Denny Sanders Denny Sanders 1972 - 1986 Denny Sanders came to WMMS in 1971 from Boston where he'd been working as a DJ from the time he was just 16 years old. During this time, WMMS also began broadcasting a remarkable number of live concerts, many of which originated in Cleveland and were produced by the station itself. In studio, WTAM sports director Mike Snyder hosts The Tip-Off Show, The Halftime Report, and The Nightcap Recap the network pregame, halftime, and postgame shows, respectively. It really was an awesome time.' [97][98][99][100] To emphasize this change, WMMS was re-branded and aggressively promoted as "Buzzard Radio: The Next Generation", a reference to the success of Star Trek: The Next Generation and its continuation of the Star Trek franchise. Goldberg is at right in the photo above, with Jeff Kinzbach in the WMMS studio. 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. 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. 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. 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. The very first logo to ever be created for WMMS was a red and white rainbow. WMMS did remote interviews at KSU all morning which included an interview from 1972 presidential candidate, Senator George McGovern, KSU student and gunshot survivor, Dean Kahler, other May 4th wounded who survived, Governor Dick Celeste, current students and others. WMMS also airs The Week in Cox, a weekly recap show on Sunday mornings. 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. Brian Chalmers, Rock 'N' Roll Artist", "Film; Paul Schrader Plumbs Grassroots Rock", "iHeartMedia Cleveland To Move To New Facility As Company Begins Cloud Based Tech Rollout", "Downtown TV station group may move to the suburbs", "Cleveland Broadcast Radio Archives WMMS timeline", "Rock in Akron: The Music Of Greater Akron", "The Second WMMS Music Marathon Station TV Spot", "Recalling a couple of wacky radio guys", http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1994/RR-1994-11-04.pdf, http://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-RandR/1990s/1994/RR-1994-12-02.pdf, "Billboard/Airplay Monitor Radio Awards Bestowed", "Kevin Metheny, a.k.a. The contest titled the White Trash Wedding prize included everything needed to make a wedding day special limo, wedding dress, tuxedo rental, flowers, cake and the ceremony which took place at Mickeys Diamond Mens Club in the Flats. The other DJs in the photo are, from left: Doc Nemo, Vic Boc, Martin Perlich and Pat Mack. [87] Unable to service its growing debt, Malrite chose to leave radio and sold off all its remaining properties in 1993:[37] WMMS went to Shamrock Broadcasting, the Roy Disney broadcasting firm. Danny Czekalinski and Darla Jaye teamed up in October 1997 with Liz Wilde holdover Cory Lingus (Cory Gallant) until August 1998. After leaving WMMS, he moved to WMJI-FM/105.7, as program and operations director. 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. [90][92], During the now infamous broadcast, WMMS engineer William Alford snipped a broadcast wire used for the Stern show's satellite feed. It was the same logo used by all of the FM radio stations owned by Metromedia at the time. grand wailea pool menu; under armour ignite slides waterproof. She left Cleveland to take a radio job in Florida. Here's a look at some of the most iconic radio personalities to appear on the. [171][173][174]. 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. February 7, 2021 WMMS. Image of Bill Hader above wearing WMMS shirt for his upcoming HBO series called Barry. [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. WHK later became WMMS) (Plain Dealer file photo), Gained fame in local radio in the 1980s as part of "Jeff and Flash's Morning Zoo" on WMMS-FM/100.7. At the same time, the music communicates frustration and a constant longing to escape. 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. [38][39] Considered "a true radio legend," WMMS DJ Kid Leo was chosen for Rolling Stone's "Heavy Hundred: The High and Mighty of the Music Industry" (1980) and named "The Best Disc Jockey in the Country" in a special 1987 issue of Playboy. "[61], Under the leadership of station manager Billy Bass and program director Denny Sanders, WMMS helped break many new rock artists nationally, most notably David Bowie. The first buzzard which has penned the name The Wrath of the Buzzard can be seen sitting atop a mushroom paying homage to the former logo along with the competitors call letters WGCL and WIXY grasped in its beak. [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). 100.7 WMMS Podcasts See All Playlists from 100.7 WMMS Latest News July 11, 1995. (Plain Dealer file photo), A DJ and music director at WMMS-FM/100.7 from 1974-78. In the trailer for the new show the character Barry, played by Bill Hader is wearing a vintage WMMS shirt. In the '90s, it re-focused on alternative rock programming, and in later years, moved into an active rock program with popular talk programs like "Rover's Morning Glory. His voice is also heard on a number of Cleveland area radio and TV commercials. [135] Former Lex and Terry producer Jason Carr was named the new WMMS assistant program director on February 1, 2018. Contestants got a little crazy and ate everything from maggot sandwiches, piles of peoples left overs, urinal cakes and fish guts. [62] The WMMS-sponsored concert was a "phenomenal success"[58][63] and prompted the station to sponsor a second show that year. [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. As WMMS-FM/100.7 program director from 1973-86, Gorman led the Buzzard troops on a campaign of conquest that transformed an unknown, FM upstart into a rock 'n' roll powerhouse. 