Nod to The Legend · On the air · 1951
Alan Freed
DJ who spread "rock and roll"
On his Moondog show in Cleveland from 1951, Freed played Black rhythm and blues records to a mixed audience and popularized the term rock and roll. His 1952 Moondog Coronation Ball is often called the first rock concert. His career later collapsed in the payola scandal.
Still heard: The DJ as tastemaker who breaks a sound starts here.
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