By 1984, the WMMS format moved to an CHR/AOR hybrid, playing a great deal of Top 40 rock singles in hot rotation mixed with album cuts; this new blended rock/Top 40 format was soon known by those at the station as Rock Forty. "[83] Negative reaction was swift and widespread;[44][45] some called the scheme a mere "lack of judgement,"[44] while a reporter for the Akron Beacon Journal compared the station's response to that of discredited former Vice-president Spiro Agnew.[84]. They brought pleasure to the average Clevelanders workday with segments like Token Jokes of the Morning, Spousal Arousal and Blow Something Up. 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. During the 20th anniversary broadcast, Mike Olszewski, along with Jeff & Flash, spoke with Wally Bryson of the Raspberries and one of the National Guardsmen. 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). [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. Matt Harris served in the interim until WMMS hired Dick Dale (Bert Morris) from WPLA/Jacksonville. WMMS also airs The Week in Cox, a weekly recap show on Sunday mornings. 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. The band featured Eddie Vedder (trying to remain lowkey) as the drummer, who was helping out his then wife and bassist Bethe Liebling. "[27][36] WMMS played a key role in breaking several major acts in the U.S., including David Bowie, Rush, and Bruce Springsteen. She was well on her way to becoming the queen of rock and roll. This second show sold out immediately, and was held at the city's largest venue: Cleveland Public Hall.[63]. Bruce held on to the innocence and the romance. R.E.M. Jerry Busch.com. Denny Sanders Denny Sanders 1972 - 1986 The bands performing are: Kelly Rowland / Aqua / Kelis / Natasha Bedingfield / Rachel Stevens / Beverley Knight / 911 / clea / Jamelia / Jayde Adams / Soul II Soul / Krystal Klear / Arielle Free / hifi sean / Queer House Party / Ekkah / Leo Kalyan / Louis III / Nimmo / Tom Aspaul / Artful . Rosenhaus hosts the network pregame show; and Hamilton hosts the network postgame show. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). Workhouse Arts Center: Mount Vernon Nights. Music News German City Cancels Roger Waters Concert, Calls Him Antisemitic Feb 28, 2023. . Though, one of the was "Heartbreaker.". John Gorman, Denny Sanders and Kid Leo organized the original campaign with Tunc Erim, assistant to Atlantic Records president Ahmet Ertegun. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. [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. His album with backing band The Bluenotes "This Notes For You," was different than anything Young had released before. The concert series continued on well into the 1990s and early 2000s, albeit much less frequently.[64][65]. In the trailer for the new show the character Barry, played by Bill Hader is wearing a vintage WMMS shirt. The ritual lasted through his entire career at the Buzzard. [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. Joining the Chicago native are Cleveland area comedians Bill Squire and Mary Santora, and former intern-turned-phone-screener Cody (Poundcake) Brown. 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). Thu . [148][146][152][153][154][155], A devoted fan of heavy metal, Cox considers himself more of a comedian than a disc jockey. Springsteens famous 1978 Agora show is, arguably, the most famous gig in Cleveland history. 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. Springsteen played the Agora in the spring of 1974 as part of "The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle Tour." Currently there are 2 upcoming events. [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. "[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. Until Aug 20, 2022. (Interview) 3. July 11, 1995. On November 11, 1948,[54] the station adopted the callsign WHK-FM. [121] The Jacor purchase closed on August 10, 1998; 59days later, on October 8, 1998, Clear Channel Communications won a bidding war for Jacor in a $6.5billion deal. [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]. [120] Geared as a format change to contemporary hit radio (CHR) using the "KISS FM" brand,[30][126] the decision was reversed at the last minute by management. WMMS during this period would play a key role in breaking several major acts in the U.S., including: Rush, Roxy Music, Bruce Springsteen, Southside Johnny, Fleetwood Mac, Meat Loaf, The Pretenders, the New York Dolls, Lou Reed, Mott the Hoople, Boston, and The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. Police arrested Williams after the show, causing legal troubles for the band and the venue. Nevertheless, another great "Coffee Break Concert" from WMMS, Cleveland. People in radio say he was not an easy guy, that dealing with him was like a daily root canal. 