Cleveland Really Does Rock!
Turns out Ian Hunter was right!
No one would blame you if you thought rock and roll started with Elvis in Memphis in 1954.
And you’d be forgiven if you were sure it started in New York City with the blues and jazz of the 1920’s
But good old rock and roll as we know it today (it’s not dead, y’all) started in Cleveland, Ohio, brought to life by a radio disc jockey.
A really great disc jockey.
The gods of rock and roll snatched away Alan Freed’s dream of leading a swing band when they sent him to Akron, Ohio after serving in WWII.
He’d worked as a disc jockey on Armed Forces Radio, so he knew the basics of spinning vinyl, but he was still surprised to find himself an unlikely star on the Akron airways.
Kids loved Freed. He offered them “race” music; gritty rhythm and blues, sensuous, exotic and a far cry from Mom and Pop’s lily white crooners.
Freed gave teenagers rock and roll, spinning the thrilling magic of their own music, thus blessing the union of rock and roll and teenage rebellion.
From Akron, Freed headed to Cleveland, landing at radio station WJW in the late 40’s, and violating a non-compete he signed with the owner of WAKR Akron.
