The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa is home to one of the largest music memorabilia sites in the world, showcasing over 1,000 iconic items. Overall, Hard Rock International is the world’s original curator of music memorabilia with the most far-reaching collection, including over 73,000+ pieces.
Guests can view the entire catalogue of items at the Rock Wall inside the Hard Rock Cafe in the Seminole Hard Rock.
The Top 10 Memorabilia treasures on display at the Hard Rock Cafe in Tampa are:
- Elvis Presley: On display is a completely over-the-top rhinestone-studded pink jumpsuit that was made for the King by legendary clothier Nudie’s Rodeo Tailors in the ’70s.
- Lynyrd Skynyrd: Among the many treasures in the Tampa cafe is the old Gibson SG guitar used by Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Gary Rossington to record their most iconic anthem – “Freebird”.
- Buddy Holly: The Tampa cafe is home to a linen suit worn onstage by the late, great Buddy Holly in 1958.
- Ronnie James Dio: On display is a very stylized (and very small) stage outfit worn by the greatest metal singer of all time – the late Ronnie James Dio – during his 1985 Sacred Heart tour.
- Madonna: We’re paying homage to the Material Girl in Tampa with a collection of artifacts from the early part of her career – including a pair of her RayBan “Wayfarer” sunglasses from the ’80s.
- The Who –Pete Townshend: In the ’70s, Who guitarist Pete Townshend used a series of Gibson Les Paul Deluxe guitars that he numbered for easy reference. Number 3 is on display at the Tampa cafe. Too cool!
- Michael Jackson: On his 1997 world tour, Michael Jackson rocked a fedora during the mega-iconic dance sequence in the song “Billie Jean”. That very hat now lives in the Tampa cafe.
- Barbra Streisand: When it comes to legendary female vocalists, Barbra Streisand is the standard by which all others must be judged. She’s one of the truly great song interpreters of the modern era. On display is a string of pearls that belonged to the diva herself.
- Bruce Springsteen: Early examples of Bruce Springsteen’s songwriting are amazing treasures and we’ve got a killer set of handwritten lyrics in the Tampa cafe. It’s a very early draft of the song “The Fever” written by the Boss around 1972.
- Jim Hendrix: Hendrix memorabilia is always a fan favorite at any Hard Rock and the Tampa cafe has some great artifacts from the Voodoo Child’s short life – including a scarf, a brooch and a wire transfer he sent to his father in ’68.
The memorabilia treasure chest began with one red Fender guitar that was donated by Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Eric Clapton to the Hard Rock Café in London in 1971. Now, the Hard Rock owns the largest and most valuable music memorabilia collection on the planet. If one were to venture inside the legendary collection, they’d find rock ‘n’ roll items from a lock of hair given by Boy George to a five-ton psychedelic bus.
The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour bus was used for their 1967 film Magical Mystery Tour and is now parked at the memorabilia warehouse headquarters.
Orlando Style Magazine recently described the ambience of the Tampa casino as, “every wall surrounds guests with pieces of the past and mementos of today, from Frank Sinatra’s jacket to Mick Fleetwood’s drum throne.”