This influence was in large part to Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed, who developed a new term for the upbeat music that combined elements for rhythm and blues, gospel, and country.
In 1955 he appeared at the Brooklyn Paramount Theater in disc jockey Alan Freed's first rock and roll show.
Other roles from this period were in 1978 biographical dramas; Drier played a young Mickey Rooney in the 1978 Judy Garland biography Rainbow, while in the Alan Freed bio American Hot Wax, Drier played Artie Moress, the head of a Buddy Holly fan-club, who gives a tearful on-the-air memorial just after the famous plane crash.
Mentored by Alan Freed, the group’s doo-wop harmony style achieved great success on the national R&B charts and recorded on Chess Records.
In 1959, he appeared on Alan Freed's Big Beat program, and released a single with the Gents; soon after, the Gents toured with The Sparkletones.
Tim McIntire (July 19, 1944 – April 15, 1986) was an American character actor, probably most famous for his portrayal of disc jockey Alan Freed in the film American Hot Wax (1978).
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With the help of disc jockey Alan Freed and film headliners Bill Haley & His Comets, they set out to prove that the music isn't as bad as adults think.
His radio was tuned to WINS and Alan Freed's "Rock & Roll Party" and to Jocko's "Rocketship Show" on WADO.
Billboard columnist Maurie Orodenker used the term as early as 1942, while Cleveland, Ohio disc jockey Alan Freed helped make the phrase popular in the early 1950s.