Showing posts with label Moondog Coronation Ball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Moondog Coronation Ball. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 15, 2021

Today in Music (1921): Alan Freed was born.

Alan Freed, 1921-1965

Alan Freed

1921-1965

Overview:

Alan Freed was born on 12/15/1921 in Windber, Pennsylvania. In 1933, his family moved to Salem, Ohio, where Freed graduated from high school. While in high school, he played trombone in a band he formed called the Sultans of Swing. Sadly, he had to end his dreams of being a bandleader due to an ear infection.

He became interested in radio while at Ohio State University. After serving in US Army during World War II and working as a DJ on Armed Forces radio, he began a broadcasting career, moving around to several smaller radio stations in Ohio and Pennsylvania. He joined WAKR 1590 AM radio in Akron, Ohio, in 1945 and became a star.

In 1950, he moved to Cleveland’s WEXL-TV and began his late-night, rock-n-roll-themed Moondog show on WJW radio in July 1951. On March 21, 1952, he presented the “Moondog Coronation Ball” in Cleveland. It is considered to be the first rock and roll concert. He went to New York in 1954. His career was derailed in 1959 by a payola scandal in which he was accused of taking money to play certain songs on the radio. He died on 1/20/1965.

He became the first DJ and concert producer to frequently play and promote rock and roll. He is even credited with coining the term “rock and roll” although it is more appropriate to say he popularized an already existing but obscure term. He was also influential in knocking down the walls of segregation by playing black artists on his radio program and presenting live concerts for racially mixed audiences.

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First posted 12/12/2023.

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Wednesday, March 21, 2012

DJ Alan Freed hosted the first rock ‘n’ roll show: March 21, 1952





The first Moondog Coronation Ball was held in Cleveland. The event is generally considered the first rock ‘n’ roll show in the U.S. Featured acts included a mix of black and white performers intended to attract a racially mixed audience. Among the acts were Paul Williams’ Hucklebuckers, Tiny Grimes’ Rockin’ Highlanders (featuring Screamin’ Jay Hawkins), The Dominoes, and Danny Cobb. At the time, nearly all performances, radio stations, and record labels were racially segregated.



DJ Alan Freed, who conceived and promoted the event, is credited with coining the term “rock and roll.” The event took its name from “Moondoggers” – the nickname he gave his listeners. Freed came to Cleveland’s WXEL-TV in April 1950 and began his late-night, rock-n-roll-themed Moondog show on WJW radio in July 1951. He went to New York in 1954 and left the business in 1959 after involvement in a payola scandal. He died in 1965 at age 43.





The event, held at the Cleveland Arena, proved a bit of a fiasco as promoters continued selling tickets long after they’d reached the venue’s roughly-10,000 seat capacity. At least some of the additional tickets have been attributed to counterfeiting. It was estimated that 20,000 fans showed up. When they couldn’t get in, the crowd broke down the doors to storm the arena. Local authorities shut down the concert after the first song for fear of rioting.

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Tuesday, December 1, 1992

Life Magazine "40 Years of Rock & Roll": The Songs

Life Magazine:

40 Years of Rock & Roll: The Songs

In 1992, Life magazine devoted a special issue to celebrate rock & roll, using the Moondog Coronation Ball held on March 21, 1952 in Cleveland as their starting point for rock & roll. They picked five songs to represent each year from 1952 to 1991. They also picked one album for each year from 1955 to 1991.

Click here to see other lists from publications and/or organizations. 1952:

  • The Dominoes “Have Mercy, Baby”
  • Lloyd Price “Lawdy Miss Clawdy”
  • Johnny Ace “My Song”
  • The Clovers “One Mint Julep”
  • Jimmy Forrest “Night Train”

1953:

  • Willie Mae Thornton ““Hound Dog”
  • The Clovers “Money Honey”
  • The Orioles “Crying in the Chapel”
  • Ruth Brown “Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean”
  • Bill Haley & His Comets “Crazy Man Crazy”

1954:

  • The Chords “Sh-Boom”
  • Johnny Ace “Pledging My Love”
  • Hank Ballard & the Midnighters “Work with Me Annie”
  • The Drifters “Honey Love”
  • Big Joe Turner “Shake, Rattle and Roll”

1955:

1956:

1957:

1958:

  • Dion & the Belmonts “I Wonder Why”
  • Little Anthony & the Imperials “Tears on My Pillow”
  • Chuck Berry “Johnny B. Goode”
  • Jackie Wilson “Lonely Teardrops”
  • Eddie Cochran “Summertime Blues”

