In 1973 WMMS unveiled a new logo The Mushroom. Past affiliates at WMMS include WAMX/Huntington, WMFS-FM/Memphis, WNDE/Indianapolis, WXEG/Dayton, WRXS/Columbus, and the now defunct Extreme Talk. Goldfinger, The Refreshments, Triple Fast Action and others played the second stage at the top of the hill. [51] Like most early FM stations, WHK-FM mostly simulcast the Top 40 programming of its AM sister station. One of their biggest contributions to our fine city was spearheading a grass roots effort to get the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame here in Cleveland. 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. [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. Here's what some of your favorite personalities from the past are up to now. [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. Sanders eventually turned over the program director job to Gorman, too, and they were close partners in building the station into a powerhouse. It was the perfect way to keep the party rolling. Gorman has also written a book about his days at WMMS, "The Buzzard: Inside the Glory Days of WMMS and Cleveland Rock Radio." [161][162] The House of Hair with Dee Snider also airs on Sunday evenings. wmms radio personalities. 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. In September 1995, he was hired to do nights at WRKR-FM in Kalamazoo, MI. WMMS-HD2, which relays its signal over low-power FM translator W256BT (99.1 FM), is the Cleveland affiliate for iHeart's all-news oriented Black Information Network. Springsteen and the band hit the stage full throttle, opening appropriately with a cover of "Summertime Blues," with Springsteen promising, "I'm a gonna raise a fuss/ I'm a gonna raise a holler.". "[110] Studios were moved again to a combined facility in the suburb of Independence, Ohio. 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.". (Plain Dealer file photo), A DJ at WMMS-FM/100.7 in the 1980s, Stein went on to work in programming at Westwood One and Launch Radio Networks. The short-lived music magazine featured a diverse mix of interviews, opinion pieces, album reviews, Buzzard playlists, concert listings and photos from station events. He joined the station in early 1972 before its sale to Malrite, and stayed in different capacities until 2004. Owned by iHeartMedia . Bryan Adams Agora photo credit: Janet Macoska, Sammy Hagar Odeon photo credit: Daune Raz. ukrainian military patches; silicone sealant disadvantages; wmms radio personalities; June 22, 2022 . She has written several books, including "Boston Radio: 1920-2010." (Scott is far right in the photo above, in the WMMS studio with Ed Kinzbach, Ed "Flash" Ferenc and Kenny Clean.) Play-by-play itself is also limited to over-the-air FM; due to league restrictions, the WMMS webcast on iHeartRadio does not stream play-by-play coverage online. [33][34], Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, WMMS had a stable of personalities that remained fundamentally unchanged,[26][27] attained a dominant market share in the local ratings[27][35][36][37] and posted market record-high figures "never duplicated by any other Cleveland radio station since. GLAAD is calling on Clear Channel and Cleveland radio station WMMS to suspend radio personality Dominic Dieter for telling a father to essentially arrange for his daughter to be raped if he suspects she's gay. Win a Monster Zero Sugar prize pack from Circle K! He now works as a stand-up comedian, actor and writer. The concert series continued on well into the 1990s and early 2000s, albeit much less frequently.[64][65]. [135] Former Lex and Terry producer Jason Carr was named the new WMMS assistant program director on February 1, 2018. [107][108][109][110], During this time, WMMS held a series of sold-out rock festivals that featured many of the new up-and-coming artists receiving station airplay. She later worked in radio promotion and sales in Chicago and New York. John Gorman, Denny Sanders and Kid Leo organized the original campaign with Tunc Erim, assistant to Atlantic Records president Ahmet Ertegun. Arriving from Boston in Cleveland in September 1976, BLF was highly opinionated. Craig Ehlo. There's proof! 'MMS listener favorites like Green Day, Letters to Cleo, Everclear, Better Than Ezra, Alice in Chains, Garbage and Silverchair were just a few of the bands featured in Buzzard Bone. Play-by-play announcers Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus call games on-site. [96] Gorman changed the WMMS format to alternative rock,[97] playing new acts like Nirvana, The Offspring, and Nine Inch Nails, on October 27. [145] WMMS itself also airs The Rover Rewind, a weekly recap show on Saturday mornings. what are the non legislative powers of congress. [152][156][157][158], Comedian Chad Zumock was a co-host until his dismissal on December 3, 2012, after being arrested for driving while intoxicated;[159] Zumock was acquitted of the charge on May 3, 2013. He stayed at WMMS until 1992, moving then to WNCX-FM/98.5 and WDOK-FM/102.1. [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. With Lou Reed. Born in Belgium, but raised in Cleveland and Maple Heights, Matt