Who was the first white DJ to play black R&B exclusively during his broadcasts and is recognized as the first to use the term rock 'n' roll?

• A. Alan Freed
• B. Dick Clark
• C. Wolfman Jack
• D. Casey Kasem

Answer: (A)

The idea being tested is who helped bring black rhythm and blues into the white radio audience and gave the music its name. Alan Freed did both. He was a white DJ who actively programmed R&B records for white listeners in the early 1950s and is widely credited with coining the term rock ’n’ roll on-air, helping to label and popularize the sound that would become the rock revolution. His shows in Cleveland and later New York exposed many teens to artists like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and others who were recording R&B but hadn’t yet broken into the broader market. This combination of cross-over radio exposure and the naming of the genre is what set Freed apart.

Dick Clark later became a beacon of mainstream rock with American Bandstand and helped shape teen culture, but he didn’t originate the on-air promotion of black R&B to white audiences or coin the term rock ’n’ roll. Wolfman Jack became famous for his distinctive persona and late-night presence, not for pioneering the initial cross-over or the naming. Casey Kasem is known for popularizing the Top 40 countdown in later years, not for the early pivotal work of introducing R&B to white listeners or naming the genre.