[161][162] The House of Hair with Dee Snider also airs on Sunday evenings. A federal offense, the act nearly cost WMMS its broadcasting license. [120] Meanwhile, ownership would change yet again as Nationwide Communications was bought out by Jacor in November 1997. "[86] From 1991 to 1993, WMMS served as the FM flagship for the Cleveland Browns, sharing coverage with then-sister WHK; the late Nev Chandler served as play-by-play announcer. Play-by-play announcers Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus call games on-site. [144] Rover's contract with CBS was set to expire, but it was an affiliate contract inherited from the Free FM stintCBS transferred him back to WKRK-FM after WCKG cancelled itand not a talent contract, thus he was not subject to a non-compete clause. Other artists that shared the main stage were No Doubt, Patti Rothberg, The Tragically Hip, 311, and the Holy Barbarians. WMMS does not air additional network programming. The show's big following has spawned an annual summer festival, Roverfest, which has been held in Lorain for the past three years. 26 memorable DJs and radio personalities from WMMS-FM's past: The Buzzard turns 50 This year, WMMS turns 50. After a brief relocation to Chicago in 2006, the show returned to Cleveland in 2008 to become a part of the morning programming at WMMS-FM/100.7, where it remains today. (Plain Dealer file photo), The legendary gravel-voiced, graveyard-shift DJ at WMMS-FM/100.7, Bill Lionel Freeman, is best known in Cleveland by his initials, "BLF." (Additional reporting by cleveland.com staff. Rover regularly takes calls throughout the show, and often interviews guests in studio and over the phone. [51], Among the most notorious broadcasts of The Howard Stern Show occurred on June 10, 1994. Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Detroit, St. Louis they ran another stations birthday party. Brian and Joe talk to Rob Thomas from Matchbox 20. [102], While the change in programming alienated many longtime listeners, many of whom switched to WNCX and their full-time classic rock format, WMMS boosted its ratings for the first time in years with a new, younger audience. For STP vocalist Scott Weiland, who spent time as a kid living in Bainbridge Township and attending grade school in Chagrin Falls, the concert was a homecoming experience and he referenced his time growing up in Northeast Ohio during his conversations with the crowd that evening. [146] Rover is under contract with WMMS through 2022. Kid Leo's boxing announcer themed introduction welcomed both the fans in the audience at the Cleveland Agora and the many more listening on the network radio broadcast, to the evening's "Main Event," the 10th anniversary concert celebration for WMMS, which would be hosted by The Boss himself, Bruce Springsteen. "Born to Run" was the essence of everything I loved about rock 'n' roll. On August 9, 1978, there was no hotter ticket in Cleveland. On February 9, 2010, the show aired "Parma State of Mind", both a parody of the Jay-Z/Alicia Keys hit "Empire State of Mind" and a way of continuing the Northeast Ohio tradition of poking fun at the Cleveland suburb. The short-lived music magazine featured a diverse mix of interviews, opinion pieces, album reviews, Buzzard playlists, concert listings and photos from station events. Regular segments include "The Shizzy", a daily news update; "Tech Tuesday", where listeners pose consumer electronics questions to an industry expert; and "The Thursday Hook-Up", a call-in dating game. [51] Like most early FM stations, WHK-FM mostly simulcast the Top 40 programming of its AM sister station. The first buzzard which has penned the name The Wrath of the Buzzard can be seen sitting atop a mushroom paying homage to the former logo along with the competitors call letters WGCL and WIXY grasped in its beak. Longtime radio newsman, Mike Olszewski worked over the years for WERE, WMMS, WNCX and WCLV. Since retiring from WDVE last year, he's been roaming the country by car. (Plain Dealer file photo), Halper worked as a DJ and music director for WMMS-FM/100.7 from 1973-75 and was instrumental in helping the band Rush land a record deal. Sanders eventually turned over the program director job to Gorman, too, and they were close partners in building the station into a powerhouse. He now runs his own music consulting business, LJT Entertainment, and is program director and an on-air host of "Underground Garage" on Sirius XM Radio. One day a co-worker overheard him ranting in the halls of the radio station and got the idea to feature him on the air with a salute to the weekend. Gorman has also written a book about his days at WMMS, "The Buzzard: Inside the Glory Days of WMMS and Cleveland Rock Radio." The flick which takes place in the 70s tells the story of a teenage boy who writes for Rolling Stone with the main focus being the rock band Stillwater. WHK-FM became one of a handful of commercial stations