celeb-db日本語
Photo of Alan Freed

Photo: Photo by James Kriegsmann, NY / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)

Alan Freed

アラン・フリード / あらん・ふりーど

American disc jockey

December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965 ・ Windber, Pennsylvania, United States

  • From Pennsylvania
  • Disc jockey
  • Radio personality
  • Songwriter

My Take

Freed is one of the foundational figures of American popular music, the man who put a name to a sound and forced it onto mainstream radio when gatekeepers wanted it to stay in the margins. What I find compelling is how completely his story embodies both the promise and the rot of the early music business: he broke down racial lines on the airwaves, then got destroyed by the payola hearings that scapegoated him while the industry quietly moved on. He died young and broke, only to be canonized decades later. A tragic, essential figure who deserves more than a footnote.

Overview

Alan Freed (December 15, 1921 - January 20, 1965) was an American disc jockey and radio personality born in Windber, Pennsylvania. He is widely credited with popularizing the term 'rock and roll' and championing the genre to a broad, racially integrated audience in the 1950s. His career was later derailed by the payola scandal, and he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as part of its inaugural class in 1986.

1. Profile

Name (English)
Alan Freed
Name (Japanese)
アラン・フリード
Reading
あらん・ふりーど
Born
December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965
Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
Sagittarius / Rooster
Origin
Windber, Pennsylvania, United States
Blood type
Private
Height
Private
Agency
Private
Occupation
Disc jockey / Radio personality / Songwriter

2. Background

Elementary school
Private
Junior high
Private
High school
Private
University
Ohio State University

Awards & achievements

  • 2002 Grammy Trustees Award
  • Hollywood Walk of Fame star
  • 1986 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

3. Relationships

Spouse
Private
Children
Private
Parents
Private
Siblings
Private

4. Personality

Motto

Private

5. Works & records

CategoryTitleRoleYear
Signature workRock and rollUnknown

Disc jockey — see all → · Radio personality — see all → · More people from United States →

7. About this entry

Tags

  • From Pennsylvania
  • Disc jockey
  • Radio personality
  • Songwriter
Last updated
2026-06-02

Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.