Sherry,
Thanks for this response. I’m glad you brought up the “Rock ‘n Roll” issue. I read a lot about rock in Ohio. I wasn’t convinced.
Almost all of the “Cool Facts” sheets say something like “Ohio knows how to rock!” because of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the fact that the official state song is “Hang on Sloopy”.
I think the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is in Cleveland because the city put up $65 million dollars. They say its because Alan Freed coined the term Rock and Roll as a descriptor of the genre and helped popularize the music, but that’s hardly settled.
As for Hang on Sloopy, it’s a dumb song popularized by a band from Indiana. The original song was “My Girl, Sloopy” and was supposedly inspired by Dorothy Sloop, a jazz singer from Ohio who performed in all female bands. I think Ohio would have done better to make a Dorothy Sloop number the official state song.
As for the comprehensive list of Rock bands I like from Ohio. I have to give them the James Gang:
Scott Weiland is not from Ohio, but many lists point out that he lived near Cleveland as a kid.
Boz Scaggs is from Dayton. Here he is playing the Dylan version of the folksong “Corrina, Corrina”.
