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The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum on Thursday opens "Paul Simon: Words & Music,'' a new type of exhibit in which the artist himself serves as the guide.

(Courtesy of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum)

PREVIEW

Paul Simon: Words & Music

What:

New-style exhibit featuring narration by Simon himself.

Where:

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum; also, Rock Hall's Library and Archives, 2009 Woodland Ave., Cleveland.

Admission:

$22 for adults, $18 for adult residents of Greater Cleveland, $17 for seniors 65 and older, $13 for children 9 to 12 and free for children 8 and under.

Contact:

216-781-7625,

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Your docent for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's new, multimedia-heavy Paul Simon exhibit is ... Paul Simon.

"Paul Simon: Words & Music,'' which opens Thursday, Oct. 30, is the first under Karen Herman, the museum's new vice president of collections and curatorial affairs, and really reflects her past as a historian with the Television Academy of Arts & Sciences Foundation.

Though the exhibit, which coincides with the 50th anniversary of Simon's musical career, was begun several months before Herman joined the Rock Hall this summer, she's played a huge role in it.

"It was already in the process when I started working here,'' Herman said in a telephone conference call that also included Todd Mesek, the museum's VP of marketing and communications. "It started seven or eight months ago, after Paul's visit to the Rock Hall.

"I came in just as we were getting started in the selections of the artifacts,'' she said.

That selection is extensive. Among the nearly 100 items are his very first guitar, an acoustic made by Stadium, a photo of him as a drama student at Queens College in New York, a 1943 photo of Simon as a toddler, handwritten lyrics for "The Boxer,'' an envelope and letter (postmarked 1957) from Simon to eventual singing partner Art Garfunkel written while Simon was away at summer camp, a 45 RPM of "Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard,'' a notepad for lyric development of "Graceland,'' Grammy awards and more.

About the only thing missing is the turkey costume he wore as a host of "Saturday Night Live'' in 1976.

And all of the stories come from Simon himself, culled from hours of interviews.

"He was very generous,'' said Herman. "He gave us about three hours of his time over three sessions. He was very open and didn't ask for questions in advance. Later, he said, 'I was very open with my answers, more than I usually am.' ''

One of the surprising things that came out in the interviews is that the author of some of the most poetic lyrics in songwriting history does not consider himself a poet.

"He really does do the music first,'' said Herman. "That came through in the interviews: how he actually constructs a song. It's always the music first.

"He said something interesting, that the first line of a song is kind of generic, just a simple line, and it grows from there,'' Herman said.

"Yeah, 'A man walks down the street' [the opening line for Simon's 'You Can Call Me Al'],'' said Mesek. "It doesn't get more mundane than that. But he has a talent for making the mundane come alive.''

Herman said that on one of the most famous Simon & Garfunkel songs, "The Boxer,'' Simon got to the part between verses and – needing a vocal bridge -- added the gibberish "lie-la-lie'' as filler. And never changed it.

"There's just so much about his life and career,'' said Herman of the difficulty in creating an all-encompassing exhibit honoring the two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Famer. "The hardest part was editing it all down. How do you do that without losing the story?''

The exhibit, which features many clips from concerts, television shows, interviews and other appearances, is broken into four sections: the early years, Simon's solo career, the career process and, finally, the lighter side of Simon. Including his turkey costumed days on "SNL," even if the suit itself isn't available.

Herman said it should take about a half hour to 40 minutes to tour the 1,500-square-foot exhibit.

The Rock Hall is also getting its Library and Archives site, located in the Tommy LiPuma Center for Creative Arts at Cuyahoga Community College's Metro campus, into the act.

The Library and Archives will feature a small exhibit focused on "The Boxer.'' It will include several drafts of the famous song.

Mesek said there's no end date right now for the exhibit, but even when it closes, it won't be over. It will become another in what has become a Rock Hall tradition: a touring exhibition.

Meaning there will be, ahem, "50 Ways to Leave the Rock Hall.''