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
Johnny Burnette and the Rock 'n Roll Trio Johnny Burnette and the Rock 'n Roll Trio Johnny Burnette and the Rock 'n Roll Trio is the 1956 debut album of the influential rockabilly band The Rock and Roll Trio, fronted by Johnny Burnette. Recorded over three separate sessions in 1956, the album includes a number of the band's singles. 2008's "Icons of Rock" calls the album "an all-time rockabilly classic". Released as a 10" LP in the UK by Vogue/Coral Records in December 1956 (#10041), it was released again in 12" format in its US debut by Coral Records in 1957 (#57080) and in 1978 by Solid Smoke