped there on our way to Boston and Montreal. We way underestimated the scale of the Rock Hall. This recent trip was the makeup trip.
Rock and roll helped shape me. I was the high school sock-hop DJ. A few years later, I worked spinning vinyl on an underground FM station in St Louis.
This book is a twenty-dollar souvenir from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame of a fun four-hour recent visit, three hours in the museum and another hour in the terrific gift shop.
For the first time, induction stories, anecdotes, roasts and testimonies appear here in print in one collection. These are mostly pithy comments and accolades by musicians about other musicians during each year’s induction ceremonies.
This fun book organizes itself into twenty-five chapters, one for each year of inductions. A preface introduces each year, giving history and context to the rock and roll of the preceding twelve months. The body of each chapter includes highlights from people making the inductions and those receiving the honor. Funny, quirky, musical, and behind-the-scene slices of life. The final paragraph of each year describes the party.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame opened in 1995 on Cleveland’s North Shore. Nine months later, my ex and I stopped there on our way to Boston and Montreal. We way underestimated the scale of the Rock Hall. This recent trip was the makeup trip.
Rock and roll helped shape me. I was the high school sock-hop DJ. A few years later, I worked spinning vinyl on an underground FM station in St Louis.
March 22, 2012
I'm a big fan of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, so I found this book really interesting. It had lots of dish about the rock 'n' roll personalities and their inevitable clashes and feuds at the ceremonies throughout the years. (Apparently Phil Spector stopped being invited after the first few ceremonies, and now things just aren't nearly as deliciously messy anymore.)
There are also lots of great photos of the then-and-now variety. I only wish the book could have included more. Most of the speeches reprinted are clearly edited for length, and some inductees are skipped over entirely. I realize that a tome including every word of every induction and acceptance speech from every performer over the course of 25 years would be huge....but would that really be such a bad thing?
There are also lots of great photos of the then-and-now variety. I only wish the book could have included more. Most of the speeches reprinted are clearly edited for length, and some inductees are skipped over entirely. I realize that a tome including every word of every induction and acceptance speech from every performer over the course of 25 years would be huge....but would that really be such a bad thing?
March 17, 2012
I was given this as an award from school. Not a bad collection of anecdotes from different (usually equally popular) artists on those being honoured, though there are many that I am not particularly interested in reading about. Not my jam so much, but I could imagine this giving great pleasure to others.
June 7, 2016
I bought this as a souvenir from a recent trip to Cleveland and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It was a really interesting look through the first 25 years of inductions, the celebrations, the fun. I also enjoyed reading what artists had to say about other artists. My favorite part was all of the pictures, not just of the awards but of the artists through their careers.
July 20, 2016
Really great read with tons of music knowledge for me to store up and use again and again, like say on trivia night. Oh wait...that was tonight. #nailedit
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews