The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its today in New York City. WKSU'sKabirBhatia looks back to the , 30 years ago.
The inaugural class included Elvis, , James Brown, , and Buddy Holly and the , as well as Cleveland DJ , who coined the term "rock and roll" in the 1950s. Mike Olszewski was a reporter for WERE radio back then, and was at that first ceremony.
鈥淭hey wanted the folks at the Waldorf-Astoria to see what it was like when people were on the road. So they all paid a thousand or $1,500 a seat. But they got meatloaf [and] Oreos for dessert. Basically what you鈥檇 get in a diner. They did get a couple of good bottles of wine, don鈥檛 get me wrong.鈥�
In May of that year, Cleveland was chosen as the site for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, which finally opened in 1995. Olszewski learned that Cleveland was chosen from one of the country鈥檚 top record executives.
olszewski_rock_hall.mp3
Mike Olszewski on Clive Davis and the Cleveland announcement
鈥淭here were a lot of folks that were trying to get this Hall: New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles. I remember Jerry Lee Lewis wanted it in his hometown in Louisiana. It was going to be announced Monday in New York City. That Friday, I was working at a radio station, and Clive Davis was on-the-air with a syndicated show. Well, Clive Davis was on the board [of the Rock Hall]. So I simply called the radio show and I said, 鈥業s it true that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is going to be in Cleveland?鈥� He said, 鈥榊eah, I鈥檒l verify that.鈥欌��
Davis was eventually inducted in 2000. includes Chicago, Deep Purple, Steve Miller, Cheap Trick and N.W.A.
