Cleveland Rock & Roll Memories: True and Tall Tales of the Glory Days, Told by Musicians, DJs, Promoters, and Fans Who Made the Scene in the '60s, '70s, and '80s [Paperback]

Carlo Wolff (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2006

Music fans who grew up with Rock and Roll in Cleveland remember a golden age. We were young, so was the music, and the sense of freedom and excitement the Rock and Roll scene delivered was electric. There were so many great clubs, like the Agora, where every big band seemed to break in the 1970s. The trendsetting radio stations, from A.M.'s WIXY 1260 to F.M.'s groundbreaking "Home of the Buzzard", WMMS. And all those memorable shows. The free Coffee Break Concerts--remember Springsteen just when he hit it big? The gigantic World Series of Rock. Nights on the lawn at Blossom (including local favorites the Michael Stanley Band and their record-setting sellout streak).
This book collects the favorite memories of Clevelanders who made the scene: fans, musicians, DJs, reporters, club owners, and more.
Includes rare photographs and other memorabilia such as concert posters, bumper stickers, pins, and ticket stubs.

Editorial Reviews

Review

A high-spirited, very conversational compilation of true and tall tales of the glory days of the Cleveland music scene, as told through the eyes of musicians, DJs, promoters and fans. --Goldmine

A fun, incisive look at three decades of Cleveland s music history. The result is a well-researched work that is an absolute blast to read . . . Feels less like following a detailed history text than flipping through a scrapbook, or watching a documentry . . . A sharply written piece of folk history. It s a quick read, and certainly an enjoyable one for Cleveland rock fans who were there the first time around. --West Life

Largely presented as an oral history, making the book essentially a collection of anecdotes. As a result, you get a real you are there feeling, especially as author Wolff covers everything rock-related that happened in town. . . A bittersweet look back at a time before the mainstream music industry became totally pre-packaged, a time when radio DJs could actually choose the songs they were going to play. --Harp Magazine

About the Author

Carlo Wolff writes for numerous publications including Goldmine, Billboard.com, the Boston Globe, the Chicago Sun Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, Sun Newspapers and Scene. He specializes in music criticism, book reviews, and feature articles about popular culture, travel, and business. He is also Features Editor of LH-Lodging Hospitality magazine. He lives in South Euclid, Ohio.

Product Details

• Paperback: 131 pages
• Publisher: Gray & Co., Publishers (October 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 188622899X
• ISBN-13: 978-1886228993
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 8.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #123,788 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carlo Wolff writes for the Boston Globe, Chicago Sun-Times, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and Christian Science Monitor. He focuses on book reviews, music criticism, and features about popular culture, travel and business. He is a regular columnist for OhioAuthority.com and contributes to the web site of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

From February 1990 to August 2008, Wolff worked for Lodging Hospitality, a trade publication targeting the hotel industry. He now freelances to that publication and other trade periodicals.

Wolff's blog: www.carlowolff.com.

Wolff has been involved in three books, including The Encyclopedia of Record Producers, a 1999 Billboard publication instigated by Aurora resident Eric Olsen, founder of www.blogcritics.com, a portal to which Wolff occasionally contributes.

Wolff's most recent book is Cleveland Rock and Roll Memories, published by Gray and Company.

A review of Wolff's is contained in "Killed," a compilation of censored journalism from The Nation Books.

In addition to his literary criticism, Wolff has chronicled and interpreted jazz for decades, including a long stint as key jazz critic for the Plain Dealer. He served on the board of the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra (www.clevelandjazz.org) from 2004 to 2010 and has written liner notes and promotional material for such companies as Fantasy, Prestige and Milestone, Sony/Columbia, Warner Brothers and Blue Note. Wolff lives with his wife and two daughters in suburban Cleveland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Cleveland Rock Memories, November 28, 2007

By 

Gregg Eldred (Avon Lake, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cleveland Rock & Roll Memories: True and Tall Tales of the Glory Days, Told by Musicians, DJs, Promoters, and Fans Who Made the Scene in the '60s, '70s, and '80s (Paperback)

There are several books on the market in Cleveland that trace the city's roots in rock. There is even one that deals strictly with WMMS, the once high flying Buzzard and the onetime king of the airwaves. This book, Cleveland Rock and Roll Memories, by Carlo Wolff, is the latest in a line. I will say that some of you probably won't care one bit about this very specific book. However, if you are a fan of rock, you may find it interesting.

