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Korvan now lives in South Dakota. At the same time, the music communicates frustration and a constant longing to escape. (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." It was the perfect way to keep the party rolling. [125] As part of the stunt, Denny Sanders returned to host an airshift, programming the music at his discretion. The short-lived music magazine featured a diverse mix of interviews, opinion pieces, album reviews, Buzzard playlists, concert listings and photos from station events. Those 50 years have seen a lot of change for the station. Tony Tilford, WMMS program director (19992003), WMMS shifted format to active rock on February 17, 1997, under the direction of Bob Neumann, who had previously programmed WNCX and WENZ. Saul joined WMMS as a salesman after the station switched to a rock format. (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. Rosenhaus hosts the network pregame show; and Hamilton hosts the network postgame show. ", WMMS-FM---FREEMAN,-Bill-'BLF-Bash'--(Date-Unknown). She stayed on when the station switched formats to modern rock in 1992, becoming 107.9 The End. 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." Yes, the station had lost its way for a bit, but MMS was the standard. The announcement came less than two weeks before the show. Discover Financial to reportedly track gun store purchases starting in Contestants got a little crazy and ate everything from maggot sandwiches, piles of peoples left overs, urinal cakes and fish guts. [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. typify the show's irreverent style. "[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. 1," released in 1999. [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. [88] Management ordered a change to the Buzzard by giving it a flat-top and mullet. [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. WMMS beat out large market radio stations like WNEW in New York, WMMR in Philadelphia and KROQ in Los Angeles. Featuring Kevin DuBrow on vocals, Frankie Banali on drums, Rudy Sarzo on bass and Carlos Cavazo on guitar. [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. [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. He would go on and on about what is wrong with the world, horrible co-workers and bosses and the daily grind of the work day. 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? [57], Following a legal dispute with a competing station owner over non-compete clauses in their contracts, former Top 40 WIXY personalities Dick "the Wilde Childe" Kemp and Lou "King" Kirby were signed by MetroMedia for the top 40 format. [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]. He stayed at WMMS until 1992, moving then to WNCX-FM/98.5 and WDOK-FM/102.1. Syndicated radio show Rover's Morning Glory blends biting commentary, ridiculous antics and discussions that would get most people fired. The top 40 format also failed to make any major ratings impact. WMMS-FM started up on Sept. 28, 1968, as a progressive-rock station, and earned fame as one of the country's most successful rock stations in the '70s. The other DJs in the photo are, from left: Billy Bass, Doc Nemo, Vic Boc and Pat Mack. 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. [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. 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. [51] Like most early FM stations, WHK-FM mostly simulcast the Top 40 programming of its AM sister station. [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. John Gorman and Denny Sanders left the station in fall of 1986, leading fourteen staff members with them to start rival station WNCX. Past affiliates at WMMS include WAMX/Huntington, WMFS-FM/Memphis, WNDE/Indianapolis, WXEG/Dayton, WRXS/Columbus, and the now defunct Extreme Talk. (Plain Dealer file photo). The people who put it together aren't even smart enough to know where our city boundaries are." He first began in radio in 1973 at noted Cleveland rock station WMMS (100.7 FM, "The Buzzard"). July 11, 1995. She later worked in radio promotion and sales in Chicago and New York. All we're doing is shifting an image. [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. 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). He came to the Agora armed with a new album, Darkness on the Edge of Town. Kinzbach left the station in 1994. In July 1973, John Gorman joined WMMS as music director and was promoted to program director and operations manager two months later where he remained for thirteen years. She was among the first DJs to put the group's seven-minute opus, "Working Man," into regular rotation. 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. (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. 