New Jersey Rock History: More Than Big Hair and the Boss

IN “Jersey Rocks: A History of Rock & Roll in the Garden State,” a new exhibition at the Morris Museum in Morristown that will run through Sept. 5, the background music may be as interesting for some visitors as the 400 or so objects on display. “Stacy’s Mom,” the 2003 hit by the pop band Fountains of Wayne, whose front man, Adam Schlesinger, grew up in Montclair, was followed recently by “Walk on By,” the 1960s classic made famous by Dionne Warwick, who was raised in Newark and now lives in South Orange.

“I think people are going to come to the show with a lot of preconceived notions” about what — or who — best represents rock music in New Jersey, said Claudia Ocello, 44, the co-curator with Ellen Snyder-Grenier of the exhibition and the president of Museum Partners Consulting in Morristown. “I’m excited about helping them walk away with a different perspective.”

That does not mean the show ignores the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Bon Jovi. The former is represented by early performance photographs lent by Carrie Potter Devening of Waco, Tex.; she is the granddaughter of Tom and Margaret Potter, who founded the long-shuttered Upstage Club in Asbury Park. The museum will host a launch party on Friday featuring the E Street Shuffle, a Springsteen tribute band. Bon Jovi artifacts on display include a guitar signed by members of the band in the 1990s and lent by a longtime fan, Kathy Francis of Cedar Knolls.

A sizable chunk of the 4,200-square-foot gallery is devoted to rock figures from less-celebrated eras and sensibilities, including the Duprees, a ’60s doo-wop group.

Tom Bialoglow, a singer for the Jersey City group who now lives in Pompton Lakes, lent a turquoise tuxedo jacket that he wore in the photo on the cover of the album “You Belong to Me.” Likewise, Dennis Diken, drummer for the Smithereens, which formed in 1980 in Carteret and released a new album last month, contributed drum covers emblazoned with the group’s logo.

Three media stations will show videos throughout the exhibition: one is a montage of performers; another shines a spotlight on the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s roots of New Jersey rock ’n’ roll; and a third is a trailer for the documentary “The Last Bastions of Rock,” written and directed by Fritch Clark of Franklin Township.

Ms. Ocello says she believes visitors will be surprised by the range of the state’s contributions to rock. “So much of what happened here was pivotal in the advancement of the music,” she said.

TAMMY LA GORCE