the Cat Lapczynski was a radio fan from an early age. While both Rover and Alan Cox are primarily "hot talk" programs, rock music airs during regular middays, nights, overnights, weekends and online during Cavaliers and Guardians play-by-play. [120], Co-hosts Duji (Susan Catanese) and Dominic Dieter each worked on Rover's Morning Glory before the move to WMMS; since then, the show has expanded to include sound engineer Chocolate Charlie (Mike Toomey), phone screener Mattitude/Flatitude (Matt Novick), Video Anthony Snitzer, Producer Dumb (Shaun Street) and former intern Jeffrey LaRocque. On May 4, 1970 four students were killed by gunfire from the Ohio National Guard at Kent State University. (Additional reporting by cleveland.com staff. With content being supplied by journalists and WMMS personnel, it was the perfect companion to what WMMS was doing on air at the time with a focus on the new bands and artists of the alternative music era. (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. Murray Saul joined the WMMS staff as a salesman. Goldfinger, The Refreshments, Triple Fast Action and others played the second stage at the top of the hill. A major contributor to the ratings success was an airstaff that remained fundamentally unchanged for many years: personalities like Kid Leo, Jeff & Flash, Matt the Cat, Dia Stein, Denny Sanders, Murray Saul, Debbie Ullman, Betty "Crash" Korvan, Ruby Cheeks (Debra Luray), BLF Bash (Bill Freeman), TR (Tom Renzy) and the late Len "Boom" Goldberg were invaluable to the station's popularity. Students were protesting the bombing of Cambodia by the United States Armed Forces. Matt was part of the early days at Cleveland State Universitys radio operation that only broadcast to the cafeteria, but soon after he got in on the ground floor of WMMS during its eventual transition to the Buzzard. Since leaving Cleveland in the 1990s, she has worked in radio in various big-city markets, including Philadelphia and Phoenix. 1," released in 1999. Later, he worked as Senior Marketing and Sales Strategist for Telos Alliance, a local technology firm that designs and manufactures audio equipment. 20 Country Women We Are Celebrating During International Women's Day Mar 01, 2021. 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). 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. [71], From the onset, Helton's streamlined artwork resulted in an aggressive, yet family-friendly symbol for the station, one that continues to endure more than 40 years later. 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. They were rewarded with a night that they would remember for the rest of their lives. Boom also spent time on the Buzzard Morning Zoo and filled in during other air shifts. [72] Rather, WMMS adopted a buzzard as its mascot in April 1974 because of the then tenuous economic state of Cleveland less than five years away from becoming the first major American city to enter into default since the Great Depression[73] and the winged-creature's classification as a scavenger. [74] Of all the personalities that worked at WMMS, Len "Boom" Goldberg remained the longest. It's about an ex-Marine who is a hitman in the Midwest on March 25th. grand wailea pool menu; under armour ignite slides waterproof. "The station, like any radio station, it really reflects the people who are running it and the ownership of the station. Mr. Leonard supposedly worked at the Buzzard, as the assistant public service director, but he was never able to make it into the office. The company will move its regional office, including nine stations, downtown from the suburbs. 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. 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. 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). In November 1972, WMMS was sold to Malrite Communications, a Michigan-based firm that relocated to Cleveland upon purchase. [39][40] Noted filmmakers, including Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous) and Paul Schrader (Light of Day), have called on both TheBuzzard and its personnel while preparing for various rock-themed productions. Goldberg is at right in the photo above, with Jeff Kinzbach in the WMMS studio. Under Malrite ownership, WMMS would become an album-oriented rock (AOR) powerhouse, much in the same vein as its former MetroMedia progressive rock siblings. The second logo, first one in print, used by WMMS was the Tongue Logo. Hughes returned briefly to WMMS in the 1990s for short stints on a new "Morning Zoo" and as an overnight DJ. (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." Rumor has it that WMMS had ballots printed so the public could fill them out at various events. [148][149][143][150], Radio personality Alan Cox, formerly host of The Morning Fix at WKQX/Chicago and The Alan Cox Radio Show at WXDX-FM/Pittsburgh, took over weekday afternoons as host of The Alan Cox Show on December 16, 2009. 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. 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. Denny Sanders & Fred Griffith. WMMS was directly influenced by then and current sister station WHTZ/New York (Z100), which rose to the top of the ratings books immediately after installing a contemporary hit radio (CHR) format. 