wmms radio personalities

[128] WMMS again served as the FM flagship to the Cleveland Browns Radio Network from 2002 to 2012, with Jim Donovan and Doug Dieken as announcers. He returned to Cleveland radio in 1997, working at both WMJO-FM/105.7 and WZJM-FM/92.3. It's most famous for heavily plugging the MC5, The Velvets and The Dolls on one hand and science-art groups like Soft Machine and King Crimson on the other. [148][149] All other air talent heard on WMMS is provided via iHeartMedia's "Premium Choice" voice-tracking service. [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. At the same time, the music communicates frustration and a constant longing to escape. He now works as a stand-up comedian, actor and writer. On August 9, 1978, there was no hotter ticket in Cleveland. Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. Throughout the 1970s and '80s, the station played home to some of Cleveland's most recognizable personalities: Matt the Cat, Denny Sanders, Murray Saul, Betty "Crash" Korvan, Ruby Cheeks, BLF. He came to the Agora armed with a new album, Darkness on the Edge of Town. All we're doing is shifting an image. Gorman has also written a book about his days at WMMS, "The Buzzard: Inside the Glory Days of WMMS and Cleveland Rock Radio." Attendance was by general admission. [47][93] Stern continued on with the program over a phone line as engineers worked to quickly patch together the severed broadcast wire. 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. It was supposed to be a colorful logo including all the rainbow colors - but at the time, the station didn't have the budget to do multiple colors so they kept it one color. [96] Gorman changed the WMMS format to alternative rock,[97] playing new acts like Nirvana, The Offspring, and Nine Inch Nails, on October 27. 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. We joked about the Buzzard becoming Cleveland's Mickey Mouse a "Buzzard Land" amusement park filled with sex, drugs and rock and roll A study conducted by MBA students at Case Western Reserve University in 1975 found that the new WMMS logo was more recognizable to those living in Greater Cleveland than both Chief Wahoo of the Cleveland Indians and even Coca-Cola. (Photo by Gus Chain, The Plain Dealer), The affable Spero was born into rock 'n' roll. 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. of WIXY 1260. Candlebox headlined the 2 stage show at Blossom Music Center on May 18, 1996. The WMMS Coffee Break Concert was a weekly music-interview show broadcast live from the station's studio, and later with an audience at the Agora Ballroom. She introduced Rush when they got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in June 2010. We all got to know Billy Bass pretty good. He offered "Solid Goldbergers" and ordered us to "EN-joy". There were other really good rock stations around, but those other stations opted in to carry the live broadcast of the MMS birthday show (in 1978). She remained with the station until 1995. 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. When I was in 12th grade I landed a job on the air at a radio station in Flint, Michigan. (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. Host of "Rover's Morning Glory", a syndicated morning talk show that started at WXTM-FM/92.3 in 2003. Those guys are f--kin' heroes!" For the next three hours, spread across two sets, Springsteen did just that, telling stories and playing the best of his catalog, including a lengthy version of "Growin' Up," in which he told the tale of being sent to have a conversation with God about what he should do with his life, encountering Kid Leo along the way, who was "prayin' for more watts" for WMMS. 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. "[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. Seth "the Barbarian" Williams took the overnight shift when Pennington moved to evenings in 2001. Since 1998, he's hosted "America's Workforce" a one-hour program sponsored by labor unions on WERE-AM/1490. She left Cleveland to take a radio job in Florida. He also did a nightly oldies show there from 1988-2001. Brian and Joe talk to Rob Thomas from Matchbox 20. Under Malrite ownership, WMMS would become an album-oriented rock (AOR) powerhouse, much in the same vein as its former MetroMedia progressive rock siblings. "Discover Financial Services (DFS.N), a provider . We had a pretty good run with it in the '70s to the mid-'80s.". "Those guys who pilot those ships through here? One listener was selected to marry the love of his life or at least at the time during a live broadcast on 100.7 WMMS. '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. [98][101] Gorman brought back the original Buzzard design, now drawn by David Helton's successor Brian Chalmers. [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. [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. In 2014, Springsteen finally released the Agora concert officially on CD and download. One lucky WMMS listener won a Harley Davidson signed by Sammy Hagar! She has written several books, including "Boston Radio: 1920-2010." He briefly worked mid-days at the end of his career, but soon retired. [127] A new airstaff was assembled after the stunt: Tim "Slats" Guinane was hired for afternoon drive replacing Brian & Joe, who were transferred to WMVX, and music director Mark Pennington replaced Bill "BLF Bash" Freeman in overnights. He gave many new up and coming artists exposure and put them on the map to their road to stardom. Image of Bill Hader above wearing WMMS shirt for his upcoming HBO series called Barry. [147], Described by The Plain Dealer as "testosterone-fueled", the show dominates younger demographics, particularly male listeners ages 1834. (Plain Dealer file photo), "Spaceman Scott" - Scott Hughes, better known as Spaceman Scott, was a member of WMMS-FM/100.7's top-rated "Buzzard Morning Zoo" in the 1980s, along with Jeff Kinzbach, Ed "Flash" Ferenc, and others. 