Craig Inciardi was a rising star at Sotheby’s, wheeling and dealing in rock memorabilia, when he got the call to help launch the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum. The catch? There was no museum. Just a “guitar of no importance and three interesting sheets of paper.”
With a green light and few guardrails, Inciardi hit the road and became the Indiana Jones of rock history—working out of Rolling Stone’s offices, answering to Jann Wenner, and tracking down legends for their sacred stuff. His journey took him to Ozzy Osbourne’s country estate (where Ozzy greeted him with a gun), Keith Moon’s boyhood home, and Art Garfunkel’s secret stash of letters from Paul Simon. Along the way, he landed the guitar Pete Townshend used to write “Tommy,” Otis Redding’s leather coat worn before his fatal plane crash, Patti Smith’s duct-taped boots, Aretha Franklin’s handwritten notes, Debbie Harry’s stagewear, and John Lennon’s glasses that were worn on the day he died.
And that’s only a fraction of the rock-relic stories on offer.
The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: The Outrageous, Definitive, Untold History by Craig Inciardi will be published September 30, 2025. Diversion Books provided an early galley for review.
As a librarian, I can relate to Inciardi as a curator (archivists is another aspect of MLIS studies). The hunt for the interesting to build a collection is always thrilling and full of surprises. As a music nerd, this book also connected to me on that level.
Inciardi's stories are informative and fun. Hearing about the behind-the-scenes of induction ceremonies and the interactions of music personalities was interesting. I found myself devouring the stories as a very quick, easy read.
Strongly recommended for fans of music and the Rock Hall itself.
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