in the country to try that format, many of which were owned by MetroMedia. Danny Czekalinski and Darla Jaye teamed up in October 1997 with Liz Wilde holdover Cory Lingus (Cory Gallant) until August 1998. She now lives in Santa Monica, Calif. (Stile is pictured here, sitting next to Bruce Springsteen during his 1976 visit to the WMMS studios. chautauqua institution hotels; figs scrubs men; unexplained bruising on legs and hair loss. Cleveland's Rock Station, home of Rover's Morning Glory, The Alan Cox Show, and FM Home of Cleveland Guardians Baseball. He is also the curator and archivist for the Ohio Broadcast Archive and Museum, and now teaches media communications classes at Kent State University and the University of Akron. He worked a variety of record-industry jobs after that, becoming senior vice president of marketing at Chrysalis Records during the 1980s. Spero would go on to become one of Cleveland's early progressive-rock DJs, working first at WNCR and then at WMMS. She left in 1989 to work for Top 40 station WPHR-FM/107. Two of her audiobook projects were nominated for Grammy awards in the Best Spoken Word category. WMMS sponsored the concerts. [41] WMMS also lured popular morning personalities Brian Fowler and Joe Cronauer away from rival WENZthen also an alternative rock stationas the successors to Jeff and Flash (Jeff Kinzbach, Ed Ferenc) on The Buzzard Morning Zoo. (Plain Dealer file photo), A true radio renaissance man, Perlich got his start in the 1960s as host of syndicated Cleveland Orchestra radio broadcasts, interviewing everyone from Aaron Copland to Isaac Stern. Being one of the highest-rated radio stations in the country, he became the afternoon drive DJ in 1974, all the way until December of 1988 - which he then decided to part pays with Cleveland. WMMS is known for breaking artists like Bruce Springsteen, Rush, Fleetwood Mac and David Bowie, and for its Coffee Break Concerts that featured live performances by many of the top acts of the days, including Springsteen, U2, Cyndi Lauper and Warren Zevon. Mr. Leonard supposedly worked at the Buzzard, as the assistant public service director, but he was never able to make it into the office. Syndicated radio show Rover's Morning Glory blends biting commentary, ridiculous antics and discussions that would get most people fired. We all got to know Billy Bass pretty good. "I gotta blast this baby all the way to New Jersey," Springsteen quipped. Listen To The Most Popular Podcasts On iHeartRadio! Matt remains one of the most popular air personalities from WMMS' fifty year history. [141] Maxwell was known for having feuds with other radio personalities during the show's time at WMMS, including Rover of Rover's Morning Glory and fellow WTAM afternoon host Mike Trivisonno; by 2009, Maxwell had become the number one afternoon program in several key demographics. Today, he is the principal and chief content officer of WOW Media, LLC -- the parent company of oWOW. The Alan Cox Show is rated #1 in several key demographics, and readers of Cleveland Scene named Alan Cox the best Cleveland radio personality four straight years (201013). [44][45][46] Seven years later, members of the station's staff and management pleaded guilty to disrupting a national broadcast of The Howard Stern Show that originated via the local Stern affiliate, cross-town rival WNCX. The announcement came less than two weeks before the show. (Photo courtesy Lou Santini), Saul is best known the "Get Down Man," whose Friday afternoon riffs and rants on WMMS-FM/100.7 made him a local celebrity in the 1970s. In studio, WTAM sports director Mike Snyder hosts The Tip-Off Show, The Halftime Report, and The Nightcap Recap the network pregame, halftime, and postgame shows, respectively. The people who put it together aren't even smart enough to know where our city boundaries are." Widely regarded as one of the most influential rock stations in America throughout its history,[a][b][26][27] the station has also drawn controversy for unusually aggressive tactics both on and off the air. Weiland and STP were touring in support of No. Share this Story: UPDATE: Erika Lauren announced on Twitter Dec. 7 that she would not return to the Alan Cox Show in 2020. The broadcast consists entirely of talk, a mix of current events, pop culture, and stories from the staff. The Buzzard made its first appearance in a print ad in a magazine called Zeppelin. [134] Following Merluzzo's departure, senior vice president of programming for iHeartMedia's North Ohio region Keith Abrams was named as program director on December 4, 2017. In 1988 he left to work as an executive at Columbia Records, where he served until 2002. Win a Monster Zero Sugar prize pack from Circle K! Rolling Stone named WMMS "Best Radio Station" (Large Market) nine straight years (197987) as part of the magazine's annual Readers' Poll,[26] but the station admitted to stuffing the 1987 ballot following a February 1988 front-page story in The Plain Dealer exposing manipulation. Cleveland Magazine has called the show a "juggernaut", and readers of Cleveland Scene named Rover the best Cleveland radio personality in 2009, 2014, and 2015 (Scene had previously recognized either Rover or his show four straight years, from 2004 to 2007, all prior to the move to WMMS). "[83] Negative reaction was swift and widespread;[44][45] some called the scheme a mere "lack of judgement,"[44] while a reporter for the Akron Beacon Journal compared the station's response to that of discredited former Vice-president Spiro Agnew.