ABSTRACT
One of the ways in which the media asserted control over rock ’n’ roll in the 1950s was through its depictions of the music’s young audience. Often presented as a homogenous crowd, or simply a haven for delinquency, rock ’n’ roll fans were rarely accorded any agency within the mainstream press. Most notably Jeff Greenfield describes the ways in which radio and live performances served to create an imagined community, unifying a disparate group of young rock ’n’ roll fans, separated by class, race, and ethnicity. Much of Greenfield’s article describes the important role of Alan Freed, the disc jockey often credited with popularizing the phrase “rock and roll.” Greenfield, a New York mayoral speechwriter who would later go on to a distinguished career as a political commentator, touches on a number of points. The first performance that Greenfield attended, during “Washington’s Birthday of 1957,” was part of a ten-day marathon run of shows that attracted a total 65,000 spectators.
