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Question One: Who is the radio personality credited for naming and popularizing rock 'n' roll? What was the name of his radio show?
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Answer: Alan Freed is the DJ who helped popularize and is credited with naming rock 'n' roll. The term was taken from the 1951 record “Sixty Minute Man” by The Dominoes (also called Billy Ward and the Dominoes). The lyrics were highly suggestive and used rock and roll in the lyrics. Freed began using the term a month later and most likely was inspired by this song.
Freed called himself “Moondog” on the air at WXEL-TV in Cleveland, calling his show Moondog's Rock 'n' Roll Party. The show's success led to Freed's March 1952 Moondog Coronation Ball in Cleveland. Top black acts were booked for the show. Six thousand fans crashed gates in addition to the thousands already in 10,000 seat hall. In 1954 Freed moved his show to WINS radio in NY. Within months the show was #1.
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Question Two: What was the scandal that ended several careers in 1960?
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Answer: "Payola," a contraction of the words "pay" and "Victrola" (LP record player), became part of the English language in 1960. On May 9, Alan Freed was indicted for accepting $2,500, which he claimed was a token of gratitude and did not affect airplay. He paid a small fine and was released. His career faltered and in 1965 he drank himself to death. Other radio personalities, however, also were hurt by the scandal. The committee decided to look into deejays who took gifts from record companies in return for playing their records on their shows. Fearing the worse the record companies began stepping forward and announcing that they had given money to specific deejays. Soon twenty five deejays and program directors were caught in the scandal. Among the more popular ones were Joe Niagara (WIBG, Philadelphia), Tom Clay (WJBK, Detroit), Murray "The K" Kaufman (WINS, New York) and Stan Richards (WILD, Boston) The probe quickly focused in on the two top deejays in the country, Dick Clark and Alan Freed.
Clark, with more to lose, quickly gave up all his musical interests when ordered to do so by ABC-TV. Some radio stations fared badly themselves, among them the popular WMGM in New York. In earlt 1962, it abandoned popular music, which, oddly, made room for the strong emergence of WABC.
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Question Three: What DJ was called "The Fifth Beatle"?
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Answer: Many people have been called the “fifth Beatle,” among them, Stuart Sutcliffe, who actualy was a Beatle. Artists like Billy Preston, who played with the Beatles often was given the title. However, in the world of radio, the DJ most often referred to as the “fifth Beatle” was NY's Murray the K (Murray Kaufman). Djs from various stations met the Fab Four, interviewed them, and played their music, but Murray the K hugn out with them when they were in New York. He probably didn't really deserve the title but he was Murray the K.
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Question Four: Which of the following artists or groups is not from New Jersey?
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Answer: This one could cause some dispute. We al know Frank Sinatra is from New Jersey. He was born in Hoboken, NJ, on December 12, 1915. The rest is history.
The Shirelles, Shirley Alston Reeves, Addie “Micki” Harris, Doris Kenner-Jackson, and Beverly Lee, formed in 1957, as high-school students in Passaic, New Jersey. They were elected to the Rock andRoll Hall of Fame in 1996.
Little Steven, known by his given name, Steven Van Zandt, was actually born in Winthrop, MA, in 1950. However, he moved to NJ at a young age, where he grew up and began his musical career as part of the E Street Band in Asbury Park. Since then, he's done more than one person can usually handle. See this month's issue of Emore for his story. But, yes, we consider him a Jersey boy.
Aside from Motown and the Beach Boys, The Four Seasons virtually the only other American group whose successful careers were not derailed when the Beatles and the British Invasion bands hit the States in 1964. As a teenager living in Newark, New Jersey, Frankie Valli sang with the Varietones, who later changed their name to the Four Lovers in 1956. With the addition of Gaudio, they changed their name to the Four Seasons and began working with producer Bob Crewe. They eventually hit in 1962 with “Sherry.” They were elected to the Roch and roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
So, we come to the answer... The Rascals! The Young Rascals formed in early 1965 in New York City when Felix Cavaliere, Eddie Brigati and guitarist Gene Cornish left Joey Dee and the Starliters. With drummer Dino Danelli, they began playing at Manhattan's Phone Booth nightclub. Their first single, "I Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore," sold moderately (what a great song!) but its followup, "Good Lovin'," went to #1 in March 1966. They were New York boys who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
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trivia elmoremagazine.com
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