The Cleveland disc jockey who introduced white teenagers to black rhythm and blues was Alan Freed. He is credited with popularizing the term "rock and roll" and was one of the first white DJs to play original rhythm and blues records by black artists for a mainstream white teenage audience. Freed's radio show in Cleveland, starting in the early 1950s, helped break down racial barriers in music by playing black R&B artists directly rather than cover versions by white artists. His efforts had a major impact on the rise of rock and roll music and its crossover appeal to white youth.