Big Beat Heat: Alan Freed and the Early Years of Rock and Roll [Paperback]

John A. Jackson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1991

An evocative portrait of the early days of rock music chronicles the contributions of disc jockey Alan Freed, discussing his radio career, work as a promoter, involvement in the late-1950s payola scandal, and role as spokesman for the American musical scene. Reprint.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Diane Pub Co (January 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0756764130
• ISBN-13: 978-0756764135
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,889,704 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Big Beat Heat, September 24, 2006

By 

M. Buisman "Martijn Buisman" (Amsterdam, NL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Big Beat Heat: Alan Freed and the Early Years of Rock and Roll (Paperback)

This is a good book about the life of legendary DJ Alan Freed. His personal life, as a radio and tv host and as promotor of his own concerts around the east coast.

His failures seem to have caused his downfall, a terrible riot during a show in Boston for which he was indicted and also payola, receiving money to play records. Both cases cost him a lot of money and pain.

He was married three times, unfortunately the last two wives refused to talk to the author. Jackson says that his third wife Inga was also a heavy drinker, which did not help at all. He died in 1965, only 44 years old

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars explains a lot!, May 11, 2006

By 

Mark S. Crawford (Nashville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Big Beat Heat: Alan Freed and the Early Years of Rock and Roll (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book. Several personal stories about Alan Freed provide insight into his life. The writer does a good job of explaining the historical events/context that surrounded Freed's life. It's a shame Freed didn't live longer to see what he contributed to popular music.