Date Unknown, William Lionel Freeman, better known by the name of his long time overnight show, "The BLF Bash" began his radio career in Fargo and later landed on the east coast in Boston. (Cleveland) - One of our co-workers in the IHeartMedia Cleveland newsroom has passed away. [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. That will never be done again. The WMMS Mushroom Logo can be seen a few times throughout the movie - During a backstage scene at the Music Hall right before Stillwater takes the stage and when groupie Penny Lane played by Kate Hudson is dancing alone in the empty venue - you can see a banner with the Mushroom Logo and the slogan Where The Music Means Something. Steve and Tom would always come up to the station and hang out with me. He became one of the station's most popular jocks during its Buzzard heyday, and was perhaps best known as the host of the live Wednesday "Coffeebreak Concerts." One of the first black DJs in Cleveland radio, he worked at WIXY-AM/1260, and became one of the WIXY Supermen. 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 movie is loosely written about director, Cameron Crowes life who as a child did in fact write for Rolling Stone and spent time on tour with bands like Led Zeppelin, Eagles and Lynyrd Skynyrd. (Plain Dealer file photo), Dillon got her start in Cleveland radio in 1988 on WMMS-FM/100.7, working on the morning show with Jeff and Flash. 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. Condolences: Betty Korvan. The company will move its regional office, including nine stations, downtown from the suburbs. In 1958, both WHK and WHK-FM were sold to Metropolitan Broadcasting, itself renamed MetroMedia two years later. WMMS will celebrate its birthday Sunday at Blossom Music Center with a special anniversary concert featuring Ozzy Osbourne. ", WMMS-FM---FREEMAN,-Bill-'BLF-Bash'--(Date-Unknown). "[27][36] WMMS played a key role in breaking several major acts in the U.S., including David Bowie, Rush, and Bruce Springsteen. Here's a look at some of the most iconic radio personalities to appear on the. [51] Like most early FM stations, WHK-FM mostly simulcast the Top 40 programming of its AM sister station. [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. Craig Ehlo. The show's big following has spawned an annual summer festival, Roverfest, which has been held in Lorain for the past three years. Mama, come get your baby boy! CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It's a big birthday for The Buzzard. In September 1995, he was hired to do nights at WRKR-FM in Kalamazoo, MI. Goldberg is at right in the photo above, with Jeff Kinzbach in the WMMS studio. 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? Gorman has also written a book about his days at WMMS, "The Buzzard: Inside the Glory Days of WMMS and Cleveland Rock Radio." 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.". However, Matt would be dismissed permanently from the station in late 1992, the victim of budget cuts. The ritual lasted through his entire career at the Buzzard. His radio career began in 1973 with Cleveland on100.7WMMS. Denny Sanders & Fred Griffith. [146] Rover is under contract with WMMS through 2022. 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). [26][38][39][75][76][77], The World Series of Rock was a recurring, day-long and usually multi-act summer rock concert held outdoors at Cleveland Municipal Stadium from 1974 through 1980. Goldfinger, The Refreshments, Triple Fast Action and others played the second stage at the top of the hill. [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]. [41][42] WMMS was also a major driving force behind the successful campaign to bring the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to Cleveland.[26][43]. Ken Schneck. Spero would go on to become one of Cleveland's early progressive-rock DJs, working first at WNCR and then at WMMS. Matt the Cat was permanently let go in December 1992 due to "budget problems. 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. Sanders eventually turned over the program director job to Gorman, too, and they were close partners in building the station into a powerhouse. Yes, the station had lost its way for a bit, but MMS was the standard. wmms radio personalities. From 2007-2014, she was owner and CEO of Life After Your Divorce, a company that worked with people going through divorce. No Doubt shared the 2 stage show at Blossom with Candlebox, Patti Rothberg, The Tragically Hip, 311, and the Holy Barbarians. [90][92], During the now infamous broadcast, WMMS engineer William Alford snipped a broadcast wire used for the Stern show's satellite feed. Two of her audiobook projects were nominated for Grammy awards in the Best Spoken Word category. Perlich is second from right in the photo above, kickin' it with the WHK crew, circa 1968. Host of "Rover's Morning Glory", a syndicated morning talk show that started at WXTM-FM/92.3 in 2003. Past show members at WMMS include, Ryan Hoppe, Scott Taylor (now a reporter at WJLA in Washington, DC, Kaitlin Geosano, and Rob Garguilo. Rio created the. She worked in radio in Los Angeles from 1973-76 at KLOS and KMET. Other shows, like The Buzzard Morning Show with Rick and Megalis (Rick Eberhart, Tom Megalis) and WMMS Mornings with Sean, Cristi, and Hunter (Sean Kelly, Cristi Cantle, Hunter Scott), came and went in quick succession. 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. Boom also spent time on the Buzzard Morning Zoo and filled in during other air shifts. ), Bass built one of the most versatile careers in the history of Cleveland radio. 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. In 2015, he founded oWOW, a thriving Cleveland-based internet radio. "Discover Financial Services (DFS.N), a provider . Seth's Big Fat Barbarian Wedding - August 19th, 2005 at Shooters on the Water. Springsteen's music had become an important cornerstone of the Buzzard playlist and his profile had risen nationally, thanks to the release of the Born to Run album, with the title track quickly becoming an 'MMS staple that would endure for decades. [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. Past affiliates at WMMS include WAMX/Huntington, WMFS-FM/Memphis, WNDE/Indianapolis, WXEG/Dayton, WRXS/Columbus, and the now defunct Extreme Talk. He came to Cleveland as both a DJ and the Buzzard's program director. It really was an awesome time.' She left in 1989 to work for Top 40 station WPHR-FM/107. She remained with the station until 1995. Cox's intelligence, humor, and willingness to do a variety of on-air stunts for the show led to his hiring as a producer. Monday, October 01, 2018. The following local and national media outlets have attributed WMMS with this distinction: The following books have attributed WMMS with this distinction: harvnb error: no target: CITEREFNicks2003 (, "Rock Hall to Celebrate 40 Years of WMMS with New Exhibit", "Radio & Records 1981 on the WMMS Buzzard and Other Station Mascots", "The Media Business; Malrite's Buyout Price Disturbs Wall Street Analysts", "R.I.P. [78] Concertgoers occasionally fell or jumped off the steep stadium upper deck onto the concrete seating area far below, causing serious injury. We all have such respect for what this station did back in the day. [123] WMMS veteran John Gorman has remained a vocal critic of iHeartMedia, once remarking on the company's former Cleveland executive, Kevin Metheny (dubbed "Pig Virus" by Howard Stern during their time at WNBC): "He had a volatile time here. 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. chautauqua institution hotels; figs scrubs men; unexplained bruising on legs and hair loss. Cleveland Magazine has also described both Rover and Cox as "talk shows with a rock-oriented sensibility". He was also a member of "The Buzzard Morning Zoo" in the mid-1980s. [120] Finally, The Bob & Tom Show aired in the time slot from 2006 until April 2008. what are the non legislative powers of congress. Mr. Leonard, the self proclaimed assistant public service director made appearances on the Buzzard Morning Zoo for many years. The duo reigned over a zany -- and revolving -- supporting cast of characters on "Buzzard Morning Zoo" for 18 years from 1976-1994. When I was in 12th grade I landed a job on the air at a radio station in Flint, Michigan. She has written several books, including "Boston Radio: 1920-2010." Play-by-play announcers Tom Hamilton and Jim Rosenhaus call games on-site. [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. (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." Live at the Agora Ballroom on August 10, 1983. The top 40 format also failed to make any major ratings impact. [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. She left in 1989 to work for Top 40 station WPHR-FM/107. 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 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. 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. Quiet Riot played 11 songs. He's a history buff and writer, too. Listen To The Most Popular Podcasts On iHeartRadio! WMMS also streams it's coverage of selected games on iHeartRadio, even outside of the Cleveland market. He left in the late '80s to become program director for WRQK-FM/106.9 in Canton. (Plain Dealer file photo), A DJ and music director at WMMS-FM/100.7 from 1974-78. Rover is pictured in the middle in the 2009 WMMS promo photo above with partners Dieter and Duji. He had that gig for seven years and parlayed it into a regular show on WCLV-FM-95.5 called the "Perlich Project," featuring everything from classical music to jazz to progressive rock. (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. She stayed on when the station switched formats to modern rock in 1992, becoming 107.9 The End. Radio Home of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Mark Madden, and The Woody Show. [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. 4, their fourth album, which had been released the previous year, but dug deep into their back catalog for a crowd-pleasing set that featured all of the hits and a hefty selection of deeper tracks that were also fan favorites. 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. February 7, 2021 WMMS. [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. For the Bath, Maine, radio station which identified as WMMS from 1957 to 1964, see, "This radio station is known for breaking the rules, changing the game, and being successful. 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. [135] Former Lex and Terry producer Jason Carr was named the new WMMS assistant program director on February 1, 2018. The show also drew national attention after holding a book burning party for Fifty Shades of Grey on July 8, 2012. [81], In the mid-1980s, WMMS was an important contributor in organizing a campaign (along with former Cleveland ad agency president Edward Spizel and author-deejay Norm N. Nite) which brought the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to Cleveland. 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. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. [96] Gorman changed the WMMS format to alternative rock,[97] playing new acts like Nirvana, The Offspring, and Nine Inch Nails, on October 27. [125] As part of the stunt, Denny Sanders returned to host an airshift, programming the music at his discretion. The WMMS Coffee Break Concerts were booked and directed by Denny Sanders and hosted by Len "Boom" Goldberg, Debbie Ullman, and later, Matt the Cat. In 1976, Bash began the tripped out tradition of playing Funkadelic Maggot Brain in its entirety every Saturday night at midnight. [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 stations involved are WMMS (FM), WTAM (AM/FM), WMJI (FM), WGAR (FM), WHLK (FM), WAKS (FM), WKAS (HD2) and WARF (AM). Hughes returned briefly to WMMS in the 1990s for short stints on a new "Morning Zoo" and as an overnight DJ. Everything else in Cleveland was going wrong except us," said Gorman about his early years at WMMS in the '70s. "[32] "De-emphasized" in the fall of 2007, the scavenger was revived the following spring to coincide with the station's 40th anniversary and with the arrival of morning personality Rover. "[33] By April 2008, the station had reverted to branding as The Buzzard but using a road sign-style logo similar to a U.S. Route shield in an allusion to the mascot. (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. [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. It was the perfect way to keep the party rolling. Mike Gallagher died on Sunday after a year-long battle with cancer. From celebrities and high profile sports stars, to iconic DJs who know music, SiriusXM has the best hosts in radio. 100.7 WMMS Podcasts See All Playlists from 100.7 WMMS Latest News The Cleveland Free Clinic staffed aid stations in the stadium with physicians, nurses and other volunteers, and through 1977, made its treatment statistics public. Since leaving Cleveland in the 1990s, she has worked in radio in various big-city markets, including Philadelphia and Phoenix. Joining the Chicago native are Cleveland area comedians Bill Squire and Mary Santora, and former intern-turned-phone-screener Cody (Poundcake) Brown. 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 [167] WMMS also transmits text to compatible analog receivers, such as station IDs and artist and song information, via the Radio Data System (RDS); similarly, WMMS transmits text to HD Radio receivers known as Program Service Data (PSD). The team did later relocate to Cleveland, but lasted only a few months until an acrimonious breakup between Wolf and Mulrooney. 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. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WMMS broadcasts over two HD Radio channels and is available online via iHeartRadio. Since retiring from WDVE last year, he's been roaming the country by car. Here's what some of your favorite personalities from the past are up to now. 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. Seth "the Barbarian" Williams took the overnight shift when Pennington moved to evenings in 2001. Halper left Cleveland in 1975 to work at Mercury Records in New York City, then spent years working in radio as a consultant and various other capacities. Saul joined WMMS as a salesman after the station switched to a rock format. He now works as a stand-up comedian, actor and writer. (Billy Bass is at far left in the photo, kickin' it with the WHK crew, circa 1968. EC horror comics, Fritz the Cat, Rocky and Bullwinkle, and Looney Tunes all served as inspirations for the "bird of prey with attitude" concept. 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. [139], Bo Matthews (Alex Gutierrez), who became the station's program director in early 2004, hired Ohio native Benjamin "Maxwell" Bornstein that April for a more "personality-driven" afternoon show following the departure of Tim "Slats" Guinane for WXTM. '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.
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