Alan Freed's Coronation Ball, May 1954

   Alan Freed's show, a dance at Newark's Sussex Avenue Armory on May 1, 1954, drew so many kids there was no room to dance. Morever, a quarter of the audience was white.

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   In May 1954, Alan Freed traveled to Newark, New Jersey where he held the "Eastern Moondog Coronation Ball" at the Sussex Avenue Armory in Newark. It was Freed's first personal appearance in the New York area. Among the R&B artists who appeared there were: Buddy Johnson and his orchestra and vocalist Ella Johnson; The Clovers, a vocal quartet; Roost Bonnemera and his Mambo Band; Nolan Lewis, Mercury recording star; Sam Butera, jazz saxophonist; Muddy Waters, blues guitar player; the Harptones; and Charles Brown. A crowd of some 11,000 came out for Freed's Newark show. RCA Victor recorded the entire show for use on a special Moondog album. 'Our World' magazine also covered the event in a featured pictorial story.

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   10,000 fans attend Alan Freed's first east coast Rock 'n' Roll Show held in Newark New Jersey, featuring the Clovers and Harptones. The success of it outside Freed's base of operations in Cleveland is further proof that rock 'n' roll has national appeal.

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