Despite high ratings, New York's WNBC Radio famously fired the controversial "shock jock" after a little over three years on the air. Stern would eventually take his show to satellite radio and go on to become one of the most successful radio personalities of all time.
Freed, a DJ pioneer, played a mix of blues, country and R&B. What did he call it? Rock and roll! Freed arranged live concerts attended by racially mixed audiences in the 1950s — a breakthrough at the time. He also appeared in several movies.
California's Ray Newby was a 16-year-old college student when he played records from a small transmitter. This predated the term "disc jockey," which wasn't used until decades later.