Customer Reviews

The Buzzard: Inside the Glory Days of WMMS and Cleveland Rock Radio: A Memoir

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
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2 star:		(1)
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This book is so good that my husband and I clearly needed two copies, as we wrestled each other nightly for reading rights (I finished the book last night, so he has it all to himself now).

The Buzzard is John Gorman's unique memoir and singular history of WMMS. For people who love Cleveland/Northeast Ohio and WMMS, it's a must-read.

The book is also a remarkable insider's view of the beginnings of FM radio. My sons (in their 20s) are music aficionados, and I've tried and failed to convey to them the thrills, the excitement, the quantum leap that FM radio was many moons ago. Where I failed, John Gorman succeeds brilliantly, in prose that's conversational, intelligent, and engaging.

I also found The Buzzard to be a timeless primer on genius in marketing and promotions, and the physical/mental/emotional and spiritual dedication required to achieve greatness in a business endeavor.

I'm still laughing at Gorman's stories about Joan Jett's visit to WMMS and the "Welcome WMMS Buzzards" banners at the Roman Gardens restaurant -- my favorites among dozens of unforgettable moments he shares.

Enjoy The Buzzard!

This is a must read for radio fans, rock music fans, Cleveland fans, marketing fans. In other words, a number of people will find different things to enjoy about this book.
The book describes the rise and fall of one of the greatest radio stations. For Clevelanders who've always tried to describe what we had to others...well, hand them this book.
I plan on buying multiple copies for Xmas gifts and for friends hitting 50 as I'm about to do.

This book is fantastic for anyone who came of age during the 70's and early 80's in Cleveland, OH, and listened to radio. WMMS was what EVERYONE under 30 was listening to back then, and the DJ's were larger than life personalities who were friends with Springsteen, Bryan Ferry of Roxy Music, etc. This book gives insights into the world of WMMS of that era. HIGHLY recommended from this displaced Clevelander now living life in Seattle (sigh....)

Anyone growing up in Cleveland in the 70s can relate to Gorman's vivid recollection of events that put Cleveland on the map as the "Rock and Roll" capital of the world. I thought my recall of the decade was good until I read this book and realized there was much I forgot. If your formative years involved tuning in to the Buzzard (Between waking up with Jeff and Flash and going to bed with Betty)... this is your book! Big thanks to John for sharing our memoirs.

It was a special time in Cleveland, Ohio, when stations on something called FM radio became more than playing programming from its AM affiliate.

Though WMMS had been building a solid local following by late-1969, it was the early-1970s when the station became a powerhouse through amazing creativity and having an atmosphere of ownership with the audience.

July 1973 was a watershed moment for the station, as John Gorman was hired as music director and was soon promoted to program director & operations manager, the posts he held until 1986. Gorman and co-author Tom Ferran provide an insider's account to those golden years when WMMS ruled the roost in northeast Ohio and beyond.

From the unique Buzzard logos - created by local artist David Helton, Gorman and Denny Sanders - to promotional tie-ins with Belkin Productions, Blossom Music Center, the Agora Ballroom, and the Front Row Theater & unique programming like the live Coffee Break Concert, it was a party that was never going to end, that included monster ratings and propelling artists into the national spotlight.

By the time Gorman left in 1986, the FM landscape had changed and the popularity of WMMS began a swift descent. Gorman briefly returned to the station in the 1990s as vice president and director of operations, but the magical time was gone for good.

But it was a wild ride and Gorman's recollections are an important piece to the rock-n-roll puzzle in this amazing era for pop culture in the "Rock-n-Roll Capital of the World."

Good book, particularly if you lived in the Cleveland area and listened to WMMS- what a bunch of memories this books stirred up, things I had totally forgotten about. Memories of Surf Side 6 beach parties, the little blurbs recorded by artists saying they listen to WMMS, fan appreciation concerts, etc. It seemed like it was just yesterday, and what fun we used to have. Of course, there were even more stories that none of us not in the business heard in the first place, some pretty incredible. Thoroughly enjoyable read.

