© 2025 KSUT Public Radio
NPR News and Music Discovery for the Four Corners
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Legendary DJ Alan Freed Gets A Final Sendoff

American disc jockey and radio performer Alan Freed (1921 - 1965) who coined the term rock 'n' roll sits in a 1010 WINS sound studio during a radio broadcast, 1950s. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
American disc jockey and radio performer Alan Freed (1921 - 1965) who coined the term rock 'n' roll sits in a 1010 WINS sound studio during a radio broadcast, 1950s. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

On Saturday, the ashes of legendary disc jockey Alan Freed will come to their final resting place at Lakeview Cemetery in Cleveland. Steven Van Zandt from the E Street Band is scheduled to give a eulogy and The Drifters will perform at the memorial service. Freed blended a love of music with a dynamic radio personality to make an indelible mark on American popular culture.

From the Here & Now contributors network, David C. Barnett of WCPN remembers the man who gave rock and roll its name.

Reporter

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.