Big Beat Heat: Alan Freed Abd the Early Years of Rock & Roll

In the mid-1950s, Cleveland’s Alan Freed introduced a new musical form to teenage America: he named the new sound “rock & roll,” introducing it on his famous “Moondog Matinee” radio show. Building tremendous fame and power, Freed relocated to New York’s WINS, where he promoted several groups (including the Moonglows), and mounted several major touring shows. Freed could make or break a new release — and made clear to promoters the price they’d have to pay for his support of a new record. The result was the famous late-’50s payola scandals, in which the links between radio airplay, record promotion, and the mob were first uncovered. Through it all, Freed remained the prime spokesman for a generation of breakthrough artists, and a champion of America’s newest sounds. Without Alan Freed, there would have been no Cousin Brucie, Wolfman Jack, Don Imus, or Howard Stern — and Cleveland would not be the home of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This compelling story of how one deejay remade the American musical scene is indeed one “no rock fan will want to miss.”