[84]. "[110] Studios were moved again to a combined facility in the suburb of Independence, Ohio. In addition to Boom's deep pipes being used every hour in the Top of the hour ID's, station sweepers and commercials, he held two on-air shifts on the weekends which he coined the Boom 'till noon. Among the more significant moves taken by WMMS was the formatting of the morning zoo concept created by Z100's Scott Shannon onto the show Jeff & Flash (Jeff Kinzbach and Ed Ferenc) were already hosting. She worked there until 1999. [47][93] Stern continued on with the program over a phone line as engineers worked to quickly patch together the severed broadcast wire. Before FM took over the airwaves, before WMMS became the undisputed champ of Cleveland rock radio, WIXY 1260 AM ruled. Listen To The Most Popular Podcasts On iHeartRadio! "[66][67] Although never used on the air, listeners alternately knew the callsign as an acronym for "Weed Makes Me Smile" and "Magic MushroomS," the latter referencing the somewhat controversial logo used before the Buzzard. Some other possible meanings "Where Music Means Something" or "Weed Makes Me Smile". He was on WMMS for more than twenty years, and would end his show with, "Blue skies and green lights to ya. [131][132], In September 2007, WMMS management chose to "de-emphasize" both The Buzzard and WMMS call letters, referring to the station as simply "100.7", save for the FCC-mandated legal ID at the top of every hour. "Betty was one of the original . He also managed Grammy-winning R and B superstar Luther Vandross. Craig Ehlo. In 1958, both WHK and WHK-FM were sold to Metropolitan Broadcasting, itself renamed MetroMedia two years later. WMMS does not air additional network programming, and the station only airs select games during spring training. Warren Zevon, John Mellencamp, Lou Reed, Tim Buckley, Peter Frampton, and a host of others performed on the program over the years, recordings of which are still widely available as bootlegs. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Rover is pictured in the middle in the 2009 WMMS promo photo above with partners Dieter and Duji. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). At Bat only for streaming", "iHeart does not stream Indians games. As WMMS-FM/100.7 program director from 1973-86, Gorman led the Buzzard troops on a campaign of conquest that transformed an unknown, FM upstart into a rock 'n' roll powerhouse. [129][130] Radio & Records twice named WMMS "Rock Station of the Year: Markets 1-25" (200506) as part of the now defunct publication's annual Industry Achievement Awards. Win tickets to see Adam Sandler at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Win tickets to see Weezer at Blossom Music Center, Win tickets to see Disturbed at Blossom Music Center. His father, Herman, created Cleveland's legendary "Upbeat," an "American Bandstand"-style TV musical variety show which aired from 1964-71 and featured live performances of many of the great rock and pop acts of the era, from Simon and Garfunkel to Otis Redding. (Plain Dealer file photo), Matt Lapczinski, better known as "Matt The Cat," started at WMMS-FM/100.7 in 1974, fresh out of Cleveland State University. [119] Neumann defended the decision later as the right thing to have done, noting how alternative rock would eventually fade as a format several years later. The concert was broadcast on WMMS and an additional seven stations, reaching throughout the Midwest to Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Minneapolis and other markets and would eventually reach far beyond that radius, thanks to the many who were rolling tape to record the concert from their stereo. Joining the Chicago native are Cleveland area comedians Bill Squire and Mary Santora, and former intern-turned-phone-screener Cody (Poundcake) Brown. All we can do is hope to create something cool so that in 20 years people will say, 'Man, remember what WMMS used to be like? During this time, with Denny Sanders as his creative services director and Rhonda Kiefer as programming assistant, WMMS broke all Cleveland ratings and revenue records. Cleveland Police wearing riot gear were called in just as headliner Green Day took the stage. His current roster includes Kenny Loggins, Marc Cohn, Dicky Betts, Simon Kirke, Richie Furay and others. Hes heard introducing Bruce Springsteens