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. [68][69][70] WMMS also began referring to its frequency in promotions as "101 FM", a rounding-off which continued for the next decade. [90] Stern had arrived on the Cleveland airwaves less than two years earlier, and in that time took his syndicated program on rival WNCX from an Arbitron ranking of thirteen to number one. "Round for round, pound for pound, there ain't no finer band around. Based on considerably high record sales in the Cleveland market, Bowie (in his Ziggy Stardust persona alongside The Spiders from Mars) kicked off his first U.S. tour in "The Rock Capital" (a term coined by Bass). "[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. The live recordings would make up his most popular album, "StagePass.". Hi Fis live on WMMS Coffee Break Concert with Mat the Cat at the Agora in Cleveland Ohio Early 1980s 01. In 1966, in an effort to make the medium more commercially viable, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) mandated that FM stations could no longer duplicate the programming of their AM sister stations. [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. BLF also praised musicians and was a great fan of the Texas Tornadoes and Blue Cheer. Moms to be participated in the bikini contest for a chance to win $1,000. Thats how big MMS was. No. 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. Heavily bootlegged, the concert further cemented the relationship between the two in fans' minds, and well into the 2000s Cleveland remains one of Springsteen's strongest bases. Signing on in 1946 as the FM adjunct to WHK, the WMMS call letters were affixed in 1968 under Metromedia ownership, having stood for "MetroMedia Stereo" and meant as a compliment to the newly established progressive rock format, but have since taken on a variety of other meanings. What puts the show over the top is David Bowie backing Iggy on keyboard. Matt remains one of the most popular air personalities from WMMS' fifty year history. Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Tour: WMMS Coffee Break Concert Tour statistics Add setlist Setlist In the Heartland I'll Never Need Anyone More (Than I Need You Tonight) Working Again Midwest Midnight When Your Heart Says It's Right Heaven & Hell We Can Make It Lover Somewhere in the Night Don't Stop the Music He Can't Love You Let's Hear It Strike Up the Band The team did later relocate to Cleveland, but lasted only a few months until an acrimonious breakup between Wolf and Mulrooney. [103] Despite signs of success, the stations were sold again in 1996: WMMS went to Nationwide Communications,[105] while WHK went to Salem Communications. : Michael K. McIntyre's Tipoff", "Cleveland radio personality Chad Zumock no longer working at WMMS after OVI arrest", "Bo Matthews to Program Cleveland's New 99X", "Bo Matthews Named VP Of Programming For CCM+E-Cincinnati", "Cavaliers and iHeartMedia Announce AM/FM Simulcast", "Cavs and Monsters Announce Multi-Year Extensions of Radio Broadcast Agreements", "As a reminder, we cannot stream @Cavs or @Indians on the Internet or via the @iHeartRadio app", "Nope - you'll want to grab the exclusive NBA Game Time app for that", "No, but you can listen free online w/ NBA Audio League Pass or paid w/ the NBA League Pass app", "Cleveland Indians, WTAM AM/1100 reach 5-year deal to broadcast games", "Cleveland Indians, WTAM, WMMS reach multiyear deal to carry games through (at least) 2023", "Per MLB rules we are not allowed to stream games", "MLB At Bat app only for streaming audio", "Streaming? ", WMMS-FM---FREEMAN,-Bill-'BLF-Bash'--(Date-Unknown). There's proof! Now, imagine that level of theatrics inside the Agora that November. The call letters WMMS stand for "MetroMedia Stereo". [88] Management ordered a change to the Buzzard by giving it a flat-top and mullet. 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.". Rush's 1974 show at the Agora, aka "The First American Broadcast," was part of a successful run early on in Cleveland, which helped Rush gain popularity in the States. He is part of the permanent radio exhibit in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The station continued to decline during the ownership transition from Malrite to Shamrock; then Shamrock sold both WMMS and WHK to OmniAmerica, a broadcasting company run by former Malrite executives Carl Hirsch and Dean Thacker, which already owned oldies station WMJI. 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