Origins of rock and roll "Rock and Roll" Harris. These songs were generally classed as "race music" or, from the late 1940s, "rhythm and blues", and were barely known by mainstream white audiences. However, in 1951, Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed began broadcasting rhythm, blues, and country music for a multi-racial audience. Freed, familiar with the music of earlier decades, used the phrase rock and roll to describe the music he aired over station WJW (850 AM); its use also is credited to Freed's sponsor, record store owner Leo Mintz, who encouraged Freed to play the music on the radio. Originally Freed used the name
Rock and Roll Is Dead Rock and Roll Is Dead "Rock and Roll Is Dead" is the first single released from the 1995 Lenny Kravitz album "Circus". It reached the top 20 in Canada, Finland, New Zealand, and Spain, but it underperformed in the United States, peaking at number 75 on the "Billboard" Hot 100. "Rock and Roll Is Dead" is an uptempo rock song. Kravitz on the meaning of "Rock and Roll Is Dead": The same year that "Rock and Roll Is Dead" was released, Prince released a B-side called "Rock 'N' Roll Is Alive (And It Lives in Minneapolis)" for the single "Gold"