CLEVELAND (October 13, 2011) – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and Case Western Reserve University announce the events and tribute concert artists that will honor Aretha Franklin, one of the greatest singers in popular music, during the 16th annual American Music Masters Lady Soul: The Life and Music of Aretha Franklin.
The annual series of events will begin Monday, October 31, 2011, culminating with a conference and a tribute concert on Saturday, November 5, 2011. Tribute concert artists include Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees Dennis Edwards (of the Temptations), Ronald Isley (of the Isley Brothers) and Spooner Oldham, as well as 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominee Chaka Khan, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Carla Cook, Melinda Doolittle, Mike Farris and Cissy Houston. Franklin will attend the tribute concert to accept the award but is not scheduled to perform. Additional guests will be announced soon.
The current schedule of events includes:
FREE – Monday, October 31 at 7 p.m. – Rock and Roll Night School: A Spotlight on Aretha Franklin in the Rock Hall’s Foster Theater on the 4th floor.
Rock Hall educators will examine the scope and impact of Aretha Franklin’s career, while focusing on select songs that represent the diversity of her music. This event is free and reservations are not required. Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. This event will also be streamed live on rockhall.com.
Tuesday, November 1 at 7 p.m. – An Evening with the Blind Boys of Alabama on the Rock Hall’s Main Stage.
This event will feature a live performance from the Blind Boys of Alabama as well as an interview. The Blind Boys of Alabama are recognized worldwide as living legends of gospel music. They formed at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in 1939 and toiled for 40 years almost exclusively on the black gospel circuit, playing in churches, auditoriums, and even stadiums across the country. The Blind Boys of Alabama have profoundly influenced an entire generation (or two) of gospel, soul, R&B and rock musicians and are still blazing trails after all these years. Tickets are $15 and are available through the Rock Hall website at https://tickets.rockhall.com or at the Rock Hall Box Office. Rock Hall Members can purchase tickets starting at 10 a.m. on Monday, October 17. General public on-sale begins at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, October 18.
FREE with RSVP – Wednesday, November 2 at 4:30 p.m. – Teachers Rock with Summer of Sisterhood: The Soul of Cleveland Girls in the Rock Hall’s “Eat to the Beat†on the 3rd floor.
Join us for a special workshop celebrating the legacy of Aretha Franklin with special guests from the West Side Community House’s Summer of Sisterhood program. Learn more about the program’s work to empower adolescent girls by inspiring them to reflect on their identity and community through poetry, songwriting and dance. This workshop is designed for teachers and educators around Northeast Ohio. This event is free with a reservation. Email education@rockhall.org or call 216.515.8426 to RSVP.
FREE with RSVP – Wednesday, November 2 at 7 p.m. – Hall of Fame Series with Spooner Oldham in the Rock Hall’s Foster Theater on the 4th floor.
Dewey Lyndon “Spooner†Oldham is a linchpin of the Southern soul and R&B sound. The Alabama-born musician was part of the prolific crew that made records at Rick Hall’s FAME (“Florence Alabama Music Enterprisesâ€) Studio and Muscle Shoals Sound Studios. Oldham played keyboards on Aretha Franklin’s first five albums for Atlantic Records: I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You, Aretha Arrives, Lady Soul, Aretha Now and Soul ’69. He can also be heard on such seminal soul songs as Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves a Woman†and Wilson Pickett’s “Mustang Sally.†This event is free with a reservation. Seating is limited. Reservations can be made through the Rock Hall website at https://tickets.rockhall.com or at the Rock Hall Box Office. Rock Hall Members can RSVP starting at 10 a.m. on Monday, October 17. General public can RSVP starting at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, October 18. This event will also be streamed live on rockhall.com.
FREE – Thursday, November 3 at 7 p.m. – “‘Rolling in the Deep’: Aretha Franklin and the Makings of Modern Black Womanhood†– Keynote Lecture by Daphne Brooks, Professor of English and African-American Studies, Princeton University at Case Western Reserve University’s Ford Auditorium, 10900 Euclid Ave.
This lecture explores the rich and diverse complexities of Aretha Franklin’s musical artistry—from her early recording career at Columbia Records in the early 1960s to her pop breakthrough later that decade. It examines new ways to read Ms. Franklin’s virtuosity as both a vocalist and instrumentalist as a form of sonic black feminism. Through the work of Aretha Franklin, this talk aims to consider how classic soul music and the politics of modern black womanhood are indelibly linked to one another. This event is free and reservations are not required. Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Saturday, November 5 from 10:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. – American Music Masters Conference in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Foster Theater.
A reflection on the career of Aretha Franklin and her impact on rock and roll music. The conference will feature rare film footage presented by documentary filmmaker and archivist Joe Lauro of Historic Films, as well as interviews with Cissy Houston and Bernard Purdie, both long-time friends and collaborators of Ms. Franklin’s. Tickets are $25 ($10 lunch voucher included) and are available through the Rock Hall website at https://tickets.rockhall.com or at the Rock Hall Box Office. Rock Hall Members can purchase tickets starting at 10 a.m. on Monday, October 17. General public on-sale begins at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, October 18. Admission to the Museum is free with the purchase of a conference ticket. Portions of this event will be streamed live on rockhall.com.
Saturday, November 5 at 7:30 p.m. Tribute Concert at PlayhouseSquare’s State Theatre
Tribute concert artists include Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductees Dennis Edwards (of the Temptations), Ronald Isley (of the Isley Brothers), and Spooner Oldham, as well as 2012 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominee Chaka Khan, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Carla Cook, Melinda Doolittle, Mike Farris and Cissy Houston. Additional guests will be announced soon. Tickets are $30, $40 and $50. Tickets are available at the PlayhouseSquare box office, by calling (216) 241-6000, or by visiting www.playhousesquare.org. A limited number of Rock Hall VIP event packages starting at $250 are available by calling (216) 515-1207.
Please visit www.rockhall.com for up-to-date information about streamed events, the tribute concert, the weeklong series of events, and for more information about Aretha Franklin.
