- HELLO, MY NAME IS DAVID WAIN.
I HAVE A DIRTY MARTINI,
AND TODAY WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT ALAN FREED
AND THE BIRTH OF ROCK AND ROLL,
WHICH IS A GREAT STORY
ABOUT FUN, RACE, AND MUSIC.
ALAN FREED WAS A DJ ON W.A.K.R. IN AKRON, OHIO,
AND HE'S LIKE, YOU KNOW,
HEY, I'M PLAYING REGULAR MUSIC.
HE WAS PLAYING JAZZ AND POP AND PRE-ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC.
MEANWHILE, THERE WAS THIS GUY NAMED LEO MINTZ.
LEO MINTZ WAS A RECORD-STORE OWNER IN CLEVELAND, OHIO,
AND LEO MINTZ WAS SEEING THAT THESE WHITE KIDS
ARE HAVING A GOOD TIME, AND THEY'RE DANCING.
BUT AT THE TIME, IT WASN'T ACCEPTED
FOR WHITE PEOPLE TO BUY BLACK MUSIC,
OR WHAT THEY CALLED RACE MUSIC.
AND HE BECAME AWARE OF THIS DJ, ALAN FREED,
AND HE'S LIKE, COME OVER TO CLEVELAND,
AND YOU CAN GO ON THE AIR ON WJW,
WHICH WAS A BIG RADIO STATION,
WAS A WHITE RADIO STATION,
BUT I'M GOING TO GET YOU TO PLAY
THESE RHYTHM-AND-BLUES RECORDS THAT I'M TRYING TO SELL.
AND ALAN FREED SAID, THANK YOU.
I'LL DO IT.
IT WAS A TIME WHEN RACIAL BOUNDARIES
WERE JUST SLOWLY BEING BENDED,
BUT NOBODY KNEW.
[laughs]
- NOBODY KNEW. - NOBODY KNEW.
NOBODY KNEW.
LEO MINTZ WOULD COME OVER TO THE RADIO STATION,
AND HE'S LIKE, YOU KNOW,
WHAT ARE WE GONNA CALL THIS THING?
'CAUSE IF WE CALL IT RHYTHM AND BLUES,
THEN THE WHITE AUDIENCE WON'T ACCEPT IT,
'CAUSE THAT'S A RACE-MUSIC TERM.
AND THEY WERE LIKE, WELL, YOU KNOW,
WE'RE ROCKING AND ROLLING.
IT'S [bleep] GREAT.
HE WAS LIKE, THAT'S WHAT IT IS.
IT'S ROCK AND ROLL.
[burps]
AND HE CREATES THIS WHOLE PERSONA.
HE'S LIKE, HEY, HOW Y'ALL DOING TODAY?
IT'S ALAN FREED, KING OF THE MOONDOGGERS!
THE MOONDOG SHOW IN NORTHEAST OHIO,
CLEVELAND, OHIO,
HOME OF THE CLEVELAND BROWNS' ART MODELL!
OKAY, SO, NOW...
AND THAT'S GOOD.
CHEERS. - ROCK AND ROLL.
- ONCE AGAIN, AND HERE WE ARE.
THIS IS NUMBER TWO. - NUMBER TWO.
- SO THEN HE'S LIKE, OKAY, WHAT DO WE DO TO,
LIKE, UP THE ANTE HERE?
AND SO ALAN FREED'S LIKE, LET'S MAKE A BIG [bleep] SHOW.
[coughs]
SO THEN THEY SET UP THIS BIG SHOW AT THE CLEVELAND ARENA,
THE MOONDOG CORONATION BALL.
IT WAS, YOU KNOW, CONSIDERED THE FIRST ROCK AND ROLL CONCERT
THAT THERE EVER WAS.
SO 20,000 PEOPLE COME TO IT,
A VENUE THAT COULD ONLY FIT 10,000.
THEY'RE SHOVING IN. IT BECOMES A [bleep] FIASCO.
THERE'S RIOTS.
THE CLEVELAND FIRE DEPARTMENT SHUT THE WHOLE THING DOWN.
WELL, OF COURSE, THE NEXT DAY, IT'S LIKE,
ROCK AND ROLL MUSIC IS HURTING TEENAGERS,
MAKING THEM BAD, UM...
I THINK WHEN YOU DRINK,
YOU LOSE A LITTLE BIT OF VOCABULARY,
BUT ANYWAY, THAT'S FINE.
BUT HE WENT ON THE AIR THE NEXT DAY--
LOOK, IT DIDN'T WORK OUT, BUT WE MOVE FORWARD.
