Alan Freed "Mr. Rock 'N Roll" D.J. Payola Scandal Original 1950s TYPE I Photo

Alan Freed (D. 1965) was an American disc jockey. He also produced and promoted large traveling concerts with various acts, helping to spread the importance of rock and roll music throughout North America.Freed was the first radio disc jockey and concert producer who frequently played and promoted rock and roll; he popularized the phrase "rock and roll" on mainstream radio in the early 1950s. (The term already existed and had been used by Billboard as early as 1946, but it remained obscure.)In 1986, Freed was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His "role in breaking down racial barriers in U.S. pop culture in the 1950s, by leading white and black kids to listen to the same music, put the radio personality 'at the vanguard' and made him 'a really important figure'", according to the executive director.Freed was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1991. The organization's website posted this note: "He became internationally known for promoting African-American rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll".In the early 1960s, Freed's career was destroyed by the payola scandal that hit the broadcasting industry, as well as by allegations of taking credit for songs he did not write and by his chronic alcoholism.Offered is an original TYPE 1 photo that measures 7" x9" (approximate size).Freed is standing behind "The Big Beat," bass drum which was the name of his ABC Television show that debuted on May 4, 1957, four months before "American Bandstand," making it the United States' "first nationally-televised rock'n roll dance show.Original paper caption attached to this Historic Photo!