14 illinoisentertainer . com august 2023
T
he Illinois Rock and Roll Museum on Route 66 is going to induct a new class to the Hall of Fame on September 17 . This year ’ s musical acts include Earth Wind & Fire , the Cryan Shames , the Shadows of Knight , Nat King Cole , and Miles Davis . John Prine is being inducted into the songwriting category . “ Despite the words rock and roll being in the title ,” Chairman of the Board Ron Romero points out , “ we also include other musical genres . And it ’ s not just the artists themselves . Outside of musicians we are also honoring disc jockey Bob Sirott and The Loop radio station for their support of the Illinois Rock and Roll Museum Illinois music community . Alligator Records will be honored as well .”
There are a few guidelines for what makes someone eligible for induction . “ They have to either be from Illinois or have significant ties to Illinois ,” Romero explains .
This year ’ s inductees join the first two classes in the Hall of Fame , which featured musical acts Chicago , Cheap Trick , Ides of March , Buddy Guy , Muddy Waters , REO Speedwagon , the Buckinghams , Dan Fogelberg , Styx , and Chuck Berry . Bob Sirott joins his old colleagues Dick Biondi , John Records Landecker , and Larry Lujack in the disc jockey wing . The Loop becomes the third radio station , following WLS and WXRT .
Romero was inspired by other museums around the country . “ Obviously , Cleveland and Nashville were inspirations for the way they honor the history of music ,” he says . “ Certainly , Illinois has the pedigree for our own museum .”
And this is not just a virtual Hall of Fame and museum . They now have a physical structure . “ We bought a three-story building in downtown Joliet in 2019 and we ’ ve been renovating it ,” Romero says proudly . “ It ’ s the perfect spot , really . There are wide open spaces in the building , and it ’ s built like a tank . We chose Joliet for a bunch of reasons . One , it ’ s near a lot of highways . Right at Rt . 66 and Rt . 30 , the crossroads of mid- America . There ’ s a lot of tourism that comes through here , and we wanted to contribute to the economic development of the town . I ’ m confident this will be a major destination . Although we ’ re not even completely open yet , we ’ ve had people come to visit us from places like Portugal and the Czech Republic , and New Zealand . I know when we ’ re fully open , we ’ re going to continue to grow and grow .”
It ' s been a long arduous process to get to this point . “ This has been a grassroots effort from the beginning ,” Romero says . “ I didn ’ t come in here as a developer . I didn ’ t come in with millions of dollars . We now have over 900 charter members from 37 states . We have corporate and private donors . We have sales from the gift shop . This is what is driving me forward , being surrounded by people who are simply crazy about music — particularly Illinois music . There ’ s been great
By Rick Kaempfer
ROAD TO ROCK ’ S NEW CLASS
support from the local business community . We ’ ve still got a long way to go . Our total budget was $ 6 million and we ’ re only about a million and a half into this so far .”
By the end of this year , at least a portion of the museum will be open to the public . Some of it already is . “ We just got occupancy on the first floor ,” Romero says . “ The gift shop is open . We ’ re just now putting in exhibits on the first floor . We had a lot of infrastructure to improve first . We had to update the wiring . Put in breaker boxes . A grant from Com Ed allowed us to install LED
gallery lighting instead of fluorescent tubes . By the end of this year , the whole first floor will be open . The top two floors will open over the next few years .”
The Hall of Fame will only be part of this museum when it fully opens . “ The Hall of Famers will have a special section that will feature their plaques , and there will also be exhibits . We ’ re a museum that happens to have a Hall of Fame , so it ’ s much more than just the Hall of Fame portion . We ’ ve been picking up stuff from bands like Styx and Cheap Trick and slowly but surely putting together these exhibits , and they are going to be very cool . We have some one-of-akind items .”
The excitement in Romero ’ s voice is palpable . “ I ’ m a kid in a candy shop ,” he admits . “ To meet these people and to see these great artifacts from the bands and their superfans . It really is like a dream come true .”
This year ’ s celebration culminates in the ceremony at the Rialto Theater on September 17 from 5-8 pm . Romero gave us a preview of what to expect . “ Don ’ t think of it as a concert ,” he says . “ It ’ s more of an award ceremony . There will be some performances . The Cryan Shames will be here . We ’ ve reached out to the others as well . Tom Higgenson of the Plain White T ’ s will be there . Two of Ramsey Lewis ’ sons are coming out to honor their dad . The whole weekend will be a party . Rick Nielson ’ s son is playing that Friday night . There will be a record show on Saturday and then the ceremony at the Rialto on Sunday . People are flying in from all around the country . We want to make sure they ’ ve got lots to do .”
For more information or to donate or become a member , go to the website roadtorock . org .