WABC radio fired DJ Alan Freed on November 21, 1959 after
he refused to sign a FCC statement denying that he had
accepted money for promoting records, a practice known
as "payola."
While WABC cited its "contractual right to terminate," the
dismissal happened amid a larger payola scandal that
ultimately ruined his career.
Albert James "Alan" Freed
(December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965)
The Payola scandal reaches a new level of public prominence
and legal gravity on this day 1960, when President Eisenhower
called it an issue of public morality and the FCC proposed a
new law making involvement in Payola a criminal act.
What exactly was Payola? During the hearings conducted by Congressman Oren Harris (D-Arkansas) and his powerful
Subcommittee on Legislative Oversight—fresh off its inquiry
into quiz-show rigging—the term was sometimes used as a
blanket reference to a range of corrupt practices in the radio
and recording industries.
But within the music business, Payola referred specifically to
a practice that was nearly as old as the industry itself: making
popular hits by paying for radio play.
Dwight David Eisenhower
(October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969)
Albert James "Alan" Freed
(December 15, 1921 – January 20, 1965)
In 1960, payola was made illegal. In December 1962, after
being charged on multiple counts of commercial bribery,
Freed pled guilty to two counts of commercial bribery,
fined three hundred dollars and was given a suspended
sentence.
