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Alan Freed

American radio personality

Quick Summary

Alan Freed was an American radio personality who popularized the term "rock and roll". While he did not coin the phrase, he was instrumental in bringing this new form of music to a wider, primarily young and white, audience. Freed's shows featured genres like blues, rhythm and blues, swing, and doo-wop. He also organized dance concerts that brought black and white fans together. Freed faced accusations of "race-mixing" and legal challenges, including charges related to payola, which ultimately impacted his career.1

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3 Britannica Sources
  1. Alan Freed
  2. WMMS
  3. Alan Freeman

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