50 Of The Longest-Lasting Celebrity Relationships Jun 09, 2022. The team did later relocate to Cleveland, but lasted only a few months until an acrimonious breakup between Wolf and Mulrooney. He was vice president of education and public programs at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum from 2000-2003. 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. She was among the first DJs to put the group's seven-minute opus, "Working Man," into regular rotation. A comedic mainstay of the morning show at WMMS-FM/100.7 for years, the character is the creation of comedian John Carillo, a California native who uses John Rio as his stage name. At Bat only for streaming", "iHeart does not stream Indians games. Radio Home of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Mark Madden, and The Woody Show. It was the first time Stone Temple Pilots performed in Cleveland in six years. (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. [51] Seeing a small but significant groundswell of support for the medium in the market, WHK-FM adopted a new progressive rock format on August 15, 1968. She left in 1989 to work for Top 40 station WPHR-FM/107. Condolences: Betty Korvan. The Alan Cox Show Corey Rotic 100.7 WMMS Podcasts See All The Alan Cox Show Rover's Morning Glory The Week in Cox The Bill Squire Show Latest Stories Local News VIDEO: Cleveland Police Give Details of What Lead to Fatal Crash Mar 03, 2023 Music News Why March 5th Matters In Rock History Mar 03, 2023 Music News Matt remains one of the most popular air personalities from WMMS' fifty year history. [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. He now lives in Texas and works at an addiction recovery center, but he still does the Mr. Leonard character on former WMMS DJ Jeff Kinzbach's morning show on Akron's WONE-FM/97.5. July 11, 1995. From celebrities and high profile sports stars, to iconic DJs who know music, SiriusXM has the best hosts in radio. Kid Leo Interviews Van Halen April 20, 1980. [125] As part of the stunt, Denny Sanders returned to host an airshift, programming the music at his discretion. Signing on in 1946 as the FM adjunct to WHK, the WMMS call letters were affixed in 1968 under Metromedia ownership, having stood for "MetroMedia Stereo" and meant as a compliment to the newly established progressive rock format, but have since taken on a variety of other meanings. It was the same logo used by all of the FM radio stations owned by Metromedia at the time. Listen To The Most Popular Podcasts On iHeartRadio! [98][101] Gorman brought back the original Buzzard design, now drawn by David Helton's successor Brian Chalmers. [136], From the 1994 exit of Jeff Kinzbach and Ed Ferenc until the arrival of Rover's Morning Glory in 2008, WMMS gained notoriety for airing 13 distinct shows in morning drive. Perlich is second from right in the photo above, kickin' it with the WHK crew, circa 1968. who killed athena in the witch of portobello; what game relates to a rainbow; ventura county obituary past 3 days; sri lanka parliament election 2015 preferential votes; Rolling Stone Magazine conducted a yearly Readers Poll to which WMMS won Best Radio Station of the Year nine years in a row from 1979 to 1987. You gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta get dooooooowwwwn!, His rant followed Bruce Springsteens Born to Run. The kickoff to the weekend continued with Ian Hunters Cleveland Rocks and Earth Quakes Friday on my mind.. The trio moved to WMMS in 1971, laying the groundwork for the station's Buzzard heyday. 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. After two years, Cox left The Loop to begin his own radio show. professional boxing referees; uf college of medicine class of 2023; kalalau valley hippies Goldberg started at WMMS-FM/100.7 in 1972 and remained there until 2004, longer than any other personality employed there during the Buzzard's heyday. 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. EC horror comics, Fritz the Cat, Rocky and Bullwinkle, and Looney Tunes all served as inspirations for the "bird of prey with attitude" concept. She worked in radio in Los Angeles from 1973-76 at KLOS and KMET. Eventually moved to WNCX-FM/98.5, where she was a popular afternoon-drive deejay for a number of years. In time, the station adopted new slogans reflecting the callsign: "We're your Modern Music Station" and "your Music Marathon Station. [95], Already program director at OmniAmerica station WMJI, station veteran John Gorman returned to WMMS as vice-president and director of operations in early 1994. On August 9, 1978, there was no hotter ticket in Cleveland. He came to the Agora armed with a new album, Darkness on the Edge of Town. He can still be heard on the radio, too. [117] BuzzardFest 2000 was held on June 30, 2000, at the Nautica Stage; Stone Temple Pilots, performing in Cleveland for the first time in six years, headlined the event.