May 5 – September 4, 2011
Scroll down for performance and program information.
Read The Star-Ledger review
Read The New York Times spotlight feature
Read The Record feature
The
Jersey Rocks exhibition explores rock & roll’s roots, rise, golden age, and evolution in the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s and beyond, when our state was fertile ground for the new sound that rocked the world.
About the Jersey Rocks exhibition
This ground-breaking exhibition, organized by the Morris Museum, explores New Jersey’s pivotal role in the development of the rock & roll genre. Jersey Rocks explores the rise of rock & roll in New Jersey from its early years through the 1970s and beyond, as “rock” evolved into new genres. This major exhibition features musicians, fans, concert venues, events, and DJ’s– many of which made up the world of New Jersey rock & roll.
Here in the Garden State, a unique mix of performers and places, technology and talent created sounds that would dominate the airwaves and rock the nation. Visitors will explore rock & roll’s rise in the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s, when the state was fertile ground for the new sound—and then will see how the beat changed, and rock splintered. And at Jersey Rocks, everyone will have a chance to sing along, dance to the music, and rock on in the Garden State.
Beginning with the origins of rock & roll in the late 1940s to early 1950s, the exhibition explores doo-wop, be-bop, gospel, and rhythm and blues and African-American artists’ contributions to rock’s roots, through photos and videos of performers and their stories. This section also examines the legacy of Les Paul and his contribution to the technology that made rock & roll—the solid body electric guitar.
The next section celebrates the rise of rock & roll in the 1950s through mid-1960s. Visitors travel back in time to Wildwood and the 1950s, where Bill Haley and His Comets debuted “Rock Around the Clock”, and “visit” Palisades Amusement Park and The Clay Cole Show, with performers such as Lesley Gore and Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, along with Tony Mart’s in Somers Point, NJ, the first “real” rock club on the Jersey Shore. The role of DJ’s and how they helped market and spread rock & roll is highlighted through personalities, such as Jocko Henderson, Alan Freed, and Cousin Brucie. Through objects such as records, stage clothing, photographs, gold records, and backdrops, performers of the period who are spotlighted include Joey Dee and the Starliters, Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons, Dionne Warwick, the Shirelles, Connie Francis, Lesley Gore, The Angels, The Delicates, the Happenings, the Critters, the Duprees, Ricky Nelson, and the 1910 Fruitgum Company.
The golden age of rock & roll, mid 1960s – 1970s, explores the rising market of rock & roll, the originality of the music and how it increasingly reflected the times (e.g. Vietnam War) and New Jersey’s contributions to the technological revolution that enabled rock & roll to become a national phenomenon. Some of the leading venues and music happenings highlighted include a “visit” to the Atlantic City Pop Festival, held two weeks before Woodstock; Newark Symphony Hall as a concert venue that hosted the Rolling Stones, Peter Paul and Mary, and Jimi Hendrix; and what made the Capitol Theater in Passaic a “substitute” for the Fillmore East. Some of the technological advances featured include an authentic 1960s Guild guitar, made in Hoboken, with a built-in stand; an Ampeg amplifier, made in Linden; and a Guild Echorec, which allowed your voice to echo.
Specific stories include:
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The (Young) Rascals – shift in rock & roll, moving away from American Bandstand and becoming more influenced by “psychedelia”
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Bruce Springsteen and Steven Van Zandt as teenagers playing at the Upstage Club. Another Jersey Shore venue: The Stone Pony
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The Jersey Shore Sound via the history of Asbury Park, where a rock & roll scene emerged as the city underwent a decline
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Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul, and Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes and their contribution to the Jersey Shore sound
The next section examines how rock splintered in new directions in the mid-1970s and beyond. Four major performers, all NJ natives, that made national and international marks on music, are highlighted:
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Disco queen Gloria Gaynor
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Bon Jovi’s appeal as a “hair band”
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Hip hop exemplified through Queen Latifah
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Pop music through the lens of Whitney Houston’s records
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The Misfits and the rise of punk
Other NJ performers to be featured include the Smithereens and Blondie (Deborah Harry).
Throughout the exhibition, visitors are invited to make a personal statement about rock & roll by designing an album cover, designing a “t-shirt” using magnetic pieces at an interactive station, writing their concert memories, or adding new voices to the exhibition by telling their NJ rock & roll stories on the talk-back wall. At several “lounge” areas throughout the exhibition, visitors are prompted by question cards to think about the first album/8-track/cassette/CD they ever bought; other New Jersey venues where they saw concerts; and where they think New Jersey rock is headed next.
To purchase tickets for all events, call the Box Office, 973.971.3706
Thursday, August 11 - 6:30 PM
FREE
Author Kathy West will present memorabilia, pictures, video and music about the Myddle Class, a mid-60's garage band of New Jersey teenagers whose records were produced by Carole King and Gerry Goffin. After the presentation, Ms. West will sign copies of her book, "A Song for You: The Quest of the Myddle Class".
Thursday, August 18 - 6:30 PM
FREE
Pete Fornatale presents a unique program celebrating the anniversary of Woodstock, which took place August 15-18, 1969. He will share first-hand personal accounts of Woodstock and present rare audio clips and video footage of the festival. Pete Fornatale was one of the architects of Progressive Rock FM in the '60s, and has been a fixture on the New York dial for four decades. After the presentation, Mr. Fornatale will be available to sign copies of his latest book, Back to the Garden: The Story of Woodstock.
Saturday, August 20 - 8:00 PM
$20/Members $25/Non-Members
Drummer and founding member of The Smithereens, Dennis Diken, will present a unique concert/discussion in the museum's Bickford Theatre, sharing rock & roll memories of growing up in New Jersey, and performing with Bell Sound. Listen/view a sample of Dennis Diken with Bell Sound's album Late Music here.
Concert tickets include pre-performance admission to the acclaimed exhibition Jersey Rocks: A History of Rock & Roll in the Garden State.
Call the box office for tickets: 973.971.3706.
Above: The Smithereens are featured in the Jersey Rocks exhibition.
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