General Information

Title:

Jimmy Baynes Collection (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Collection)

Dates:

Bulk, 1955-1966; Inclusive, 1953-1983

Extent:

0.83 Linear feet (2 Hollinger boxes) 

Language:

English

Processing Information:

Processed by Rachel Somerville, Project Archivist. Completed September 29, 2011. Revised by Jennie Thomas, Head Archivist. Completed May 7, 2013. Descriptive sources and standards used to create this inventory: DACS and local processing manual.

Preferred Citation:

[Identification of Item], Jimmy Baynes Collection (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Collection), Library and Archives, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

Collection Overview

The Jimmy Baynes Collection (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Collection) spans the years 1953 to 1983 and includes some undated materials, with the bulk of the collection materials falling between the years 1955 and 1966. The Jimmy Baynes Collection is arranged into eight series by content: Jimmy Baynes, artists, distributors, radio stations, venues, unidentified individuals, unidentified groups, and miscellaneous. The collection consists of black-and-white and color photographs and negatives taken at Cleveland music halls, as well as some promotional materials for local artists, concerts, radio stations, record distributors, and venues. Prominent artists featured in this collection include: Louis Armstrong, LaVern Baker, Count Basie, James Brown, Ruth Brown, Ray Charles, Bill Doggett, the Drifters, the Four Tops, Aretha Franklin, Alan Freed, Bill Haley and the Comets, Roy Hamilton, Lionel Hampton, Mahalia Jackson, Louis Jordan, Jerry Lee Lewis, Frankie Lymon, Memphis Slim, Rick Nelson, the O'Jays, the Platters, Lloyd Price, the Temptations, Joe Tex, Martha and the Vandellas, Dinah Washington, and Jackie Wilson. Cleveland venues/locations featured include the Ankara, Band Box, the Birdland Lounge, Cabin Club, Carlton House, Cleveland Arena, Club Manhattan, Club Trinidad, Cotton Club, Gus's Show Bar Lounge, Lake Glen Country Club, the Lancer, Leo's Casino, the Lorain Armory, Masonic Temple, the Mirror Show Bar, Music Box, Pla-mor Ballroom, the Sheraton-Cleveland, Statler Hotel, and the Wheel Lounge. These materials provide rich insight to the R&B, jazz, and rock performers of the 1950s and 1960s, but more specifically to the local Cleveland music community of that time. Handwritten notes in pencil found on the backs of any photographs were taken by the processing archivist during a meeting on January 9, 2013 with local jazz historian Joe Mosbrook; retired Cleveland Public Library music librarian Bill Anderson; George Hendricks of the vocal group, the Hesitations; Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum employees Beverly Flowers and Howard Kramer; Cleveland native James Price; and retired Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum President and CEO Terry Stewart. Extended notes included for some of the artists and venues are the result of research conducted for the Library and Archives' exhibit, "Through the Lens of Jimmy Baynes: Cleveland Rock and Roll History, 1950s-1960s" (February-April 2013).

Biographical Note

Following the lively Cleveland music scene from the 1940s into the 2000s was railway postal clerk James Hamilton Baynes, Jr. (July 12, 1922-September 9, 2010). "Jimmy" was the oldest of 11, growing up on East 43rd and East 87th Streets in Cleveland. He learned to play the piano from his mother and, somewhere along the way, also picked up the harp and a passion for photography. He is remembered for his dark suits, his smile, and, of course, his camera.

Baynes supplemented his weekly paycheck by photographing local events in the African-American community. He would snap Polaroids of the people featured in and attending the events and sell the instant images for $5.00 each. Though Baynes was not a trained photographer, the images he created over six decades—whether of weddings, beauty competitions, burlesque shows, or live music performances—provide an authentic and candid glimpse into African-American life, music, and culture in Cleveland. Throughout the years, Baynes’ photographs appeared in local magazines and newspapers, such as the Call and Post. From June 19 to July 31, 2010, Baynes' photos were exhibited at the A.M. Richard Fine Art Gallery in Brooklyn, New York, in the show, Polaroid: Instant Joy, alongside images by famous artists William Wegman, Ellen Carey, and Chuck Close. The gallery's press release for the exhibit called Baynes' photographs of ladies out for a night on the town in 1960s Cleveland, "deceivingly modest" and "beautiful."

Bibliography

All Music Guide. Accessed February 4, 2013. http://www.allmusic.com/.

A.M. Richard Fine Art. "Polaroid: Instant Joy." News release. June 2010.

Doo-Wop: Biography, Groups and Discography. Accessed February 4, 2013. http://doo-wop.blogg.org/.

Gart, Galen, comp. and ed. Rhythm and Blues in Cleveland, 1955 Edition. Winter Haven, FL: Big Nickel Productions, 2003.

Kitchen Sisters. "Walkin' Talkin' Bill Hawkins: Searching For My Father's Voice." Lost and Found Sound. NPR, 1999. Accessed January 25, 2013. http://www.npr.org/programs/lnfsound/stories/991217.stories.html.

Mosbrook, Joe. Jazzed in Cleveland. 1996-1998. Accessed January 18, 2013. http://www.cleveland.oh.us/wmv_news/#JAZZED.

Mosbrook, Joe. Cleveland Jazz History, 2nd ed. Cleveland, Ohio: Northeast Ohio Jazz Society, c2003.

"Venues." Buckeye Beat. Accessed February 1, 2013. http://www.buckeyebeat.com/venuesframe.html.

Wolff, Carlo. Cleveland Rock and Roll Memories: True and Tall Tales of the Glory Days, Told by Musicians, DJs, Promoters, and Fans Who Made the Scene in the '60s, '70s, and '80s. Cleveland, OH: Gray and Co., c2006.

Related Materials

Additional photographs by Jimmy Baynes can be found in the following collections in this repository: LaMont Robinson Collection. Related materials providing content on local Cleveland jazz and R&B artists and venues may be found in other collections that constitute a part of the Northeast Ohio Popular Music Archives.

Custodial History

The Jimmy Baynes Collection (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Collection) was purchased by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. from Steve Carl in 2009 and 2011.

Restrictions

Use

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc. For more information, please consult the staff of the Library and Archives.

Access

Collection is open for research. Patrons must sign the Acknowledgment of Legal Responsibilities and Privacy Rights statement on the Researcher Registration form before using this collection. Consult the Library and Archives in advance of your visit to ensure access to these materials is available.