A
IRCHECK OF THE WEEK

  Edition #1101
Week of July 19, 2020

 

Talent: ALAN FREED
Station: WINS New York
Date: June 10, 1957
Time:
 30:21 (unscoped)
4:49 (scoped)

Much has been written and said about Alan Freed, the pioneering deejay known as The King of The Moondoggers. But here's a few interesting tidbits about Freed that you may not be aware of:

- He was originally a classical music announcer, and was quite knowledgeable about that genre of music.

- Freed was a tee-jay (we now call them vee-jays) at 
WXEL-TV
 in Cleveland for a short time in the late '40s.

- He played trombone, and once had his own band, the 
Sultans of Swing.

- At one time, his syndicated show was heard on Radio Luxembourg.

- Late in his career, Freed did an all-night jazz show at 
KNOB
 in Los Angeles.

- His middle name was James.

- He had three children, Lance, Al, Junior, and Alana.

- He was married three times.

- Studied engineering at Ohio State University, but didn't graduate.

- Served in the U.S. Army, in the Ski Patrol.

- He once applied for a job at 
CBS
 but they told him to "find a better profession."

In 1957, Freed was doing a "split-shift", that is working two separate airshifts in one day. It was a common practice at the time. Freed did his After School Rock from 3:30-4:25 p.m., then came back for the Rock 'N' Roll Party from 7-11 p.m. We can only assume his young listeners did their homework between 4:25 and 7:00 p.m.

Enjoy Alan Freed on WINS (UNSCOPED) here.

Enjoy Alan Freed on WINS (SCOPED) here.
 

 (The Tom Howard and Joe Fazio Collections)
 

More 1957 airchecks here!

 




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