Grit, Noise, and Revolution: The Birth of Detroit Rock 'n' Roll

3. Freewheelin’ in the Motor City

3. Freewheelin’ in the Motor City Detroit’s rock music scene in the middle to late 1950s was in its infancy, spread out among a handful of local clubs; small recording studios; record, distribution, and management companies; and colorful radio, TV, and promotion personalities. Radio deejays became the ‹rst real rock stars, repackaging rhythm and blues as rock ’n’ roll for a hungry audience of white teenagers. Detroit’s ‹rst superstar deejay had been Ed McKenzie, better known to the bobby-soxers of the late 1940s as “Jack the Bellboy.” Starting in 1945, the former engineer and staff announcer had started to mix in some of the “boogie-woogie” music by “Negro artists” on his new afternoon pop show on WJBK radio. As a result, he took some heat from the establishment. More importantly, he won the hearts and minds of the white teenage audience who were tiring of Perry Como, Doris Day, and the Andrews Sisters. Kids were craving the beat music of Louie Jordan, Roy Brown, Wynonnie Harris, and other “Harlem Hit Parade” favorites. The “Bellboy,” broadcasting from “Swoon Boulevard and Jive Alley,” mixed them all together and embraced a “rock ’n’ roll attitude” before there was rock ’n’ roll. While the microphone was open he would take what he thought was a really terrible record and break it against the wall or send it ›ying into the trash can. Teenagers identi‹ed with the rebellious behavior of “J the BB,” as many fans referred to him, and his popularity soared.1 Ed moved his afternoon show to WXYZ in February 1952, but six months later, a lawsuit ‹led by WJBK prevented him from using his “Jack the Bellboy nom d’air.”2 Despite the loss, McKenzie’s popularity grew even greater. By 1954 he was also hosting a big two-hour music variety show called Ed McKenzie’s Saturday Party, which aired from noon to two on channel 7. Ed would ask the teenage audience their opinions on new records and have them 18 vote on a talent contest each week. Besides appearances by pop and rock artists, ranging from Eddie Fisher to Chuck Berry, McKenzie also featured many of the great names in jazz on this in›uential program. On the radio dial, Ed was getting some competition from Robin Seymour’s Bobbin’ with Robin show each afternoon over WKMH. It was Seymour, who after seeing Johnnie Ray perform at the Flame Show Bar in April 1951, brought him to the attention of Columbia Records. The emotionally charged singer forged a link in the development of rock ’n’ roll, starting with “Cry,” released on Okeh, Columbia’s “race” label. By 1956 kids were lining up for the deejay’s big stage shows at the Riviera Theater, billed as “Robin Seymour’s Original Rock ’n’ Roll Revue.” Chuck Berry along with Frankie Lyman and the Teenagers headlined the ‹rst show.3 Black rhyming deejay “Frantic” Ernie Durham was “your ace from inner space with the swingingest show on the ra-di-o,” nightly on ethnic station WJLB. A former newsman who held a master’s degree in journalism, Durham had gotten hooked on the music side of radio after ‹lling in for a disc jockey in New York. Ernie picked up his “Frantic” tag when, while working for WBBC in Flint, he also started broadcasting at WJLB. As his closing theme was playing in Flint, Durham would frantically race to Detroit, arriving just as his opening theme began.4 Mickey Shorr was a larger-than-life personality hired to do the evening show at WJBK in June 1955. On a tip from a record plugger named Nat Tarnapol, Shorr was urged to “get with rock ’n’ roll.”5 His hip delivery and code words, such as “pavolia” (be safe and be cool) and the “time tellin’ mo-chine” (clock), quickly made him a favorite with Detroit teens. Shorr became the ‹rst deejay in town to play an Elvis Presley record, spinning the Sun recording of “Mystery Train” in September 1955.6 On a newspaper promotion for his January 1956 “Rock ’n’ Rollorama” stage show at the Fox Theater, the six-foot, four-inch Shorr was billed as “WJBK’s Rock ’n’ Roll Deejay.” That show, featuring acts such as the Cadillacs, the Cleftones, and Detroit’s Royal Jokers broke the house record for revenue at the Fox.7 By April 1956, Shorr had become so identi‹ed with rock ’n’ roll that WJBK ‹red him after receiving...