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. The show's big following has spawned an annual summer festival, Roverfest, which has been held in Lorain for the past three years. ". [120] Finally, The Bob & Tom Show aired in the time slot from 2006 until April 2008. (Plain Dealer file photo), A DJ and music director at WMMS-FM/100.7 from 1974-78. It was the first time Stone Temple Pilots performed in Cleveland in six years. He's a history buff and writer, too. Billy Bass. 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. Eventually moved to WNCX-FM/98.5, where she was a popular afternoon-drive deejay for a number of years. He came to Cleveland as both a DJ and the Buzzard's program director. 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. He was vice president of education and public programs at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum from 2000-2003. Morning Show, Promotions Director KGGI. 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. [120] Meanwhile, ownership would change yet again as Nationwide Communications was bought out by Jacor in November 1997. 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. Arriving from Boston in Cleveland in September 1976, BLF was highly opinionated. The music structure also was modified at this time as artists such as Michael Jackson, Madonna and Prince soon found airplay on WMMS. Get Started Channel Hosts In Your Vehicle Streaming HOWARD STERN Howard 100 Hoda Kotb Today Show Radio Peter Mansbridge Canada Talks Sandra Bernhard Radio Andy Erin Burnett CNN Billy Idol 1st Wave Mad Dog Russo Mad Dog Sports Radio The debut issue of Buzzard Bone, arrived in September of 1995 and featured the brand new Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the cover story, with an article tracing the history of the museum, which had its grand opening that same month. Craig Ehlo. Today, she is a regular DJ on oWOW Radio on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons. 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. [33] Regarding the change, WMMS program director Bo Matthews (Alex Gutierrez) said, " nobody's killing anything Chief Wahoo is not on every piece of Indians promotional material Ronald McDonald is not in every McDonald's commercial We're not losing the letters. WMMS News anchor, Mike Olszewski paints a picture of the scene on that dreadful day. ", WMMS-FM---FREEMAN,-Bill-'BLF-Bash'--(Date-Unknown). (Billy Bass is at far left in the photo, kickin' it with the WHK crew, circa 1968. Perlich is second from right in the photo above, kickin' it with the WHK crew, circa 1968. (Scott is far right in the photo above, in the WMMS studio with Ed Kinzbach, Ed "Flash" Ferenc and Kenny Clean.) 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. 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. The team did later relocate to Cleveland, but lasted only a few months until an acrimonious breakup between Wolf and Mulrooney. [35] The fall 1998 Arbitron books showed WMMS with a substantial increase in listeners; Plain Dealer radio critic Roger Brown commented, "the scam worked" claiming it drove people to listen to the station again for what was supposedly the format's final days. Steve and Tom would always come up to the station and hang out with me. Jeff and Flash were accompanied by a list of other talent over the years which made up the Buzzard Morning Zoo. In 2009, she left KSL to become the spokesperson for the FBI Salt Lake City Division. The show itself rapidly covers a range of topics in a comedic format, from major current events to obscure pop culture; regular segments like "Sperm News", "Why Florida Sucks", and "Are You Smarter Than a Dumbass?" 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. Her LinkedIn Profile says she is now an independent radio professional in New York. (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. Denny was also instrumental in convincing former WMMS owner Milton Maltz to continue the stations rock format in the mid-1970s. Described by Talkers magazine as "a bold anomaly worthy of industry attention", the show itself has successfully continued the format established by its predecessor The Maxwell Show all talk during afternoon drive on an FM rock station. The short-lived music magazine featured a diverse mix of interviews, opinion pieces, album reviews, Buzzard playlists, concert listings and photos from station events. The Cleveland Free Clinic staffed aid stations in the stadium with physicians, nurses and other volunteers, and through 1977, made its treatment statistics public. 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.