Rock Hall of Fame readies Bruce Springsteen exhibit

By M.R. KROPKO

It will open April 1.

CLEVELAND — From the Super Bowl to the Rock Hall, nothing stops Bruce Springsteen from taking on new adventures. It’s as if he’s born to run to the next big thing.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum on Friday confirmed it is on pace to open its exhibit “From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen” on April 1. Featuring various artifacts from Springsteen highlighting his career, the exhibit is expected to occupy the fifth and sixth floors at the Rock Hall through the spring of 2010.

Seeking something fresh and exciting to complement its 2009 induction ceremony, the Rock Hall has gotten its fondest wish — the cooperation of the 1999 inductee and legendary blue-collar rock star known as The Boss who turns 60 on Sept. 23.

But a museum doesn’t exactly seem the appropriate place for anything Springsteen. He’s no relic assigned to music history. He keeps making it, artistically and energetically.

Having fine-tuned his talent and stage presence decades ago in Asbury Park, N.J., Springsteen has just released a new album, his 24th, and has scheduled an ambitious international tour with his E Street Band.

He showed at halftime of this year’s Super Bowl on Feb. 1 that he still exudes a youthful rock music energy. His four-song set included his newest piece, “Working on a Dream,” which was backed by a choir.

On Feb. 9, Springsteen’s “Girls in Their Summer Clothes” won a Grammy for best rock song.

“He’s someone we’ve always wanted to do a big exhibit on,” said Jim Henke, the Rock Hall’s curator. “I’ve known him and people in his organization for years. I was at Rolling Stone magazine for years and I’ve done some cover stories on him. So it’s one of those things that I’d bring up with his manager from time to time. Last summer they said, ‘Yes, it makes sense now.’”

What timing.

This year on April 4, for the first time since 1997, inductions will be in Cleveland, the home city of the Rock Hall. Ceremonies for each Rock Hall induction class usually are held in New York, the city where the Rock Hall’s foundation is based and where a Rock Hall Annex recently opened.

The exhibit is aimed at appealing to the legions of Springsteen fans. Henke says it may be the most extensive exhibit on a rock star ever done at the Rock Hall.

Some past exhibits have included detailed displays on the lives and careers of John Lennon, Bob Dylan and Ray Charles.

Springsteen has provided various guitars, including the one he holds on the cover of “Born to Run,” a recording that helped rocket his popularity.

The exhibit also will have scrapbooks and notebooks in which Springsteen wrote many song lyrics.

Springsteen also has provided a desk where he sat to do much of his creative work.

Fans of The Boss will be able to trace his career through multiple audio and video presentations, and the Rock Hall’s lower level will show off the 1960 Chevrolet Corvette Springsteen bought once he attained some success.

Springsteen has other plans in early April. His world tour, which will eventually take him throughout Europe, has him performing April 1 in San Jose, Calif., followed by concerts April 2 in Glendale, Ariz. and April 5 in Austin, Texas.

Springsteen performed in Cleveland in 1995 at a concert in the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium to mark the Rock Hall’s opening. In that show, he played guitar and sang along with another rock legend, Chuck Berry.