2016 has been a difficult year for music fans. With the deaths of David Bowie and Prince occurring in the just the first four months, many of us are still searching for a means of relieving our grief, or alleviating a sense of loss we fear simply won’t go away. There’s currently talk of turning Prince’s Paisley Park home in Minnesota into a permanent museum, and many have been lucky enough to view the ongoing “David Bowie Is” traveling exhibit that began at London’s V&A Museum and will soon open in Bologna, Italy. But a more permanent tribute to the Thin White Duke exists in Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
The Museum’s David Bowie Collection includes a number of the 1996 Hall of Fame inductee’s stage outfits, from his groundbreaking 1972 tour supporting The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars straight through to his final 2003 A Reality Tour (in support of his Reality album). Visitors can also check out the suit Bowie wore during his Serious Moonlight tour in 1983 (in support of Let’s Dance) and the striking winged costume he wore during 1987’s Glass Spider Tour (in support of Never Let Me Down). All of these outfits can be seen in the gallery at the bottom of this page, in addition to a model of the stage set used during Bowie’s 1974 Diamond Dogs tour. Like the rock god’s costumes, it was lent to the Museum by Bowie himself.
In addition to the David Bowie Collection, the Museum’s Main Exhibit Hall houses everything from Beyonce’s dresses to Michael Jackson’s famed white glove. Elsewhere in the building, one can find the guitar on which Jimi Hendrix played “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Woodstock, Ian Curtis’ handwritten lyrics to “Love Will Tear Us Apart,” and Bob Dylan’s harmonica… just to name a few artifacts. Needless to say, if you have any interest whatsoever in the music of the last 100 years (blues, soul, country, and rap are also showcased), the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is an absolute must. And it will be even more so in the near future: a Prince memorial exhibit is now being planned. For visiting information, check out the Museum’s website.
Are you a David Bowie fan? What’s your favorite Bowie outfit and album? Let us know below!
Images: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum