In 1988 he left to work as an executive at Columbia Records, where he served until 2002. (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. 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. [148][149] All other air talent heard on WMMS is provided via iHeartMedia's "Premium Choice" voice-tracking service. 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. Kid Leo Interviews Van Halen April 20, 1980. Other stations carried their birthday show. [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. 50 Of The Longest-Lasting Celebrity Relationships Jun 09, 2022. Cleveland Magazine has also described both Rover and Cox as "talk shows with a rock-oriented sensibility". 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? [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. Needless to say, for health reasons, this contest changed the way promotions were done going forward at WMMS. Good old Red! Yes, the station had lost its way for a bit, but MMS was the standard. Image of Bill Hader above wearing WMMS shirt for his upcoming HBO series called Barry. July 11, 1995. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. [78] Concertgoers occasionally fell or jumped off the steep stadium upper deck onto the concrete seating area far below, causing serious injury. His radio career began in 1973 with Cleveland on100.7WMMS. Fowler works for country station WGAR-FM/99.5, and Cronauer is an on-air personality for WKYC-TV/Channel 3 and The Fish, WFHM-FM/95.5. Reporting news, weather, sports and bringing you daily local programming, each member of the ABC4 Utah team is dedicated to bringing balanced reporting, journalistic integrity, and honesty to Utah's news. [51] On July 31, 1947, W8XUB began broadcasting at 100.7MHz. The music structure also was modified at this time as artists such as Michael Jackson, Madonna and Prince soon found airplay on WMMS. The Alan Cox Show: 1/20/23 | 100.7 WMMS | The Alan Cox Show [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. Rio created the Mr. Leonard character over several years at stations in Houston, New York and Philadelphia before his Cleveland debut. 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. Perlich moved to Los Angeles in 1972 and became a radio legend in that town, too, working at KMET and later KFAC and KCSN, where he hosted acclaimed interview shows. 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. 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. Mama, come get your baby boy! (Plain Dealer file photo), Proud Parma natives, this longtime duo is better known as the affable hosts of "The Brian and Joe Show." The station was known as "The Home of the Buzzard" at first. Matt remains one of the most popular air personalities from WMMS fifty year history. The top 40 deejays were retained, but it was soon obvious that they were inadequate hosts for a progressive rock format. [119] Neumann defended the decision later as the right thing to have done, noting how alternative rock would eventually fade as a format several years later. [160], WMMS's program lineup currently features Rover's Mornings Glory in morning drive, Dan Stansbury middays, The Alan Cox Show in afternoon drive and Corey Rotic evenings. Share this Story: UPDATE: Erika Lauren announced on Twitter Dec. 7 that she would not return to the Alan Cox Show in 2020. She left Cleveland to take a radio job in Florida. Past show members at WMMS include, Ryan Hoppe, Scott Taylor (now a reporter at WJLA in Washington, DC, Kaitlin Geosano, and Rob Garguilo. [85] Four different program directors, including Rich Piombino and Michael Luczak, came and went with varying levels of success. He came to the Agora armed with a new album, Darkness on the Edge of Town. [34], Loveline, Westwood One's nationally syndicated call-in show hosted by Dr. Drew, aired weeknights from August 2008 through June 2010. 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. Brian and Joe talk to Rob Thomas from Matchbox 20. The short-lived music magazine featured a diverse mix of interviews, opinion pieces, album reviews, Buzzard playlists, concert listings and photos from station events. Photos. Len "Boom" Goldberg's unmistakable voice was heard for three decades on 100.7 WMMS. Boom also spent time on the Buzzard Morning Zoo and filled in during other air shifts. She worked there until 1999. "[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. Jeff & Flash were also credited as being major contributors in bringing the Rock Hall to Cleveland, by heavily promoting on-air a USA Today reader poll to decide which city should get it.[82]. For the station's tenth anniversary in 1978, WMMS hosted and broadcast a live Springsteen concert at the Agora Ballroom independent of his concert tour. (Plain Dealer file photo), Santini came to WMMS-FM/100.7 in 1994 after a stint at Canton's WRQK-FM/106.9. [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. He gave many new up and coming artists exposure and put them on the map to their road to stardom. 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. WMMS News anchor, Mike Olszewski paints a picture of the scene on that dreadful day. Those guys are f--kin' heroes!" 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. [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. During his long tenure doing evenings at the station Denny interviewed hundreds of rock stars including the late John Lennon. [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. 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. The Buzzard was the co-creation of Gorman, Sanders and American Greetings artist David Helton.[31]. The broadcast consists entirely of talk, a mix of current events, pop culture, and stories from the staff. He first began in radio in 1973 at noted Cleveland rock station WMMS (100.7 FM, "The Buzzard"). WMMS does not air additional network programming, and the station only airs select games during spring training. We all got to know Billy Bass pretty good. Brian and Joe were the first to broadcast from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's radio station in 1995. 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. Goldfinger, The Refreshments, Triple Fast Action and others played the second stage at the top of the hill. Later, he worked as Senior Marketing and Sales Strategist for Telos Alliance, a local technology firm that designs and manufactures audio equipment. 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. 20 Country Women We Are Celebrating During International Women's Day Mar 01, 2021. "I think it's like a young nation, the changes of the times," said John Gorman, the station's program director during its 1970s and '80s Buzzard heyday. Attendance was by general admission. 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. Here's a look at some of the most iconic radio personalities to appear on the. [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. Right up until his departure in 1988, Kid Leo played "Born to Run" as his signature sign-off song every Friday night at 5:55 to kick off the weekend for area listeners. (Plain Dealer file photo), One of Cleveland radio's most popular -- and enduring -- morning teams, Jeff Kinzbach and Ed "Flash" Ferenc were a cornerstone of WMMS-FM/100.7 during its Buzzard heyday. 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. (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. (Plain Dealer file photo), Maria Farina landed at WMMS in 1986 fresh out of Ohio University and quickly gained popularity. WMMS Cleveland, Ohio United States Broadcast area Greater Cleveland Northeast Ohio Frequency 100.7MHz(HD Radio) Branding 100.7 WMMS: The Buzzard Programming Language(s) English Format Active rock/hot talk Subchannels HD2: BIN 99.1(All-news) Affiliations Cavaliers AudioVerse Cleveland Guardians WOIO Ownership Owner iHeartMedia (iHM Licenses, LLC) (Plain Dealer file photo), Korvan was one of the notable rock jocks from the 1970s heyday of WMMS-FM/100.7. 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. The show was a blend of music, comedy, news and sports, all with a definitively Cleveland sensibility. 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). CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It's a big birthday for The Buzzard. The show also drew national attention after holding a book burning party for Fifty Shades of Grey on July 8, 2012. 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. His was the booming voice on the station's hourly IDs, music segues, sweepers, and commercials. He died in 2014 at the age of 86. 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. [31] In 1981, Radio & Records identified "the malevolent feathered figure" as "the best-known station symbol in the country. On August 9, 1978, there was no hotter ticket in Cleveland.