alan freed

For the unitiated: Freed was an American DJ who popularised Rock ’n’ roll in the ‘50s and was credited with bringing black music to a white audience. He was brought down by the infamous ‘payola’ scandal of the early 1960s, where he was accused of accepting bribes from record labels in exchange for playing their records on his radio show. Though the practice was common, Freed was made a scapegoat and his career as a DJ was virtually ended. He died in 1965 from uremia and liver cirrhosis brought on by alcoholism. He was 43 years old.