The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has evicted the remains of Alan Freed, who coined the name of the music genre.
Freed rose to fame as a disc jockey in Cleveland, Ohio, where he hosted the Moondog Coronation Ball, the first major rock and roll concert. Both contributions led to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame setting down roots in the northeast Ohio city, where Freed's cremated ashes have remained since 2002.
That is, until now. Freed's oldest son Lance was contacted by Rock Hall President and CEO Greg Harris several months ago, offering to return the ashes to the Freed family.
"He said, 'Look, Lance, there's something strange, people walk past the exhibit and your dad's ashes and they scratch their heads and can't figure out what this thing is, and we'd like you to come pick up the ashes," Lance told the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
The son of the famed radio DJ arrived six weeks later, after consulting with his family about where to place his father's remains, which will most likely be placed in a Cleveland cemetery. The ashes were formerly held at the Ferncliff Memorial Mausoleum in Hartsdale, New York after Alan's death in 1965, according to the Alan Freed website. He died of kidney failure at the age of 43.
The Hall of Fame inducted Alan in 1986 with other first class members including Elvis Presley, Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, James Brown, Ray Charles and Sam Cooke. A pair of his microphones will remain on-site to honor his contribution to music.
"First and foremost, not all of [Freed's artifacts] are being moved out of the museum," Harris told the Plain Dealer, adding that it was the family's plan to have them brought back at some point. "We planned on returning them all along."
The remaining artifacts are being moved to the Hall's lower level display, where they'll become part of the chronological history of rock 'n' roll. It's a move the younger Freed doesn't think will do enough to honor his father.
"It's pushing him to the side," Lance said. "It's making him part of the passing parade, rather than a place where people can say, 'Hey this is the guy who helped start it all.'"
The ashes were taken off display on Aug. 1.