fabled WMMS tenth anniversary show at the Cleveland Agora which is thought to have been the most bootlegged radio concert ever before its official release. "I think it's like a young nation, the changes of the times," said John Gorman, the station's program director during its 1970s and '80s Buzzard heyday. (Cleveland) - One of our co-workers in the IHeartMedia Cleveland newsroom has passed away. [170][171][172], WMMS has also served as the FM flagship station for the Cleveland Guardians Radio Network since 2013, again sharing network flagship status with AM sister station WTAM. Steve and Tom would always come up to the station and hang out with me. 100.7 WMMS Cleveland's Rock Station Follow Connect On Air Schedule The Alan Cox Show Live Corey Rotic 6:30 PM-12:00 AM Contests and Promotions We're Celebrating Women Who Make Music & Culture Download Our Free iHeartRadio App! At the same time, the music communicates frustration and a constant longing to escape. Of special note was the early support of Bruce Springsteen by Kid Leo and others, prior to the release of the Born to Run album. During a June 19, 2012 interview with Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, the show broke news of the delayed release for Music from Another Dimension!, the band's first studio album in eight years. We were very fortunate that at the right time, the people I had to report to liked what we were doing and encouraged us to keep on going.". February 7, 2021 WMMS. Jeff & Flash were also credited as being major contributors in bringing the Rock Hall to Cleveland, by heavily promoting on-air a USA Today reader poll to decide which city should get it.[82]. The show also drew national attention after holding a book burning party for Fifty Shades of Grey on July 8, 2012. After leaving WMMS, he moved to WMJI-FM/105.7, as program and operations director. WHK later became WMMS (Plain Dealer file photo), From 1971-1986, Sanders was the nighttime DJ at WMMS-FM/100.7, part of the original Buzzard crew that made the station a national rock 'n' roll legend. Condolences: Betty Korvan. "Round for round, pound for pound, there ain't no finer band around. Murray Saul joined the WMMS staff as a salesman. They were rewarded with a night that they would remember for the rest of their lives. 16 Times Riley Green Was The Hottest Bachelor On Instagram Nov 05, 2020. Alford was subsequently caught, arrested and later sentenced to ten days in jail and a $1,000 fine. John Gorman, Denny Sanders and Kid Leo organized the original campaign with Tunc Erim, assistant to Atlantic Records president Ahmet Ertegun. The call letters WMMS stand for "MetroMedia Stereo". [133] "Chris Tyler" Merluzzo, former program director for Providence's WHJY, took over for Bo Matthews as WMMS program director on February 17, 2014. Nighttimes, 1968-1970. Date unknown. The station also started to devote weekend programming to the classic rock format. [143] Born in Chicago but raised in Las Vegas, Rover worked for rock stations KISW in Seattle and KXPK in Denver prior to arriving in Cleveland. He influenced many listeners of the station and kept the momentum alive pushing new music into the ears and speakers of the audience of WMMS. He made his debut on WMMS in 1984. Named herself "The Screaming Queen Bitch." The average Radio Personality salary in Provo, Utah is $41,997 as of September 27, 2021, but the salary range typically falls between $33,686 and $55,388. In 1976, Bash began the tripped out tradition of playing Funkadelic Maggot Brain in its entirety every Saturday night at midnight. ', Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 19781984, List of programming syndicated by iHeartMedia, List of radio stations owned by iHeartMedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WMMS&oldid=1137903859, Active rock radio stations in the United States, Articles with dead external links from July 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, All articles with bare URLs for citations, Articles with bare URLs for citations from March 2022, Articles with PDF format bare URLs for citations, Articles with dead external links from February 2023, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with MusicBrainz place identifiers, Articles which contain graphical timelines, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, The Cleveland Plaza/Statler Office Tower (now, This page was last edited on 7 February 2023, at 00:47. He became a part of the heyday of WMMS, which included on-air personalities like Kid Leo, Denny Sanders, Matt the Cat, Betty Korvan, Len Goldberg and the BLF Bash. We never learned what Mr. Leonard looked like, he never discussed it on the air. Each daily call-in would include an excuse that was crazier than the last. Morning Show, Promotions Director KGGI. Ken Schneck. WMMS, WTAM and the other iHeart stations in Cleveland will get a new home this year. Arriving from Boston in Cleveland in September 1976, BLF