Monday, July 11, 2005
Cleveland Rocks...
Mark July 11th as the day Rock 'N Roll" was conceived. It was on this date in 1951 that Alan Freed got his first taste of R&B. The disc jockey who would later coin the phrase "Rock and Roll" started spinning Rhythm & Blues records in Cleveland, Ohio, 54 years ago today. It is not a coincidence that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame resides in Cleveland...
New York was Alan Freed's next destination in 1954 and when faced with a court battle over his self-proclaimed title, "King of the Moondoger's", found a new identity for his show, calling it "Alan Freed's Rock and Roll Party". Rock and Roll, an outgrowth of Rhythm and Blues was born...
Alan Freed, legendary music mogul Morris Levy, veteran promoter Lew Platt and WINS copyrighted the phrase "Rock and Roll" but the tidal wave of the new genre of music soon made the copyright virtually useless...
I was profoundly influenced by Alan Freed, pursuing a career in radio, determined to be the next "Alan Freed". While falling short of that goal, I did manage to have a successful career, much of that, thanks in no small part to the real "King of Rock and Roll", Alan Freed...
In my commentary, some personal comments on Alan Freed...
More July 11 Memories...
1914) Babe Ruth makes his major league debut as a pitcher with the Boston Red Sox...
1955) The U.S. Air Force Academy is dedicated...
1959) Paul Anka topped the charts with "Lonely Boy"...
1962) Telstar I delivers the first transatlantic TV transmission...
1964) The Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go?" is released...
1969) The Rolling Stones release "Honky Tonk Woman"...
1969) "In the Year 2525" is #1 for Zager & Evans...
1970) Three Dog Night and "Mama Told Me Not To Come" is #1...
1970) The Who's "Summertime Blues" is released...
1979) Donna Summer tops the charts with "Bad Girls"...
1985) Nolan Ryan becomes the first pitcher in major league history with 4,000 strikeouts...
1989) #1 song: "If You Don't Know Me By Now"-Simply Red...
1995) Mickey Mantle makes final public appearance to increase awareness of organ donation programs...
Happy Birthday to...
1931) Tab Hunter...
1934) Giorgio Armani...
1951) Bonnie Pointer...
1953) Leon Spinks...
1956) Sela Ward...
1959) Suzanne Vega...
1960) Richie Sambora...
1975) Lil' Kim...
Commentary...
The closest I got to meeting Alan Freed was the day I paid a visit to WINS only to discover that Mr. Freed was out sick, which would happen quite often I would later discover. Little did the legions of Freed fans know that their hero had a drinking problem. Meeting and getting an autographed photo of Paul Sherman was little consolation even though he substituted for Freed, calling himself "The Crown Prince of Rock and Roll"...
While I didn't meet my idol, there were many times that "The King of Rock and Roll" would read every one of the names on the postcards sent to him for song requests. He didn't always play the song I requested but he always read every name. My idol made me a hero in my neighborhood...
My congratulations to Norm N. Nite, recently signed by Sirius Radio. Norm is known as the "keeper of the Alan Freed flame" and was instrumental in getting the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to the city of Cleveland...
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Thanks, Mel...
