Albert James "Alan" Freed (December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965), also known as Moondog, was an American disc-jockey who became internationally known for promoting African-American rhythm and blues music on the radio in the United States and Europe under the name of rock and roll. His career was destroyed by the payola scandal that hit the broadcasting industry in the early 1960s.

Freed was born in New Castle, Pennsylvania to Maud Palmer, age 22, and Charles S. Freed, age 28. In 1933, Freed's family moved to Salem, Ohio (Charles and Maude Freed and three sons, including Al J., were already in Salem, Perry Township, Columbiana County, Ohio, for the April, 1930, U.S. Federal Population Census), where Freed attended Salem High School, graduating in 1940. While Freed was in high school, he formed a band called the Sultans of Swing in which he played the trombone. Freed's initial ambition was to be a bandleader; however, an ear infection put an end to this dream. While in college, Freed became interested in radio. Soon after World War II, Freed landed broadcasting jobs at smaller radio stations, including WKST (New Castle, PA), WKBN (Youngstown, OH), and WAKR (Akron, OH), where, in 1945, he became a local favorite for playing hot jazz and pop recordings.

While Freed called himself the "father of rock and roll", he was not the first to play it on the airwaves; however, he is credited with coining and popularizing the term "rock and roll" to describe the style of music. Many of the top African-American performers of the 1950s have given public credit to Freed for pioneering racial integration among the youth of America at a time when the adults were still promoting racial strife. Little Richard has given the credit to Freed that others have denied him. An example of Freed's non-racist attitude is preserved in the motion pictures starring many of the leading African-American acts of the day in which he played a part as himself. For example, in the 1956 film Rock, Rock, Rock, Freed, as himself, tells the audience that "Rock and roll is a river of music that has absorbed many streams: rhythm and blues, jazz, rag time, cowboy songs, country songs, folk songs. All have contributed to the big beat."