1959:

  • Dion & the Belmonts “A Teenager in Love”
  • Wilbert Harrison “Kansas City”
  • The Drifters “There Goes My Baby”
  • Ritchie Valens “Donna” / “La Bamba”
  • The Crests “Sixteen Candles”

1960:

  • Brenda Lee “I’m Sorry”
  • Mark Dinning “Teen Angel”
  • Percy Faith “Theme from ‘A Summer Place’”
  • Roy Orbison “Only the Lonely”
  • Maurice Williams & the Zodiacs “Stay”

1961:

1962:

  • The Four Seasons “Big Girls Don’t Cry”
  • The Crystals “He’s a Rebel”
  • The Miracles “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me”
  • Gene Chandler “Duke of Earl”
  • The Isley Brothers “Twist and Shout”

1963:

1964:

1965:

1966:

1967:

1968:

1969:

1970:

  • The Kinks “Lola”
  • The Miracles “The Tears of a Clown”
  • James Taylor “Fire and Rain”
  • Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young “Woodstock”
  • Van Morrison “Moondance”

1971:

1972:

1973:

  • Edgar Winter Group “Frankenstein”
  • Lou Reed “Walk on the Wild Side”
  • Gladys Knight & the Pips “Midnight Train to Georgia”
  • The Rolling Stones “Angie”
  • The O’Jays “Love Train”

1974:

  • Lynyrd Skynyrd “Sweet Home Alabama”
  • Bachman-Turner Overdrive “Takin’ Care of Business”
  • Steely Dan “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number”
  • Eagles “Best of My Love”
  • Joni Mitchell “Help Me”

1975:

  • Eagles “One of These Nights”
  • Linda Ronstadt “You’re No Good”
  • Queen “Bohemian Rhapsody”
  • David Bowie “Fame”
  • Bob Marley & the Wailers “No Woman, No Cry”

1976:

  • Peter Frampton “Show Me the Way”
  • Paul Simon “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover”
  • Heart “Crazy on You”
  • Daryl Hall & John Oates “She’s Gone”
  • Boz Scaggs “Lowdown”

1977:

1978:

  • Talking Heads “Psycho Killer”
  • Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers “Breakdown”
  • Billy Joel “Just the Way You Are”
  • Elvis Costello “Watching the Detectives”
  • Meat Loaf “Paradise by the Dashboard Light”

1979:

  • The Police “Roxanne”
  • Dire Straits “Sultans of Swing”
  • Donna Summer “Bad Girls”
  • The Doobie Brothers “What a Fool Believes”
  • Joe Jackson “Is She Really Going Out with Him?”

1980:

  • Blondie “Call Me”
  • The Pretenders “Brass in Pocket (I’m Special)”
  • Pink Floyd “Another Brick in the Wall Part II”
  • Bruce Springsteen “Hungry Heart”
  • Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band “Against the Wind”

1981:

  • Kim Carnes “Bette Davis Eyes”
  • The Cars “Shake It Up”
  • The Go-Go’s “Our Lips Are Sealed”
  • The Pointer Sisters “Slow Hand”
  • REO Speedwagon “Keep on Loving You”

1982:

  • Joan Jett & the Blackhearts “I Love Rock and Roll”
  • Joe Cocker & Jennifer Warnes “Up Where We Belong”
  • The Clash “Rock the Casbah”
  • Human League “Don’t You Want Me?”
  • Men at Work “Who Can It Be Now?”

1983:

1984:

1985:

1986:

  • Bruce Hornsby & the Range “The Way It Is”
  • Robert Palmer “Addicted to Love”
  • Prince “Kiss”
  • Whitney Houston “How Will I Know”
  • Steve Winwood “Higher Love”

1987:

1988:

  • Tracy Chapman “Fast Car”
  • INXS “New Sensation”
  • Terence Trent D’Arby “Wishing Well”
  • Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine”
  • Def Leppard “Love Bites”

1989:

  • Paula Abdul “Straight Up”
  • Public Enemy “Fight the Power”
  • Bonnie Raitt “Thing Called Love”
  • Fine Young Cannibals “She Drives Me Crazy”
  • Tone Loc “Wild Thing”

1990:

  • Sinéad O’Connor “Nothing Compares 2 U”
  • Faith No More “Epic”
  • Mariah Carey “Vision of Love”
  • Chris Isaak “Wicked Game”
  • Technotronic “Pump Up the Jam”

1991:

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First posted 4/9/2021.

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