Every Day Is Special: March 21 - Moondog Coronation Ball

March 21 - Moondog Coronation Ball

Posted on March 21, 2022

This is an update of my post published on March 21, 2011:

Did you know that the first Rock and Roll concert ended after just one song?

A concert was organized by Alan Freed, the disc jockey who coined the term Rock and Roll, in Cleveland, Ohio.

The date: March 21, 1952.

The acts: Paul “Hucklebuck” Williams, the Dominoes, Tiny Grimes and the Rockin' Highlanders, Danny Cobb, and Varetta Dillard.

The problem: about 20,000 tickets were sold, even though there were only about 10,000 seats. This was apparently due to counterfeiting. But the overflow crowd had paid good money to be inside, but they were still outside—and, well, there were a few problems!

Note to self: make concert tickets more difficult to counterfeit!
And charge more than $1.50!!

Like people crashing the closed doors and breaking glass. Like a few fights among upset-and-squashed-together people. Like the cops coming and shutting down the event.

Only one song had been performed by the time it was over!

Of course, since then rock concerts have always gone off without a hitch...(ha!)

Did you know...?

Alan Freed used to call his listeners at WJW Radio “moondogs,” and he would howl into the microphone.

There are Moondog Coronation Ball concerts nowadays, also held in Cleveland—with vintage 50s bands playing, attendees often dressed in 50s styles, and WMJI Radio sponsoring the events. Ticket sales match the number of seats, attendees behave well, and all the performers get to perform.

Learn some more...

If you want to know about the various genres and the history of rock music, check out Rock and Roll Music Journal or Kiddle's article.