Brief History: In high school, Freed formed a band known as the "Sultans of Swing". His first Radio job was at WKST, New Castle, Pennsylvania in 1942. From there he went to WKBN, Youngstown, Ohio as a sportscaster.
In 1945 he moved to WAKR, Akron, Ohio where he was a disc-jockey. He played jazz and popular recordings. In 1949, he was offered a TV position at WXEL, Cleveland, Ohio.
In 1951, he debuted on WJW, Cleveland, with a new DJ name: "Moondog". Freed moved to New York City in 1954 and worked for WINS. It was in New York that Freed's live "Rock and Roll" shows drew incredible crowds and national publicity. Freed later moved to WABC, New York.
The Radio Payola scandal hit in 1959 and Freed, who was "on-the-take", was fired from his Radio and TV jobs. He worked briefly at KDAY, Los Angeles and WQAM, Miami.
In 1962, Freed pled guilty to commercial bribery charges.
On January 20, 1965, Alan Freed died from alcohol related diseases.
Claim to Fame: Coined the term, "Rock and Roll".