was highly opinionated. February 11, 2020 Sean Collier, Photos by Becky Thurner Braddock Sean McDowell With time and freedom, longtime DJ Sean McDowell can't get off the road. [148][146][152][153][154][155], A devoted fan of heavy metal, Cox considers himself more of a comedian than a disc jockey. Here's what some of your favorite personalities from the past are up to now. (Lapczinski is at far right in this photo along with his Buzzword crewmates in the WMMS studios) (Plain Dealer file photo), Kid Leo, whose real name is Lawrence James Travagilante, ruled the Buzzard roost at WMMS for 16 years from 1973-1988. When I was in 12th grade I landed a job on the air at a radio station in Flint, Michigan. Today, she is a regular DJ on oWOW Radio on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons. Over the next twenty years Matt did mostly middays and hosted the weekly Coffee Break Concerts, likely introducing more concerts than anyone in Cleveland history. She later worked in radio promotion and sales in Chicago and New York. Stern's ratings exploded and this along with a growing urgency from management not to compete with or mention Stern on the air led to a sudden and steep ratings decline for The Buzzard Morning Zoo. His was the booming voice on the station's hourly IDs, music segues, sweepers, and commercials. The Buzzard became synonymous with WMMS, Cleveland radio and the city itself, spawning a series of T-shirts so numerous that they are now impossible to catalog, many with slogans like "Where Music Means Something" and "Ruler of the Airwaves.". On October 26, 2010, Rover hired a witch doctor to curse LeBron James after the NBA star left the Cleveland Cavaliers. On May 4, 1970 four students were killed by gunfire from the Ohio National Guard at Kent State University. [87] Unable to service its growing debt, Malrite chose to leave radio and sold off all its remaining properties in 1993:[37] WMMS went to Shamrock Broadcasting, the Roy Disney broadcasting firm. Widely regarded as one of the most influential rock stations in America throughout its history, the station has also drawn controversy for unusually aggressive tactics both on and off the air. [135] Former Lex and Terry producer Jason Carr was named the new WMMS assistant program director on February 1, 2018. 20 Country Women We Are Celebrating During International Women's Day Mar 01, 2021. Kid Leo was actively involved in the campaign in bringing the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to Cleveland - which lead to the mayor Geroge Voinovich granting him a key to the city in 1990. Goldfinger, The Refreshments, Triple Fast Action and others played the second stage at the top of the hill. [96] Gorman changed the WMMS format to alternative rock,[97] playing new acts like Nirvana, The Offspring, and Nine Inch Nails, on October 27. 100.7 WMMS Podcasts See All Playlists from 100.7 WMMS Latest News Right up until his departure in 1988, Kid Leo played "Born to Run" as his signature sign-off song every Friday night at 5:55 to kick off the weekend for area listeners. On March 30, 1946,[50] radio station WHK owned at that time by United Broadcasting Company, a subsidiary of Forest City Publishing, itself the parent company of The Plain Dealer launched an experimental FM station under the callsign W8XUB at 107.1 megahertz (MHz). Mike had been heard on a number of Cleveland radio stations over the years, putting in 40 years ol the air. Some of those artists were Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Pat Benatar, Roxy Music, Cyndi Lauper, The Pretenders, New York Dolls, and Southside Johnny. (Plain Dealer file photo), Maria Farina landed at WMMS in 1986 fresh out of Ohio University and quickly gained popularity. Contestants got a little crazy and ate everything from maggot sandwiches, piles of peoples left overs, urinal cakes and fish guts. Bryan Adams Agora photo credit: Janet Macoska, Sammy Hagar Odeon photo credit: Daune Raz. [91] As promised, Stern held a party for his fans on the streets of Cleveland a "Funeral" for his local rivals, much like similar events held in New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia and broadcast it nationwide. After being diagnosed with obscure condition known as POTS, the WMMS radio personality is searching for answers and working to put her life back in order. He returned to Cleveland radio in 1997, working at both WMJO-FM/105.7 and WZJM-FM/92.3. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. He soon left radio and became an artist manager, working with the likes of Joe Walsh, Michael Stanley, Ian Hunter, Harry Nilsson, Yusuf (Cat) Stevens, Eric Carmen and others. He briefly worked mid-days at the end of his career, but soon retired. Hughes returned briefly to WMMS in the 1990s for short stints on a new "Morning Zoo" and as an overnight DJ.
Rip Death Notices Monaghan,
Sims 4 Grannies Cookbook Recipes,
Most Expensive California Pinot Noir,
Articles W
