Old Radio

December 5: Happy Birthday, Alan Freed ! Chuck Berry sang it, Jerry Lee Lewis sang it...and Alan Freed “penned” it. “It” being rock-n-roll and  Alan Freed  was the Disc Jockey to bring the famous label to the forefront of America by mixing the radio airwaves with country, blues and jazz. Born in 1921,  Alan Freed  stepped over the line to attract the attention of America's youth and to see them as the hot demographic to pitch his music discovery towards. Freed wanted to be a bandleader, but when an ear infection destroyed that dream, the trombone player from Ohio focused in on radio. It was in his capacity as a disc jockey at various radio stations that Freed developed his appreciation for music and to bring to life the rich blends he was discovering and make it appreciated by the teenagers, then filtered to older folks. By 1958,  Alan Freed  would become embroiled in a scandal in the music business known as payola. major record companies would pay disc jockeys to play