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Alan Freed, the Cleveland disc jockey who coined the term "rock 'n roll" as the first rock disc jockey, and who promoted the first rock concert, discovered that northeast Ohio's racial tolerance, which was essential to birth of rock 'n roll, wasn't acceptable outside of his home market, when he served as the host of "American Bandstand" before Dick Clark.
<<Before Dick Clark got a network show, ABC gave rock’s first great deejay, Alan Freed, a slot in 1957. Freed had promoted live shows in which blacks and whites danced together in the aisles, creating anxiety in some circles. On Freed’s third show, black singer Frankie Lymon, who had been lip-syncing his hit “Why Must I Be a Teenager in Love,” was shown by the cameras dancing with a white girl. ABC’s Southern affiliates went berserk, and the national sponsors insisted that the network kill the show, which it did. A week later, “American Bandstand” made its debut on national TV, and Clark had learned an important lesson about ‘50s America: No interracial dancing on TV.>>
Basketball was invented in Springfield. The sport belongs to that city. Rock and Roll was not invented in Cleveland and Rock and Roll can not be “claimed” by any one city.
I think Memphis probably has the strongest argument as an actual “birthplace” but I find nothing objectionable with Cleveland having the HOF.
NYC was just the marketing center for the distribution of many of the rock records. Outside of punk (which it shared with London in its development), New York was never a really big city in terms of the development of rock music, being more focused on R&B, swing music, funk, dance/disco, hip hop, and "made for radio" pop music (including soft rock), which predates rock by quite a bit. Bethel, home to the Woodstock megafestival, would even had made more sense than the Big Apple.
Last edited by Borntoolate85; 03-11-2020 at 08:41 AM..
Actually, no it wasn't. The musicians / bands playing what became known as rock and roll weren't from Cleveland and the term was coined by someone from Billboard magazine before Alan Freed popularized it. Whatever the case, the HOF is fine in it's current location - Cleveland.
]Actually, no it wasn't. The musicians / bands playing what became known as rock and roll weren't from Cleveland and the term was coined by someone from Billboard magazine before Alan Freed popularized it. [/b] Whatever the case, the HOF is fine in it's current location - Cleveland.
But, the first famous rock concert was performed in Cleveland.
It should be mentioned that Alan Freed didn't actually coin or invent the phrase "rock and roll." Like the music itself, he only popularized it among mainstream (White) audiences; it was actually already in popular use within the Black community as a slang term for having sex.
No one can deny Freed's significant role in broadcasting and popularizing the genre. However, at the same time, Sam Phillips was recording much of the music at Sun Studio in Memphis for him to play. In the earliest days of the genre, rock and roll was the popularized name of the same music Black artists performed (under the name Rhythm and Blues), except performed by White artists.
Seeing as though the roots of rock and roll are in the blues, gospel, and country, it's pretty easy to see how Memphis played a seminal role in the actual creation of the genre.
It should be mentioned that Alan Freed didn't actually coin or invent the phrase "rock and roll." Like the music itself, he only popularized it among mainstream (White) audiences; it was actually already in popular use within the Black community as a slang term for having sex.
No one can deny Freed's significant role in broadcasting and popularizing the genre. However, at the same time, Sam Phillips was recording much of the music at Sun Studio in Memphis for him to play. In the earliest days of the genre, rock and roll was the popularized name of the same music Black artists performed (under the name Rhythm and Blues), except performed by White artists.
Seeing as though the roots of rock and roll are in the blues, gospel, and country, it's pretty easy to see how Memphis played a seminal role in the actual creation of the genre.
This is the answer if you want to go with the origins of Rock and Roll. When I think of the early days of the genre it all comes back to Sun Studios/Records in Memphis.
Personally I think Los Angeles is where the museum should be. The Sunset Strip and the Capitol Records building screams Rock and Roll to me. Times may be a changing, but all roads to stardom (especially in this genre) went through LA.
As for the museum it’s always been a bit of a joke to me. Kinda like a glorified Hard Rock Cafe. This years inductees includes Nine Inch Nails, really? I guess they’ll let anyone in. Depeche Mode? Maybe it should be called the popular music hall of fame? The same goes for Biggie Smalls and Whitney Houston, nothing Rock and Roll about them. I’ll give T. Rex some props for some good rock songs, but that’s like letting a career .200 hitter into the HOF who had a couple of good seasons. Seriously, just change the name to the popular music museum already. Drop the Rock and Roll and Hall of Fame from the name.
Actually, no it wasn't. The musicians / bands playing what became known as rock and roll weren't from Cleveland and the term was coined by someone from Billboard magazine before Alan Freed popularized it. Whatever the case, the HOF is fine in it's current location - Cleveland.
Actually, it was. It's irrelevant where the bands were from. What matters is the concept of R&R was developed with the prodding of Alan Freed (and Cleveland culture) embracing African American rhythm & blues allowing white groups to develop the musical art from. Again, place of birth is irrelevant.
... as for the person who coined Rock and Roll from Billboard, name him or her.
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