Women Rock as Women
Women rock differently than men. Author Cathay Che wrote that female musical icons have “pushed the frontiers of what it means to be female.” Women rock as women.
The Women Who Rock exhibit, which is causing buzz outside Cleveland, proves that women dress better, but it also shows that women rock with passion, deep emotion, and often harder than men because like every other mountain women have had to climb in American society, the climbing was steep. Women are often not as well known as men in the rock world, but they’ve been there, making music, and doing it well.
At a recent Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum event, I enjoyed champagne cocktails and a delightful display of finger foods ranging from bruschetta to satay, and a dessert table that paired white chocolate and coconut, all prepared by Executive Caterers. Members of the Rock Hall staff recreated musical hits on the main stage, and only a couple brave staffers play music professionally. Anyone who steps over the threshold into the entrance hall receives a discount card to the treasure-filled store where they currently sell 45 records like it’s 1965. The glass atrium, designed by I.M. Pei, flaunts the museum’s location on Lake Erie. The Rock Hall and its caterer proved that its still one of the best venues in town to hold an event. And we’re excited by the possibility of hosting the 2012 Rock Hall induction ceremony—tickets can only be purchased at the Rock Hall and cost less than $100.
Todd Mesek, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, highlighted the food, the music, the store, the induction ceremony, and then he told us about Women Who Rock, Vision Passion Power, the new featured exhibit on view through February 26, 2012. Women Who Rock had been envisioned by curators Meredith Rutledge and Shelby Morrison for years, and their love and passion really tells the story. Just knowing two women empowered the show makes it more enticing—the story would be told from the women’s point of view. As when Yoko Ono told John Lennon’s story through love letters and other personal items that told the story of their love as much as the music, the story of women who rock, told by women, would tell the story of how women have had to climb that mountain.
We were finally ushered into the Women Who Rock, Vision Passion Power show. We saw photos, artifacts, and costumes on two floors of the museum. The display highlights the best-known and the lesser-known — women who made music because they were in love with it, and those who changed the way we view women. The museum has always been about American culture as much as its music, and women who have rocked from the 1920s until today, Darlene Love through Lady Gaga have shown us that women can be as visionary as men, and as powerful. We saw a red, white and blue starred and fringed dress worn by Wanda Jackson, her guitar on the floor nearby, and Mahalia Jackson posters. Three of The Supremes’ sequined and shimmering dresses sent shivers down my spine when I remembered the television performances I saw as a child. A Teenage-Age Celebrity Doll Book featuring Brenda Lee was placed against a large photo backdrop of the teenaged star in white sunglasses; it felt haunting.
As always, the exhibition is interactive. It moves through the eras of rock and roll with video and listening stations. There’s a recording booth where visitors can add to the story of women who rock by capturing inspirational moments on film. Over 70 artists are featured.
Women began as suffragettes in the early 20th century, worked hard to get out of the kitchen, dealt with the constraints of motherhood and male dominance, and braved media scrutiny. From Bessie Smith singing the blues in the 1920s, to country music recording star Mother Maybelle Carter to Billie Holiday’s memorable voice, women began to change the face of rock. The Girl groups of the 1960s, like the Ronettes, were more a product of male vision, but even so, those groups highlighted women’s potential to be more than wives and mothers, nurses and teachers. We were in the middle of a sexual revolution when Janis Joplin, Carole King, and Joni Mitchell brought women rockers newfound popularity, but more than that, we were in the middle of the women’s rights movement. That movement gave women who struggled, like Tina Turner and Loretta Lynn, a voice. Women rockers’ strides through the 1980s, like Madonna, who didn’t even see that mountain, found their own images and became who they wanted to be, and who they were is shown in the costumes on display—sequined gowns, bikinis, or leather jackets.
I left the Rock Hall with a feeling of awe for the women who have made it, like Christie Hyde and Bonnie Raitt. They are an inspiration to all women. We can follow our dreams and do it better than men. Take a moment to browse the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum’s website (http://rockhall.com/) which is a multimedia adventure that presents the exhibit with a Darlene Love interview and profiles of each and every artist. I guarantee you’ll be inspired to trek to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum between the hours of 10AM and 5:30PM daily and until 9PM on Wed. Find it at 1100 Rock and Roll Boulevard, on the west side of the E. 9th Street Pier.
Claudia Taller’s book Ohio’s Lake Erie Wineries will be released by Arcadia Publishing on June 20. Her passion for words has led to creation of Word Lover’s Retreats. Find her at http://ClaudiaTallerMusings.blogspot.com.