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Rolling Stones exhibition to open at Rock Hall
By John Benson
If Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and the Rolling Stones taught us anything, it’s that you can’t always get what you want.
Though The Rolling Stones won’t be spending the night together with Northeast Ohio on its current “50 and Counting Tour,” the good news is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is presenting the exclusive exhibition “Rolling Stones: 50 Years of Satisfaction” opening Friday at the downtown Cleveland venue.
Something somewhat surprising is the fact this is the museum’s first major exhibition capturing the band’s legendary career spanning more than 50 years. The hall does have a permanent exhibit, but the new collection is completely different, said Curatorial Director Howard Kramer.
“Well, we’ve been asking them about it for years, and we finally got the go ahead last fall,” Kramer said. The timing couldn’t be better, with the band’s 50th anniversary blitz, which includes not only its six-week stateside tour but also the band’s documentary “Crossfire Hurricane,” which aired earlier this year on HBO.
As for “Rolling Stones: 50 Years of Satisfaction,” Kramer said the Rock Hall presented The Stones staff with a wish list of items. Some of which are included in the exhibit, including Keith Richards’ ES 355 guitar and the Rosewood Telecaster he played in the band’s 1978 tour.
“It was also a matter of what clothes were available and what they were able to let go of,” Kramer said. “We also were trying to cover particular time periods, so they were working with us for that. It wasn’t like, ‘Do you have X jacket from this show?’ It was like, ‘What do you have from this tour?’”
The result is the 21/2-story Rock Hall “Rolling Stones: 50 Years of Satisfaction,” with highlights such as Jagger’s “Steel Wheels” green leather jacket, Jagger’s grammar-school-class photograph from the Dartfordian, Charlie Watts’ mariachi shirt, Ronnie Wood’s Zemaitis guitar and Brian Jones’ Teardrop guitar.