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
The History of Rock and Roll contents The History of Rock and Roll contents The History of Rock and Roll is a radio documentary on rock and roll music, originally syndicated in 1969, and again in 1978 and 1981. It is currently distributed as a 2 1/2 minute short feature on internet networks. This list below reflects the contents of the more widely heard 1978 version of "The History of Rock & Roll". The "time sweep" is a 53-minute collage of number one hits from the Rock & Roll era. The original 1969 "History of Rock and Roll" timesweep closed with the final measures of the Beatles'