How the world's first rock concert ended in chaos
Sixty years ago the world's first rock concert was staged in Cleveland by two men whose passion for music bridged the racial divide in a segregated US.
Jimmy Sutphin was playing poker and drinking beer in a hotel room with some hockey team pals when they heard the commotion outside.
Peering out of the fifth-floor window, they saw thousands of people besieging the indoor arena across the road.
The 20-year-old student and his friends abandoned their card game and piled downstairs to investigate.
It was Friday evening, 21 March 1952, in Cleveland, Ohio, and they were about to witness history being made.
Chaos
The world's first ever rock concert - the Moondog Coronation Ball - was about to end in turmoil after it had barely begun.
Audience members were apparently surprised to discover Alan Freed was white
Headlining the Moondog Coronation Ball that night 60 years ago was
Paul Williams and his Hucklebuckers, supported by Tiny Grimes and his
Rockin' Highlanders, the Dominoes, Varetta Dillard and Danny Cobb.
Tickets were $1.50.
One of the few photos from the event shows the men in flannel suits, saddle shoes and fedora hats, while the immaculately coiffed women wear dresses with pinched-in waists and high heels.
One of the few photos from the event shows the men in flannel suits, saddle shoes and fedora hats, while the immaculately coiffed women wear dresses with pinched-in waists and high heels.
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