Alan Freed, the Cleveland DJ credited with coining the very phrase "rock 'n' roll." A 1954 WJW Cleveland recording of the opening of one of the Moondog Shows. (Two minutes). In the late 1940s, while working at WAKR, Freed met Cleveland record store owner Leo Mintz. Record Rendezvous, one of Cleveland's largest record stores, had begun selling rhythm and blues records. Mintz told Freed that he had noticed increased interest in the records at his store, and encouraged him to play them on the radio.
Still under the non-compete clause with WAKR, Freed moved to Cleveland in 1951, having already joined WEXL (channel 9) in the middle of 1950 as an announcer. However, in April, through the help of William Shipley, RCA's Northern Ohio distributor, he was released from the non-compete clause. He was then hired by WJW radio for a midnight program sponsored by Main Line, the RCA Distributor, and Record Rendezvous. Freed peppered his speech with hipster language, and, with a rhythm and blues record called "Moondog" as his theme song, broadcast R&B hits into the night. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Freed
