Vietnam Era Museum and Educational Center Exhibit Tells the Story of Rock Through the Ages

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


Posters and related music from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame showcase the history of rock and roll from its earliest beginnings to the 1990s.

Holmdel, NJ (March 17, 2016) — Fifty Years of Rock and Roll, a traveling exhibit from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, will be on display at the Vietnam Era Museum and Educational Center, 1 Memorial Lane, Holmdel, NJ. Posters from the collection tell the history of rock and roll from Chuck Berry and Ray Charles, to the Grateful Dead and R.E.M.. The exhibit is open now through June 4, 2016.

Music had a profound impact on the Vietnam War Era, and the conflict in Vietnam seemed to permeate rock and roll in the 60s and 70s. The War is sometimes described as the first rock and roll war, with popular songs about the conflict providing a connection to home for troops. Artists like Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon and Bob Dylan described the struggles of soldiers in the music they created.

Twenty rock and roll reproductions are included in the traveling exhibition organized by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. The various posters provide a look back on fifty years of rock music. Ephemera from artists such as Chuck Berry, Elvis, Ray Charles, the Grateful Dead, the Clash, and R.E.M. exemplify the diversity of the music that has evolved since Alan Freed’s Moondog Coronation Ball in 1952, cited by many as the first rock and roll concert.

The exhibit consists of 20 posters, including a poster from the Beatles’ last official concert in 1966 at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, and a poster from Elvis’ homecoming to Mississippi.

The Vietnam Era Museum and Educational Center is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and by special appointment. The museum provides political, cultural and historical context for the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial, located on the same grounds as the educational center.

The Vietnam Era Museum & Educational Center is the first museum of its kind in the United States. It helps visitors gain an understanding of the conflict in Southeast Asia and the surrounding political strife in America and its lasting impact on American culture, with an emphasis on experiences in New Jersey.