I was a parttime DJ in the late 60's and this book is a trip down memory
lane even if I wasn't anywhere near Cleveland.
Now, I'm a small business owner and the management tips and screw ups in this book are still relevant.
If you can run a successful radio station, you can run any business.

In the Late 1960s two things "stuck-out" and I'm ashamed to say that I remember them to this day...the Hough Ave Riots (racism) & the Cuyahoga River caught fire (1969)... Cleveland , Ohio had its share of "put-downs"

WELCOME the 1970s & WMMS 101/100.7 FM radio....The Home of the BUZZARD!

Going thru grade school, Junior High school , High School(& there-after )
listening to WMMS 101 FM "was,is & all ways COOL"!!! As John Gormans' book points-out about the "BUZZARD Crew", what was done, AND ALWAYS the listener(s)put-a-smile on Clevelands face ! Unique music (Rock-n-Roll),
Home-Grown music ie. the Michael Stanley Band & an education on local happenings ***in a positive light! It clearly is a memory that will last
a lifetime! My THANKS to John Gorman & Denny Sanders for ALL of your efforts!

Radiophiles, rock history buffs, Clevelanders, marketing and promotions people, and anyone interested in the rise of a major FM radio station would be interested in this book. Many people equate the current FM product as "corporate," "homogenized," and, worst of all, "lame." Take a journey back in time when FM radio was none of those things.

Contents:
Foreword; Find Me; Welcome to Cleveland; Radio Architect; A New Identity; "That's MY Station!"; Number One; It's Still a Business; Hatching the Buzzard; The World Series of Rock; Got-ta Got-ta Get Down!; "We Don't Go to Work; We Go to War"; Continuous Party; The Switch; The Voice of Rock and Roll; Moving On Up; The Buzzard and The Boss; Coffee Break Concerts; Beatles Blitz; Chimps, Rats, and Buzzard Killers; Into the '80's; Pride of Cleveland; Video Stars, Radio Stars; "Bring the Next One On"; Your Modern Music Station; Buzzardland; Taking the Fight To The Airwaves; Choosing Sides; "WMMS Can Call Itself Anything It Wants"; Departures and Divisions; The Rock Stops Here; Know Your Close; End of an Era; Acknowledgements; Cast of Characters; Index

The Buzzard: Inside the Glory Days of WMMS and Cleveland Rock Radio--A Memoir, by John Gorman, takes you behind the scenes and off the air, with one of the greatest rock stations ever. Gorman was the music director, program director, and operations manager of WMMS and WHK (the AM station that was owned by Malrite Communications). He finally pens the memoir for the many people that have been waiting. He relives 1973 to 1986, the years that took WMMS from one of the lowest rated radio stations in Cleveland to the hottest station in the country. Along the way, you read about how he, and his driven and dedicated staffers and on-air personalities, out-programmed, out-promoted, and just plain out-foxed, the other radio stations in Cleveland and the "record weasels." They made Cleveland a "must" stop for artists, promoters, and managers by finding and playing the best music of the time, and having a loyal audience to buy the albums

Consider this memoir as a fitting tribute to your youth, when the music (and the radio station) mattered. Great personalities like Murray Saul, Len "Boom" Goldberg, Bill "BLF" Freeman, Jeff Kinzbach, Kid Leo, Matt the Cat, and Betty Korvan (to name but a few) are featured. Exceptional office staff and managers, like Walt Tiburski and Carl Hirsch, are given their due. But what makes this book shine is the insiders view of the rise of a great radio station. You will remember the promotions, the slogans, the station ID's, and the personalities but this book will provide the insight as to why you heard what you heard. And many of the recollections will make you smile, especially if you were there: listening on the radio, in the crowd at a Coffee Break Concert, or wearing the latest Buzzard clothing. And based on WMMS' ratings and promotions, John Gorman knew that you were.

Highly recommended.

In this age of homogenized, advertisement-bloated over-the-air radio it is somewhat depressing to look back at a time when on-air personalities had the freedom to champion musicians they believed in. I was fortunate to have spent my high school years during the time John Gorman was turning WMMS into something special.

The book is well written and insightful. If the book has one flaw, it is in it's brevity. However as is, it is a fun, quick read which recaptures an all-too short time in radio history when music meant something.