Chapter 13: Rock and Roll Pt. 1
As radio expanded its reach and the Top 40 format emerged in the early 1950s, the disc jockey became an increasingly influential figure in shaping American popular music. Among the most prominent of these broadcasters was Alan Freed (1921–1965), a Cleveland-based radio personality widely credited with helping bring rock and roll into the cultural mainstream. Freed began his radio career in Akron, Ohio, in 1946 and, by 1951, had relocated to Cleveland. There, he persuaded station managers to let him host a late-night program devoted to rhythm and blues—a style of music that, at the time, was still largely associated with Black communities and segregated markets.
Adopting the on-air moniker "Moondog," Freed launched The Moondog Show, which featured rhythm and blues records marketed under a new label: "rock and roll." Although the term had existed as African American slang for sexual activity since at least the 1930s, Freed repurposed it to describe a lively musical hybrid that blended rhythm and blues, gospel, boogie-woogie, and pop influences. It remains unclear whether Freed fully understood the term’s original connotations or deliberately embraced them to generate excitement. His strategic use of the term as a branding tool helped popularize the music among white teenage audiences and gave the emerging genre a name that resonated with a generation eager for fresh forms of expression.
Freed’s influence extended beyond the airwaves. He organized concerts and managed artists such as Charles Brown, the Moonglows, the Orioles, and the Dominoes—Black performers who had often been excluded from mainstream exposure. These events frequently drew racially integrated audiences, a significant and often controversial development during a time of widespread segregation.However, Freed was often a shrewd and ethically questionable businessman. In 1953, his promotion of a concert at Cleveland’s Public Auditorium led to a widely publicized controversy. Freed oversold the event, issuing approximately eighteen thousand tickets for a venue with a capacity of only nine thousand. The resulting overcrowding forced the concert’s cancellation and prompted police intervention, during which several audience members were arrested. The event reflected both the explosive popularity of rock and roll and the deep anxieties it stirred regarding race, youth, and public space.
In 1954, Freed moved to New York City to join station WINS, bringing with him the term "rock and roll" and expanding his audience in the country’s largest media market. He continued to champion African American performers despite ongoing resistance to racial integration. In 1957, a television program he sponsored was canceled after footage aired of Black teenage singer Frankie Lymon dancing with a white girl—an image that triggered backlash from conservative viewers.
Alan Freed employed various promotional tactics to boost rock and roll records, some of which were controversial and legally questionable. Like many disc jockeys of the era, he accepted payments from record labels in exchange for airplay, a practice known as payola. In one notable case, Freed was credited as co-author of Chuck Berry’s breakthrough single “Maybellene” as part of an arrangement to promote the song on his Cleveland radio program. Freed’s support played a significant role in propelling “Maybellene” to number one on the rhythm and blues charts and number five on the pop charts, aiding its crossover success and helping to erode racial barriers in music consumption.
Chuck Berry, often hailed as the "father of rock and roll," was instrumental in shaping the genre’s sound and broadening its appeal. His songwriting explored themes central to the lives of mid-twentieth-century teenagers—cars, romance, rebellion, and school—capturing the spirit and aspirations of a generation coming of age during rapid social change. Berry’s witty and articulate lyrics stood out sharply from the often simplistic or nonsensical language found in many early rock songs. Tracks like “School Days” exemplify his ability to blend relatable storytelling with clever wordplay.
Musically, Berry revolutionized rock and roll guitar playing, positioning the guitar as a lead instrument that engaged in a musical dialogue with the vocals. His use of the call-and-response pattern—where the guitar mimics or answers the vocal lines—is reminiscent of similar exchanges in jazz. This interplay is evident in songs such as “Johnny B. Goode,” “School Days,” and “No Particular Place to Go,” effectively creating a duet between voice and guitar.
Several of Berry’s guitar introductions became iconic and were widely imitated by subsequent musicians. For example, the distinctive intros to “Back in the U.S.A.,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” and “Johnny B. Goode” have become foundational riffs in rock guitar vocabulary. His solos often featured double-note playing, while his rhythmic accompaniment alternated chords in a style akin to rock piano patterns, both of which set enduring standards for rock guitar technique.
Most of Berry’s hits followed the standard 12-bar blues structure, yet his stage presence was uniquely his own. While less flamboyant than Little Richard’s energetic performances, Berry’s animated style included his famous “duck walk,” a low-knee, striding motion across the stage that became a trademark. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Berry remained true to his original style throughout his career, resisting pressures to alter his sound for broader pop market appeal.
Together, Alan Freed’s promotional influence and Chuck Berry’s artistic innovations helped establish rock and roll as a defining musical genre and cultural phenomenon. Their work played a crucial role in bringing Black musical traditions into the national consciousness, fostering new opportunities for interracial cultural exchange during an era of profound segregation.
However, Freed’s career was ultimately derailed by legal troubles stemming from payola investigations. In 1962, he was indicted and convicted in a federal case examining the ethics of pay-for-play practices—a subject that will be explored in greater detail in a later chapter. Though Freed remained an important cultural figure throughout the 1950s, his influence waned significantly after the scandal. He died in 1965 from kidney failure. Despite the controversies surrounding his later years, Freed’s contributions to the development, marketing, and popularization of rock and roll remain foundational to American music history.