Note: Thank you to NetGalley, Diversion Books, and author Craig Inciardi for the advanced reader copy of this book. This review will also be posted on NetGalley. What follows is my unbiased review of the book.

Music has been an important part of my life. I found solace in it as a teenager when I felt isolated and knew I didn’t quite fit in. In my later years, it’s uplifted me and helped me through some tough times. We visited the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland last year on our way back from visiting our daughter in Oklahoma. With all of this background, it sounded like The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by Craig Inciardi would be right up my alley.

In many ways, it is. Inciardi started out working for Sotheby’s auction house and was recruited to work in acquisitions for the newly minted Rock & Roll Hall of Fame by Jann Wenner and Ahmet Ertegün. He was building the museum from scratch and had to approach musicians and their families to try to fill out exhibits. Whether it was a loan to the museum or an outright gift, he secured many of the memorabilia I saw there.

It was very hard in the beginning. Not only did a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame sound too establishment for many musicians, but there wasn’t even a building yet. Inciardi had to approach people at a time when everything was just a concept. However, this lead time really helped in the long run as he built relationships with people that paid off down the line. Inciardi was very involved with other aspects of the Hall of Fame as well. The annual induction ceremonies were a huge part of the early buzz and evolved throughout the years as the endeavor gained credibility.

Although I found the book to be very interesting, there aren’t too many scandalous or outrageous moments. The biggest is the story Inciardi leads the book off with about Ozzy Osbourne. The story that stuck with me was about how Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne treated Prince when he agreed to appear for the tribute to George Harrison. It wasn’t outrageous, but disappointing, and Prince did end up having the last word (or note as it were).

Inciardi also gives readers a peek at how everything developed, from the nominating and voting on inductees to the actual cooperation that took place between music industry rivals to get people on board with the concept. There were times it dragged. Reading about some of the acquisitions seemed to be the same thing over and over after a while. His insights on the nominating committee and how it evolved over the years were interesting, though. Many of us wondered why certain groups were ignored for so long. It seemed that the hall needed to evolve from a self-congratulatory exclusivity to being much more inclusive of what the people who bought the records liked. This happened, but I’m not sure Inciardi was happy about it, although he did see the necessity of it happening.

I did enjoy reading The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. It’s really the definitive story of how it came to be. A book like this could only have been written by someone who was there for that long to see all of this happening. It helps me better appreciate the museum and the exhibits I’ve seen.