ARE YOU WITH ME? WE'LL KNOW IF--
BY YOUR PHONE CALLS, YOUR LETTERS.
AND THE TEENAGERS WERE INTO IT,
AND THEY JUST CAME OUT IN THRONGS.
HE WAS EVENTUALLY WOOED BY THE BIG TOWN,
AND I'M TALKING ABOUT MR. NEW, MR. YORK,
AND HELLO, CITY.
I'M TALKING ABOUT NEW YORK CITY.
JESUS CHRIST.
HE PACKS UP HIS [bleep],
AND HE GOES FROM CLEVELAND TO NEW YORK,
AND HE'S LIKE, LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT CHUCK BERRY.
LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT LITTLE RICHARD.
LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT FATS DOMINO.
AND HIS SHOW IS PIPED TO EUROPE.
IT HAS BEEN SAID IT'S THE FIRST TIME THAT THE BEATLES
HEAR ROCK AND ROLL, IS ON ALAN FREED'S RADIO SHOW.
[bad British accent] HEY, THERE, PAUL.
THIS IS PRETTY GOOD.
MAYBE WE SHOULD DO THIS.
[normal voice] NEXT THING YOU KNOW,
IT'S, LIKE, THE BEATLES.
HE PUT TOGETHER A SHOW IN BOSTON,
AND THE KIDS ARE GETTING ROWDY,
AND THE COPS IN BOSTON, THEY'RE LIKE,
NO, THIS IS NOT OKAY.
SO THEN ALAN FREED GETS ONSTAGE,
AND HE'S LIKE, KIDS, IT'S GONNA BE FUN.
WE'RE GONNA HAVE A GOOD TIME.
WE'RE GONNA ROCK AND ROLL TONIGHT.
ROCK AND ROLL, ROCK AND ROLL, ROCK AND ROLL!
AND THEN THEY'RE LIKE, EVERYONE,
WE'RE TURNING THE LIGHTS ON.
ALAN FREED MAKES THIS OFFHAND REMARK.
HE'S LIKE, YOU KNOW, I GUESS THE BOSTON COPS
JUST DON'T WANT YOU GUYS TO HAVE ANY FUN.
IT BECOMES A TOTAL DISASTER, BAD-NEWS THING.
IT'S, LIKE, ALMOST A RIOT BREAKS OUT,
AND THEN THEY HAVE TO SHUT THE THING DOWN.
OUTSIDE THE VENUE THAT NIGHT, THERE WERE SOME STABBINGS,
AND THERE WAS SOME VIOLENT [bleep] THAT WENT DOWN.
THEY ACCUSED HIM OF INCITING A RIOT,
AND HE HAD TO DEFEND HIMSELF AND SAY,
YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T DO-- I WAS JUST HAVING A CONCERT.
BUT HIS JOB, HIS BOSSES AT W.I.N.S.,
WERE LIKE, NO, THIS IS TOO CONTROVERSIAL.
YOU KNOW WHAT? THIS GUY IS--
CAN'T--GOT TO GO.
HE WENT ON THE AIR, AND HE WAS LIKE,
LOOK, I'M SORRY. I'M SAD.
BUT I'M GOING OFF THE AIR, SO THANKS FOR ALL THESE YEARS,
BUT MY ERA IS OVER.
AND THEN HE PUT ON THIS RECORD,
SO LONG
IT WAS REALLY THE END OF HIS REIGN AS THE GUY,
AND HE LEFT THE STATION.
- ♪ SO LONG ♪
- AND WHEN HE GOES DOWN, AT THE BOTTOM OF THE STATION,
ALL THESE FANS ARE DOWN THERE,
AND THEY'RE LIKE, OH, MY GOD, YOU CAN'T LEAVE!
WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?
WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO WITHOUT YOU?
AND HE WAS LIKE, YOU KNOW WHAT?
IT'S NOT ABOUT ME. IT'S ABOUT ROCK AND ROLL.
AND ROCK AND ROLL WILL ALWAYS BE HERE,
AND NOTHING WILL STOP THAT.
AND SO ROCK AND ROLL WILL NEVER DIE,
AND ROCK AND ROLL HAS GONE ON.
ROCK AND ROLL IS BASICALLY ABOUT, LIKE,
GETTING UP THERE AND BEING LIKE, [bleep] IT,
YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?
LIKE, IT'S NOT ENOUGH TO SAY,
I DON'T GIVE A [bleep].
YOU HAVE TO [bleep] SHOW IT.
[screams]