American Hot Wax

1959. New York City. The battleground was Rock and Roll. It was the beginning of an era. You shoulda been there.

A spirited historical drama about a pioneering disc jockey's rise and fall amid the cultural and commercial battles over rock and roll in 1950s America.

This is the story loosely based on Cleveland disc jockey Alan Freed, who introduced rock'n'roll to teenage American radio audiences in the 1950s. Freed was a source of great controversy: criticized by conservatives for corrupting youth with the "devil's music"; hated by racists for promoting African American music for white consumption; persecuted by law enforcement officials and finally brought down by the "payola" scandals.