Alan “Moondog” Freed Voice of Rock ‘n’ Roll

The King of the Moondoggers: Alan Freed’s Final Resting Place

While walking through Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland, Ohio, I came upon the grave of a man whose voice once electrified radios across North America — Alan Freed, the legendary disc jockey who coined the term “Rock and Roll.”

Freed wasn’t just spinning records — he was creating a movement. He once said, “Rock and Roll is really swing with a modern name. It began on the levees and plantations, took in folk songs, and features blues and rhythm.” It’s hard to imagine bands like The Rolling Stones disagreeing with that lineage. He helped give a name and platform to a new sound — one that would shape generations.

Every Saturday night on Cleveland’s WJW, Freed opened his now-iconic show with a warm and raucous welcome:

“Hello, everybody. How y’all? This is Alan Freed, the old King of the Moondoggers, and a hearty welcome to all our thousands of friends in northern Ohio, Ontario, Canada, and Western New York.”

Inspired by New York street musician Louis T. “Moondog” Harding, Freed dubbed his show The Moondog House and himself the King of the Moondoggers — a moniker that followed him from Cleveland to New York to Los Angeles.

His influence didn’t stop at the airwaves. On March 21, 1952, Freed organized the very first Rock & Roll concert: The Moondog Coronation Ball at the Cleveland Arena, the city’s largest venue at the time. It was a watershed moment in music history — chaotic, wildly popular, and the beginning of something much bigger than anyone imagined.

But the story of Alan Freed is also a cautionary tale. Despite his massive impact, his career unraveled in the late 1950s amid scandal and resistance from the industry he helped revolutionize. Freed died on January 20, 1965, in Palm Springs, California, from complications related to alcoholism. He was just 43 years old and financially destitute.

1921-1965