The rock and roll hall of fame is there because that's where rock and roll started. Its spread is credited to a Cleveland DJ, Alan Freed. His nickname was Moondog, hence "the Moondog Coronation Ball."
dang it. I figured the first rock concert was somewhere around Ohio, possibly Pennsylvania or New York, but I guessed just about every other city in Ohio and somehow forgot Cleveland...
I think Alan Freedman was based in Cleveland too. A lot of people credit him (though probably apocryphally) with coining the term "rock and roll." Regardless of whether he came up with the term, he was certainly the genre's earliest and most visible champion. As I type this, it occurs to me that I think his nickname was "Moon Dog," so the concert referenced in the clue was probably put on by him.
Freed did not invent the term "rock and roll"; it had been used for years by blues and R&B singers. And if you're not sure what it meant in that context, then, to quote the great Fats Waller, "If you don't know what it is, don't mess with it."
Some additional background info:
The original Moondog Coronation Ball was a concert organized by DJ Alan Freed in Cleveland in 1952 as a special event for his radio show. The concert was revived in 1992 by another Cleveland radio station and is now an annual event featuring old rock and roll groups. So - I live in NE Ohio but had no idea where the name "Moondog" came from until I read the comments on this quiz today. ;)
Is 1961 supposed to say eleven year old?
Might seem pedantic but I wasn't sure whether we were looking for someone who was 11 years old, had been playing for 11 years or if eleven year was the name of a type of piano, etc
Alan freed --took the fall for the payola scandal. Had the pleasure of growing up in New York City listening to him on 1010 WINS-AM radio in the 1950's. That is where I learned most of my Doo-Wop songs. He also had a TV dance show called The Big Beat. I do not think there are any copies of this show in existence. What a shame. He was a great DJ.
I know I've heard of Eurovision and seenbaome videos, usually as laughable Whiskey Tango Foxtrot clips on the internet, but I still googled it. This is why Jetpunkers are always told to google something if they don't know: the first result is Top 10 Eurovision entries from Cyprus.