Bruce Springsteen's car, a famous guitar and more are on view in major new Rock Hall exhibition tracing the Boss' career

Frank Stefanko/Associated PressSpringsteen (seen here in 1978) bought this 1960 Chevrolet Corvette to celebrate the success of "Born to Run," his 1975 breakthrough album. "It was his gift to himself," Henke says. The car is now parked in the Rock Hall's lower lobby.

Bruce Springsteen owns a lot of guitars, but none more famous than the one he's holding on the cover of "Born to Run." He bought the guitar in the early 1970s, shortly after signing a deal with Columbia Records.

"He paid $180 for it, which he said at that point was the most he'd ever paid for an instrument," says Jim Henke, vice president of exhibitions and curatorial affairs at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, where a career-spanning retrospective devoted to the Boss will be unveiled this week.

"From Asbury Park to the Promised Land: The Life and Music of Bruce Springsteen" opens Wednesday, April 1, amid the festivities leading up to the Rock Hall induction ceremony Saturday at Cleveland's Public Auditorium. Spread over the museum's top two floors, the exhibit will be on view through the spring of 2010.

"We've always wanted to do an exhibit on Bruce Springsteen," Henke says. "In terms of a single-artist exhibit, I think this is the most comprehensive exhibit we've done. . . . It has more depth to it because it turns out Bruce saved a lot of things."

Henke and his staff worked closely with key members of Springsteen's team, including manager Jon Landau and recording engineer Toby Scott. Springsteen himself personally suggested a few artifacts, including the "Born to Run" guitar and a circular table from his New Jersey home where he sits down to do most of his songwriting.

In addition to musical gear, lyric notebooks and other treasures from Springsteen's work with the E Street Band and his solo pursuits, the Rock Hall will display memorabilia from his pre-superstardom stints in New Jersey bands such as the Castiles and Steel Mill. The installation also will include a video highlight reel featuring rare Springsteen performance footage, as well as listening stations where you'll be able to hear Springsteen's first professional recordings.

"It's a very in-depth look at Bruce Springsteen's career," Henke says. "Even the most die-hard fans . . . will see things they've never seen before."