Women Who Rock; Vision, Passion, Power - The Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame, 2011
‘Women Who Rock: Vision, Passion, Power’ has been officially in the works since last summer, but on an unofficial level, it’s been contemplated for years by the museum staff.
A provocative exhibition that illustrates the importance of women in the world of popular music from the 1920s to present day.
It highlights the flashpoints, the firsts, the best, and the celebrated and sometimes lesser-known women whose artistry advanced the progress of rock-and-roll music.
Featuring more than 250 artifacts and performance videos, the exhibition moves through rock-and-roll eras, demonstrating how women have been engines of creation and change.
Women played a central role in the development of the rock-and-roll genre, beginning with early blues artists, like Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. Spirited rhythm-and-blues singers—such as Ruth Brown, LaVern Baker, and rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson—added their creative talents to popular music through its explosive growth in the ’50s.
‘Women Who Rock’ is organized into six eras, starting with the ‘20s and working up to the present, with the final era touching on the riot grrrl movement, female rappers and Lilith Fair.
Girl groups, like the Shirelles and Supremes, dominated the charts in the early ’60s while Janis Joplin, Grace Slick, and Joni Mitchell carried the torch into the ’70s. Today, music is ruled by women from Lady Gaga to Alicia Keys, Rihanna to Carrie Underwood.
Featured artifacts from these women and many more include clothing, musical instruments, handwritten lyrics and music, session cards, concert posters, photographs, dressing room notes, appointment notebooks, and a Tony award statuette.
Exhibition Design - Pure + Applied | Fabrication /Installation Services by South Side Design & Building