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. [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. Cleveland's Rock Station- call: (216) 578-1007 toll free: (800) 348-1007 twitter: @wmms www.wmms.com | text: 35192 |Home of Rover's Morning Glory, See more 100.7 WMMS- We love to post about Cleveland, music, sports- and funny stuff we find out on the internets. Spero would go on to become one of Cleveland's early progressive-rock DJs, working first at WNCR and then at WMMS. [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. wmms radio personalities. Korvan now lives in South Dakota. (Plain Dealer file photo), A true radio renaissance man, Perlich got his start in the 1960s as host of syndicated Cleveland Orchestra radio broadcasts, interviewing everyone from Aaron Copland to Isaac Stern. Matt Harris served in the interim until WMMS hired Dick Dale (Bert Morris) from WPLA/Jacksonville. They were rewarded with a night that they would remember for the rest of their lives. 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. 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. The broadcast consists entirely of talk, a mix of current events, pop culture, and stories from the staff. He can still be heard on the radio, too. He worked a variety of record-industry jobs after that, becoming senior vice president of marketing at Chrysalis Records during the 1980s. [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. It was the first time Stone Temple Pilots performed in Cleveland in six years. She introduced Rush when they got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in June 2010. Under Malrite ownership, WMMS would become an album-oriented rock (AOR) powerhouse, much in the same vein as its former MetroMedia progressive rock siblings. 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The team did later relocate to Cleveland, but lasted only a few months until an acrimonious breakup between Wolf and Mulrooney. 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. Kid Leo Interviews Van Halen April 20, 1980. When I was in 12th grade I landed a job on the air at a radio station in Flint, Michigan. In 1958, both WHK and WHK-FM were sold to Metropolitan Broadcasting, itself renamed MetroMedia two years later. The average Radio Personality salary in Provo, Utah is $41,997 as of September 27, 2021, but the salary range typically falls between $33,686 and $55,388. Cleveland Police briefly detained Ky-Mani Marley after the singer threatened Rover for comments made during an April 20, 2010 in-studio interview. [122] Closing in May 1999, Clear Channel was renamed iHeartMedia in 2014. 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. Already strained by ongoing contract renewal negotiations, the incident further alienated the two parties, and by November of that year the show was cancelled. what are the non legislative powers of congress. [53] February 11, 2020 Sean Collier, Photos by Becky Thurner Braddock Sean McDowell With time and freedom, longtime DJ Sean McDowell can't get off the road. John Gorman, Denny Sanders and Kid Leo organized the original campaign with Tunc Erim, assistant to Atlantic Records president Ahmet Ertegun. "Betty was one of the original . WMMS's studios are located at the Six Six Eight Building in downtown Cleveland's Gateway District;[48][49] the station transmitter resides in neighboring Seven Hills. [96] Gorman changed the WMMS format to alternative rock,[97] playing new acts like Nirvana, The Offspring, and Nine Inch Nails, on October 27. ', Rip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 19781984, List of programming syndicated by iHeartMedia, List of radio stations owned by iHeartMedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=WMMS&oldid=1137903859, Active rock radio stations in the United States, Articles with dead external links from July 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, All articles with bare URLs for citations, Articles with bare URLs for citations from March 2022, Articles with PDF format bare URLs for citations, Articles with dead external links from February 2023, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with MusicBrainz place identifiers, Articles which contain graphical timelines, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, The Cleveland Plaza/Statler Office Tower (now, This page was last edited on 7 February 2023, at 00:47. [120] Meanwhile, ownership would change yet again as Nationwide Communications was bought out by Jacor in November 1997. Mike Gallagher died on Sunday after a year-long battle with cancer. He stayed at WMMS until 1992, moving then to WNCX-FM/98.5 and WDOK-FM/102.1. [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. According to her LinkedIn page, she now works as a freelance voice actor and author. Brian and Joe talk to Rob Thomas from Matchbox 20. [31] In 1981, Radio & Records identified "the malevolent feathered figure" as "the best-known station symbol in the country. The new logo depicted the sex, drugs and rock and roll image that the owner was looking for. Her LinkedIn Profile says she is now an independent radio professional in New York. [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. [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. Live at the Agora Ballroom on August 10, 1983. 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. He also managed Grammy-winning R and B superstar Luther Vandross. Rover is pictured in the middle in the 2009 WMMS promo photo above with partners Dieter and Duji. Rio created the. 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.". [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. She worked there until 1999. In 2014, Rover pleaded guilty to four misdemeanors in relation to the illegal use of fireworks and a confrontation with an off-duty police officer at the Whiskey Island marina in downtown Cleveland. This feature ran at the exact moment of the KSU shootings twenty years later. Good old Red! 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. The other DJs in the photo are, from left: Billy Bass, Doc Nemo, Vic Boc and Pat Mack.