(Alan Freed (center) With Jackie Wilson and Jimmy Clanton - Rock n' Roll wasn't going to go away)
In 1957, when this CBS Radio Program first aired, the writing was on the wall that Rock n' Roll wasn't going anywhere and the Networks and advertisers scrambled to be part of it. Since radio as it was known since its inception was gasping its last by the late 1950s, networks such as CBS tried to appeal to a new, younger and hipper audience. And since Alan Freed was crowned "The King Of Rock N' Roll", what better personality to get to christen a new era in radio broadcasting? Still looking for the right formula, CBS and advertiser Camel Cigarettes devoted a half hour to live in-studio appearances by the hit makers of the time. Count Basie was a regular and this episode features songs by Faye Adams and The Robins, who had just released Cherry Lips on Whippett some weeks earlier.
A very rare show that is actually a rehearsal (no live audience) before the final run was aired, it offers a fascinating glimpse of a time in transition when musical tastes were changing and there was still an air of charming naivete before the Payola scandals put a dent in the party. And years before anyone even remotely considered smoking to be bad for your health. History is funny that way.
