“It was a nice, comfortable group and there was a really terrific feeling throughout the bus and the whole trip,” Mancuso said. “It was great. It exceeded my expectations.”

The “rolling classroom”

The chartered bus left from in front of Cleveland Hall shortly after 8 a.m. and quickly became a “rolling classroom,” with Mancuso giving a lesson on the history of rock ‘n' roll music. Mancuso traced the origins of rock from its roots in hillbilly and race records, and punctuated his lecture with musical examples.

“The rolling classroom gave the entire group a lot of history of the artists in the ‘50s and early ‘60s era,” said Richard Kenyan, a Computer Information Systems major at Buffalo State College.

The Hall of Fame

Shortly before noon, the bus arrived at its destination, and the group split up to tour the museum individually.

The five floors open to the public contained scattered displays of guitars, automobiles and stage outfits , belonging to performers such as John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. The artifacts on display represented music from all genres and generations, from Leadbelly and Robert Johnson to Brittney Spears and the Spice Girls.

Featured exhibits included:

• Rave On – a tribute to ‘50s rock 'n' roll pioneer Buddy Holly.
• RESPECT: the Sound of Soul – a display of soul artists such as Otis Redding, Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin.
• A Les Paul room , containing many of his guitars and recording equipment.

“The exhibits and the films were great,” Mancuso said. “But I'm a little disappointed that they still don't have an area for scholars to do research. What they've made available to the public, though, is terrific.”

“There's so much knowledge in the Hall of Fame that it is impossible to cover in half a day,” Kenyan said. “All of the information about early artists I learned from Chuck Mancuso.”

Links:

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum
Rave On
the Sound of Soul
Les Paul room
the Flats
Bottoms Up Brewery