The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's next major exhibit will honor 70 years of women in popular music – from Mamie Smith's first blues recordings in 1920 through Lady Gaga's most recent hits. The exhibit, which opens to the public on May 13th, will honor more than 50 female artists and will take up two floors of the museum.

Photos: Women Who Rock

"This exhibit is going to illustrate the vital role women played in shaping the evolution of rock and roll," said Jim Henke, vice president of exhibitions and curatorial affairs for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. “Visitors are going walk away from this exhibit with a deeper appreciation of how these artists contributed to the rock and roll art form and changed our society."

The 2011 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees

A stunning collection of artifacts have been collected for the exhibit, including the already infamous "meat dress" that Lady Gaga wore to the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, Madonna's handwritten lyrics to "Erotica," the outfit that Tina Weymouth wore in the Talking Heads film Stop Making Sense, Stevie Nicks' handwritten lyrics to "Stand Back," the white leather vest that Grace Slick wore at Woodstock, the nude rhinestone outfit that Britney Spears wore during her 2000 performance at the MTV Video Music Awards and many more.

Lady Gaga's Wild Looks

Visitors to the museum will be able to film a short story about how women in rock have shaped their lives, and the museum will host educational programming all year about the history of female recording artists. 

On May 14th the the museum will host its annual It's Only Rock and Roll Benefit concert, which will feature Wanda Jackson and Cyndi Lauper. 

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