Subscribe Now To Listen Your Favorite Songs On Demand! [26] Station employees went on to take director and executive-level positions in the recording industry, namely with labels RCA, Mercury, and Columbia. The Cleveland Free Clinic staffed aid stations in the stadium with physicians, nurses and other volunteers, and through 1977, made its treatment statistics public. We all got to know Billy Bass pretty good. Since leaving Cleveland in the 1990s, she has worked in radio in various big-city markets, including Philadelphia and Phoenix. Seth's Big Fat Barbarian Wedding - August 19th, 2005 at Shooters on the Water. In 1988 The Plain Dealer printed a story which said the employees of WMMS had stuffed the ballot box to reign as 10 year champions. After two years, Cox left The Loop to begin his own radio show. Radio Daze: Stories from the Front in Clevelands FM Air Wars by Mike Olszewski (Kent State University Press), Cleveland Radio Tales by Mike & Janice Olszewski (Gray & Co., Publishers). The station claimed it was simply "a marketing strategy" and "much in line with what many stations did. Win tickets to The Sonic Temple Art and Music Festival, Radio Daze: Stories from the Front in Clevelands FM Air Wars, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. [52] On November 13, 1947, the new FM station transitioned from experimental to commercial status; increased its power; and changed its callsign to WHKX. (Plain Dealer file photo), First woman on radio in Cleveland as a morning-drive time DJ at WNCR-FM/99.5 and WMMS-FM/100.7. The phallic like logo depicted a large mushroom with a little elf hanging out smoking a joint. 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.". Sanders was instrumental in WMMS' rise. Photo: Courtesy of John Gorman), One of the young DJs legendary WMMS program director John Gorman brought to the Buzzard when he took over again as WMMS chief in the early 1990s. Buzzard-Palooza was the first of these: held in July 1994 at the Nautica Stage, the all-day concert included sets from Collective Soul, Junkhouse and Fury in the Slaughterhouse,[111] but was cut short after turning into a "rock-and-bottle-throwing melee." He came to the Agora armed with a new album, Darkness on the Edge of Town. She remained with the station until 1995. Before FM took over the airwaves, before WMMS became the undisputed champ of Cleveland rock radio, WIXY 1260 AM ruled. One lucky WMMS listener won a Harley Davidson signed by Sammy Hagar! Based on considerably high record sales in the Cleveland market, Bowie (in his Ziggy Stardust persona alongside The Spiders from Mars) kicked off his first U.S. tour in "The Rock Capital" (a term coined by Bass). 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. Hughes returned briefly to WMMS in the 1990s for short stints on a new "Morning Zoo" and as an overnight DJ. He now works for Progressive Insurance. Rolling Stone named WMMS "Radio Station of the Year" nine straight years (197987) as part of its annual Readers' Poll, but a February 1988 front-page story in The Plain Dealer revealed station employees had stuffed the annual survey's ballot box for the 1987 poll to allow for the possibility of a tenth straight win the following year. Contrary to what many believe, the choice of the second Malrite logo had nothing to do with Buzzard Day, the annual "folksy event" held in Hinckley Township, Ohio. [58][59] During this time, WMMS used slogans derived from its call sign: first as "Music Means Satisfaction", and later as the place "Where Music Means Something". Past show members at WMMS include, Ryan Hoppe, Scott Taylor (now a reporter at WJLA in Washington, DC, Kaitlin Geosano, and Rob Garguilo. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WMMS broadcasts over two HD Radio channels and is available online via iHeartRadio. Denny Sanders came to WMMS in 1971 from Boston where hed been working as a DJ from the time he was just 16 years old. Other stations carried their birthday show. Ross Brittain temporarily filled in prior to the arrival of The Brian and Joe Radio Show on the Buzzard Morning Zoo, hosted by Brian Fowler and Joe Cronauer. The two went their separate ways in 2011. He was vice president of education and public programs at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum from 2000-2003. Ken Schneck. Joining the Chicago native are Cleveland area comedians Bill Squire and Mary Santora, and former intern-turned-phone-screener Cody (Poundcake) Brown. (Plain Dealer file photo). This second show sold out immediately, and was held at the city's largest venue: Cleveland Public Hall.[63]. Spero would go on to become one of Cleveland's early progressive-rock DJs, working first at WNCR and then at WMMS. He now works as a stand-up comedian, actor and writer. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Additionally, Rover was the Midwest replacement for Howard Stern under CBS's Free FM branding concept following Stern's move to Sirius Satellite Radio in 2006, originating from Chicago's WCKG. [112] WMMS scheduled a second Green Day performance just two months later this time at Blossom Music Center and at a near-record-low cost of $5 per ticket, the station gave fans a "second chance" to see the band live. "[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. (Plain Dealer file photo), A DJ and music director at WMMS-FM/100.7 from 1974-78. "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. (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. Yes, the station had lost its way for a bit, but MMS was the standard. Gorman credits his decision to leave to changes in management, and the station's overall shift to a more "corporate" mentality. Belkin Productions staged these events, attracting popular hard rock bands and as many as 88,000 fans. 