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Cut Short 60 Years Ago, Hear Now the Music of the Moondog Coronation Ball

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Sixty years ago this week, the world’s first rock ‘n’ roll concert took place in Cleveland, the city that now houses the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame.3 [4] And for the past eight years, the big oldies station in town has been putting on, as a tribute to the original, a Moondog Coronation Ball, featuring oldies artists again playing their good old songs.The Sunday Oldies Jukebox [5],” WSTB in Akron. Guy Z played a likely song for the date of the concert by each announced musical artist.5 While we have no recording of Sunday’s radio show, we do have the play list and online audio. Click on the songs below to hear the music of The Moondog Coronation Ball.

Notes on the selections by Guy Z:

Songs are all just educated guesses, but possible in terms of recording date. Some are a “good bet,” though, as Williams would almost certainly have played the Hucklebuck at some point. 60 Minute Man was a #1 hit for The Dominoes in 51. The day after the Moondog, Freed played Rocking the Blues as the 2nd song of his broadcast.

1. Paul Williams and the Hucklebuckers – The Hucklebuck (1949)

2. Tiny Grimes & the Rocking Highlanders – Rockin’ the Blues (1951)

3. Danny Cobb (vocalist with the Paul Williams Orchestra) – Rockin’ Chair Blues (1951)

4. The Dominoes – 60 Minute Man (1951)

5. Varetta Dillard – You Are Gone (1951)

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Outside the Cleveland Arena the week of the Moondog Coronation Ball – BBC

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Inside the Cleveland Arena during Moondog Coronation Ball 1952-03-21 – BBC

Sources

1. ‘How the world’s first rock concert ended in chaos’ By Jude Sheerin BBC News, Cleveland, 20 March 2012 [6]

Less well known is the reason why the Moondog Coronation Ball ended in disaster: a minor printing error.

The mistake was caused by someone forgetting to add the date to tickets issued for a follow-up ball, which Mintz had set about organising immediately after the initial one sold out.

As a result, an estimated 20,000 people showed up on the same night for the first concert – at a venue which could hold half that number.

2. Alan Freed Biography by Ben Fong-Torres [7]

Freed was inducted into the first class of the Hall, in January 23, 1986, alongside such pioneers and greats as Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, James Brown, Ray Charles and Sam Cooke.

3. World Series of Rock – Wikipedia entry [8]

4. WMJI – Moondog Coronation Ball [9]

5. Sunday Oldies Jukebox, WSTB, Akron, Ohio [5]

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By Quinn Hungeski, [10]TheParagraph.com [11], Copyright [10] (CC BY-ND) [12] 2012

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