[118]. In 1995 he was the PA voice introducing acts for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Grand Opening concert at Municipal Stadium. He's a history buff and writer, too. Everything else in Cleveland was going wrong except us," said Gorman about his early years at WMMS in the '70s. [137][138], In 2000, the station turned to Wakin' up with Wolf and Mulrooneyhosted by Bob Wolf and John Mulrooneyfrom Albany's WPYX, which initially continued to originate and simulcast the program. [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. (Plain Dealer file photo), Maria Farina landed at WMMS in 1986 fresh out of Ohio University and quickly gained popularity. WMMS Art Director, Brian Chalmers was approached by Dreamworks to provide artwork and logos for their movie Almost Famous which came out in 2000. Soon after, the station revered back to the Progressive Rock format to battle WNCR of Nationwide Communications, itself filling the void created by the brief absence of WMMS on the album rock scene. According to her LinkedIn page, she now works as a freelance voice actor and author. Saul joined WMMS as a salesman after the station switched to a rock format. The top 40 deejays were retained, but it was soon obvious that they were inadequate hosts for a progressive rock format. The top 40 format also failed to make any major ratings impact. The show is now syndicated to WKGB-FM/Binghamton, WRKK/Williamsport, and WZNE/Rochester; replays continuously on a dedicated iHeartRadio channel; is available on demand through iHeartRadio; and broadcasts over the Livestream video platform. Rover is pictured in the middle in the 2009 WMMS promo photo above with partners Dieter and Duji. She was on-air from 1993-1997, and had a popular 7-midnight show. [171][173][174]. Thats how big MMS was. 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. That will never be done again. Rosenhaus hosts the network pregame show; and Hamilton hosts the network postgame show. Those guys are f--kin' heroes!" 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). In 1958, both WHK and WHK-FM were sold to Metropolitan Broadcasting, itself renamed MetroMedia two years later. [140] The Maxwell Show gradually evolved from airing mostly music to all talk, with Maxwell joined by WMMS music director Dan Stansbury and Tiffany "Chunk" Peck, the program's phone screener. [34], Loveline, Westwood One's nationally syndicated call-in show hosted by Dr. Drew, aired weeknights from August 2008 through June 2010. 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. Named herself "The Screaming Queen Bitch." Following the prank announcement, station management placed Maxwell on probation for 90 days. [168], WMMS has served as the FM flagship station for the Cleveland Cavaliers AudioVerse since 2014, sharing network flagship status with AM sister station WTAM. He first began in radio in 1973 at noted Cleveland rock station WMMS (100.7 FM, "The Buzzard"). 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). A federal offense, the act nearly cost WMMS its broadcasting license. [137] Cantle later called the failure of Sean, Cristi and Hunter as "a real team effort" and compared herself unfavorably to Johnny Manziel: "too young, too overconfident and too drunk to handle the responsibility however I have no intentions of playing Canadian football". Those 50 years have seen a lot of change for the station. She also worked in TV production in LA, including at "Entertainment Tonight," and as a freelance producer, editor and writer for an audio book abridger. "Those guys who pilot those ships through here? (Cleveland) - One of our co-workers in the IHeartMedia Cleveland newsroom has passed away. 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. 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. [90][92], During the now infamous broadcast, WMMS engineer William Alford snipped a broadcast wire used for the Stern show's satellite feed. 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! 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. Cleveland Magazine has also described both Rover and Cox as "talk shows with a rock-oriented sensibility". safeway new westminster station parking; pluto conjunct prenatal solar eclipse; shandon hotel balance back [163] The station hosts two additional HD Radio subchannels: WMMS-HD2 is the Cleveland affiliate for the Black Information Network, [136][164], WMMS airs regular traffic and weather updates via the Total Traffic and Weather Network and former sister station WOIO (TV channel 19),[165] and the station satisfies U.S. Federal Communications Commission-mandated public affairs programming on Sunday mornings with the City Club of Cleveland's Friday Forum. The show is known for its outrageous stunts and banter. Other stations carried their birthday show. [113] The Ramones headlined BuzzardFest '95 the following spring (May 1995) at Blossom;[114] other acts included Our Lady Peace, The Rugburns and Face to Face. He was best known as the voice for the station's hourly IDs, music segues, sweepers, and commercials, and was also a member of The Buzzard Morning Zoo in the mid-80s. It was in use in 1971 but was discontinued after the band the Rolling Stones issued a cease and desist order against MetroMedia for it resemblance to their logo.