Origins of rock and roll but it was used by the early 20th century, both to describe a spiritual fervor and as a sexual analogy. Various gospel, blues and swing recordings used the phrase before it became used more frequently – but still intermittently – in the late 1930s and 1940s, principally on recordings and in reviews of what became known as "rhythm and blues" music aimed at black audiences. In 1951, Cleveland-based disc jockey Alan Freed began playing this music style while popularizing the term "rock and roll" to describe it. Various recordings that date back to the 1940s have been named as the
Origins of rock and roll "Moondog" for himself and any concerts or promotions he put on because he used as his regular theme music a piece called "Moondog Symphony" by the street musician Louis "Moondog" Hardin. Hardin subsequently sued Freed on grounds that he was stealing his name, and because Freed was no longer allowed to use the term Moondog, he needed a new catchphrase. After a night of heavy drinking, he and his friends came up with the name "The Rock and Roll Party" because he already was using the phrase "Rock and Roll Session" to describe the music he was playing. As his