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Our Long Strange Trip

Rock and Roll /, rä-ken-rōl / n.

First used in 1951 by Alan Freed, a Cleveland disc jockey, to describe popular music usually played on electronically amplified instruments and characterized by a heavily accented beat.

Northeast Ohio has a deep and profound connection to rock and roll. In the late 1940s, Leo Mintz, the owner of Cleveland’s Record Rendezvous, saw…

1940's

In 1951, Freed moved to Cleveland and hosted the late-night "Moondog Rock & Roll House Party." Freed also promoted local dances and concerts, including the…

1950's

Cleveland radio stations embraced the young music genre in the 1950s and 1960s and established Northeast Ohio as a "break-out" music market. In 1962, Jane…

1960's

In 1972, the phrase “Cleveland – The Rock and Roll Capital of the World” was coined.

1970s

In the mid-1980s, civic leaders used Cleveland’s rich rock and roll history to rally public support to bring the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame…

1980's

What started as a way to earn some extra beer money has turned out to be a visual chronicle of Northeast Ohio’s rich and storied…

2000's