
Alan Freed
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Year:
1986
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Inducted by:
Scott Muni & Norm Nite
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Category:
Ahmet Ertegun Award
Introduction
The boundary-smashing, trend-setting evangelist of rock and roll.
From popularizing the R&B records that became the foundation of rock to planning the first rock and roll concert, Alan Freed was the tireless promoter of the genre.
Hall of Fame Essay
1986
Alan Freed was the most effective proselytizer rock and roll has ever known. Spreading the word from a radio pulpit that kicked off nightly to the strains of Freddie Mitchell’s “Moondog Boogie,” Freed kept time to the music by smashing his hand on a telephone book. He first conquered Cleveland over WJW, and then moved his show to New York’s flagship WINS.
Alan not only spun the music; he wrote it, promoted it, starred in its early movies and became one of its first scapegoats. He discovered the Moonglows and helped bring countless other performers to prominence.


'Rock & roll' seemed to suggest the rolling, surging beat of the music
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