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. Murray Saul joined the WMMS staff as a salesman. He's a history buff and writer, too. In November 1972, WMMS was sold to Malrite Communications, a Michigan-based firm that relocated to Cleveland upon purchase. Some of those artists were Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp, Pat Benatar, Roxy Music, Cyndi Lauper, The Pretenders, New York Dolls, and Southside Johnny. [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 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." Matt remains one of the most popular air personalities from WMMS fifty year history. [135] Former Lex and Terry producer Jason Carr was named the new WMMS assistant program director on February 1, 2018. The Alan Cox Show: 1/20/23 | 100.7 WMMS | The Alan Cox Show An Oral History of WMMS, Cleveland's Legendary Radio Station 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. 'Pig Virus,' riles WGN Radio's Chicago fan base", http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1997/RR-1997-02-21.pdf, "Clear Channel Wins Bidding Contest, Agrees to Buy Jacor Communications", "Clear Channel Renames Itself iHeartMedia in Nod to Digital", "At the controls: Clear Channel programmer rules radio in Cleveland", "Buzzard scam gets WMMS what it wanted: more listeners", "Arbitron: Listening Up, Fave Stations The Same", "Browns next to explore market for radio rights", "CCM+E/Cleveland Names Chris Tyler PD Of WMMS, WAKS, 99X", "Jason Carr Named PD Alt 99.1 FM and APD for WMMS/Cleveland", "Pair of Indianapolis Morning Show Changes", "93X/Memphis Flips, ESPN Sportsradio 680 Gets FM Simulcast", "iHeartRadio: Rover's Morning Glory Replay", "iHeartRadio: Rover's Morning Glory On Demand", "June 4th 2014 - Tweens Kill For Slenderman/Chef Steve Schimoler In-Studio/Racism In America", "Rover and WMMS Agree to a Contract Extension That Will Keep Him on the Air Through 2017", "Best of Cleveland 2004: Best Morning DJ", "Best of Cleveland 2005: Best Radio Morning Show", "Best of Cleveland 2006: Best Radio-Host Homecoming", "Best of Cleveland 2007: Best Radio Show", "Best of Cleveland 2009: Best Local Radio Personality", "Best of Cleveland 2014: Best Radio Personality", "Best of Cleveland 2015: Best Radio Show", "Cleveland DJ Helps Cast a Spell on LeBron", "Best of Cleveland 2011: People & Places", "Best of Cleveland 2012: People & Places", "Best of Cleveland 2013: People & Places", "Alan Cox Talk Show Rocks Cleveland on WMMS-FM", "iHeartRadio Shows & Personalities: The Alan Cox Show 24/7", "December 16, 2014 episode - Alan Renews His Contract/The Show Recaps Bad Decisions/Drunk or Kid", "Cody 'Poundcake' Brown is out and entertaining as part of popular 'Alan Cox' show on WMMS", "Aerosmith Frontman Explains New Album Delay (Audio) - June 26, 2012", "Forbes has it in for Cleveland. No Doubt shared the 2 stage show at Blossom with Candlebox, Patti Rothberg, The Tragically Hip, 311, and the Holy Barbarians. The change was done for many reasons: as a nod to the sudden influence Z100's format had on the Malrite group; Gorman and Sanders intention to stay with the current music trends as the album-oriented rock (AOR) format was, even then, in a state of decline; and as a means to attract a female audience. 54,419 people like this 52,406 people follow this http://www.wmms.com/ (216) 578-1007 Host of "Rover's Morning Glory", a syndicated morning talk show that started at WXTM-FM/92.3 in 2003. Listeners signed up to participate in the contest What would you do for $5,000 which took place at Dicks Last Resort on the Flats East Bank. During the 20th anniversary broadcast, Mike Olszewski, along with Jeff & Flash, spoke with Wally Bryson of the Raspberries and one of the National Guardsmen. WMMS 50th Anniversary Continued | 100.7 WMMS [31] In 1981, Radio & Records identified "the malevolent feathered figure" as "the best-known station symbol in the country. 26 memorable DJs and radio personalities from WMMS-FM's - cleveland 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. Cleveland's Rock Station, home of Rover's Morning Glory, The Alan Cox Show, and FM Home of Cleveland Guardians Baseball. [120] Meanwhile, ownership would change yet again as Nationwide Communications was bought out by Jacor in November 1997. In the trailer for the new show the character Barry, played by Bill Hader is wearing a vintage WMMS shirt. Students were protesting the bombing of Cambodia by the United States Armed Forces. wmms radio personalities. This feature ran at the exact moment of the KSU shootings twenty years later. Cleveland's Rock Station, home of Rover's Morning Glory, The Alan Cox Show, and FM Home of Cleveland Guardians Baseball. WMMS at 50: Moments that made music history (photos) [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. [105] John Gorman, who has since openly criticized the industry's current state, departed for CBS Radio in Detroit, but soon moved to media consulting. She introduced Rush when they got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in June 2010. [122] Closing in May 1999, Clear Channel was renamed iHeartMedia in 2014. 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. Weiland and STP were touring in support of No. Seth "the Barbarian" Williams took the overnight shift when Pennington moved to evenings in 2001. 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. 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. The call letters WMMS stand for "MetroMedia Stereo". (Additional reporting by cleveland.com staff. [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.