The ashes of disc jockey Alan Freed, who is credited with coining the term rock 'n' roll, have found a new home at Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland amidst a celebration Saturday of his life and musical legacy.
Sixty four years after Freed helped organize the Moondog Coronation Ball, which has been hailed as the nation's first rock concert in 1952, industry stars came to Cleveland to honor the man.
E Street Band's Stevie Van Zandt gave the keynote address. The Drifters and 1960s rock singer Jimmy Clanton sang their tribute.
A public monument was also unveiled in memory of the former Cleveland deejay.
Freed died young, at 43 years of age, in 1965. His ashes were on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland for 12 years, until the museum asked his family to take the urn back in 2014.
Early in his career, Freed stopped by Cleveland's largest record store, Record Rendezvous, and was surprised to see a large number of white teenagers buying R&B records, called "race records," according to The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Afterward began programming the music on a late night show called "Moondog Rock 'n' Roll Party." He was the first white deejay to play these kinds of rhythm & blues records, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame stated.