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. The station continued to decline during the ownership transition from Malrite to Shamrock; then Shamrock sold both WMMS and WHK to OmniAmerica, a broadcasting company run by former Malrite executives Carl Hirsch and Dean Thacker, which already owned oldies station WMJI. The band clearly enjoyed performing on Nautica's stage, right next to the waterfront, with Weiland stopping at one point to point out the large boats that were passing by. [51] In order to firmly establish a separate identity, and to reflect the station's ownership,[55] the WHK-FM callsign was changed to WMMS on September 28, 1968. The very first logo to ever be created for WMMS was a red and white rainbow. [90] Stern had arrived on the Cleveland airwaves less than two years earlier, and in that time took his syndicated program on rival WNCX from an Arbitron ranking of thirteen to number one. Nighttimes, 1968-1970. [120] Finally, The Bob & Tom Show aired in the time slot from 2006 until April 2008. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It's a big birthday for The Buzzard. WHK-FM became one of a handful of commercial stations in the country to try that format, many of which were owned by MetroMedia. [115][116], The next of these multi-act shows, simply titled BuzzardFest, was held in May 1996 at Blossom Music Center and featured performances from 311 and No Doubt, along with Candlebox, The Nixons, Goldfinger, Gods Child, Dash Rip Rock, Holy Barbarians, and Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip. [103] Despite signs of success, the stations were sold again in 1996: WMMS went to Nationwide Communications,[105] while WHK went to Salem Communications. Ferenc also has a small advertising agency called Flashpoint. [96][98] Billboard and Airplay Monitor magazines together named WMMS Rock Station of the Year (Medium Market) in 1995,[103] and Modern Rock Station of the Year (Medium Market) in 1996. 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. Win tickets to The Sonic Temple Art and Music Festival, 'People Magazine' Hits Newsstands On This Date in 1974, We're Celebrating Women Who Make Music & Culture. [148][149] All other air talent heard on WMMS is provided via iHeartMedia's "Premium Choice" voice-tracking service. Created in April 1974 as "an ironic twist on Cleveland's down-and-out reputation as a decaying Rust Belt city," the station's longtime promotional mascot has been an anthropomorphic "Buzzard" cartoon character. ", WMMS-FM---FREEMAN,-Bill-'BLF-Bash'--(Date-Unknown). The concert series continued on well into the 1990s and early 2000s, albeit much less frequently.[64][65]. They worked together on four different stations in the Cleveland/Akron area over the years: WONE-FM/97.5, WENZ-FM/107.9, WMMS-FM/100.7 and WMVX-FM/106.5. [142], On April 3, 2009, The Maxwell Show went on the air claiming that Metallicain Cleveland for the 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony the very next daywas playing a free show in the WMMS parking lot later that evening. The Alan Cox Show is a daily talk show on 100.7 WMMS in Cleveland hosted by Alan Cox with co-hosts Bill Squire, Mary . Perlich is second from right in the photo above, kickin' it with the WHK crew, circa 1968. As WMMS celebrates the anniversary, both on-air and online, using archival audio, memorabilia and station-related artifacts to offer a cross-section of the station's diverse history and the. [60] Sounds described the station programming at this time as "totally off-the-wall in its choice of records, playing anything it liked. EC horror comics, Fritz the Cat, Rocky and Bullwinkle, and Looney Tunes all served as inspirations for the "bird of prey with attitude" concept. The station was known as "The Home of the Buzzard" at first. Photos. "I gotta blast this baby all the way to New Jersey," Springsteen quipped. [47] Owned by Malrite Communications from 1972 to 1993, subsequent consolidation in the radio industry saw WMMS change ownership five times in seven years, and has been in iHeartMedia's portfolio (originally under the Clear Channel name) since 1999. In the trailer for the new show the character Barry, played by Bill Hader is wearing a vintage WMMS shirt. [104] John Gorman was named Program Director of the Year (Rock) in 1995. Candlebox headlined the 2 stage show at Blossom Music Center on May 18, 1996. [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. [56], MetroMedia found major success with progressive rock at KMET Los Angeles, KSAN San Francisco, WMMR Philadelphia and WNEW-FM New York, but a lack of commitment from MetroMedia led the company to drop the format at WMMS by May 1969. During the 1990s, he applied the same, take-no-prisoners promotion, programming and marketing strategy as operations manager of WMJI-FM/105.7, pushing the oldies station to the top of the radio ratings. During the 20th anniversary broadcast, Mike Olszewski, along with Jeff & Flash, spoke with Wally Bryson of the Raspberries and one of the National Guardsmen. They brought pleasure to the average Clevelanders workday with segments like Token Jokes of the Morning, Spousal Arousal and Blow Something Up. Owned by iHeartMedia . 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. 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. 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