Chapter List:
1. Making Waves - Radio
2. Shakin' All Over - The British Invade Cleveland
3. Passing Through, Plugging In - National Acts
4. So You Wanna Be A Rock and Roll Star - Local Acts
5. In the Trenches - Other Local Acts
6. Hangouts & Hotspots - Clubs
7. Fanning the Flames - Music and the Media
8. Selling Sounds and Styles - Retail

Back before radio went corporate and bands made many stops across this great land, Cleveland was king (after all, that is one of the reasons why the Rock Hall is here). Detroit is only a couple of hours away, so after bands released new singles in Motown, they headed to Cleveland to promote them. The airwaves were ruled by aggressive and unique voices, Larry Morrow, Alan Freed, Kid Leo, Matt "The Cat," Billy Bass, Lynn Tolliver, Bill Randle, and many others. These pioneers were always looking at the music scene, and they brought new voices to town, Elvis, Bruce Springsteen, Roxy Music, David Bowie, among others. And it wasn't just radio. Television played a big part in putting the Cleveland music scene on the map. From 1964 to 1971, a television show called Upbeat showcased new and old talent. And before the days of syndication and satellite, tapes of the show would be sent to other markets, increasing the reach of these bands. I haven't even touched on the number of clubs and record stores in the area.

So why is this book unique? Wolff lets the people that were there to tell the stories. Every chapter has a theme, and he lets the voices speak. There is very little editorial content, it is all the musicians, DJs, fans, and promoters. Really, he interviews people that were there when Elvis and Beatles came to town. When Pink Floyd played the Stadium. When Bruce Springsteen rocked the Agora. He talks to the DJs, and they tell you how they found the artists and promoted them. Fans talking about hanging out with the bands. He dedicates a lot of space to Jane Scott, the nations' premier music reviewer (she wasn't really a critic) who was the oldest person in attendance at the concerts - she is a local legend and very well known to the bands that passed through Cleveland. Wolff includes some great memorabilia in the margins, like concert tickets (David Bowie for $4.50, Rolling Stones for $5.50, The Eagles for $3.50, and Pink Floyd for $3.00), the best concerts, record stores through the decades, groundbreaking Cleveland concerts, and newspaper ads for the shows/clubs. They all add to the stories that are told.

If you are from the Cleveland area, this is a must read. Especially if you are/were really into the music. For those of you outside the area, this will give you a real flavor of why Cleveland is "The Rock and Roll Capital of the World." As I was talking to others about this book, everyone told me about the first concert they attended, the most amazing acts that they witnessed, or some other rock anecdote. It is a conversation starter. And it takes you to the events, as if you were there. It is a quick, enjoyable, and highly entertaining read. And you might learn something, too.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hail Cleveland Rock and Roll, January 27, 2007

By 

Carl Gonzalez "Book CG" (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cleveland Rock & Roll Memories: True and Tall Tales of the Glory Days, Told by Musicians, DJs, Promoters, and Fans Who Made the Scene in the '60s, '70s, and '80s (Paperback)

If you are from Cleveland, or lived here during the 60s through the 80s, you'll know what this book is about. Carlo Wolff covers the high and the low points of what was Cleveland Rock and Roll during that time. If you need a rerun to what was happening in the music scene in Cleveland, this is it. The book relects a history that ties itself to sounds and places that are gone for good. Elvis, Joey and the Continentals, the Beatles, The Choir, Rastus, Rolling Stones, David Bowie; they were either from here or played here. All of them left an important and permanent mark in the tapestry of Cleveland music. It's all in here. Learn how Carlo Wolff has woven this thirty year history of Cleveland Rock into a very entertaining book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cleveland Rock and Roll Memories, April 5, 2008

By 

David Jones (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Cleveland Rock & Roll Memories: True and Tall Tales of the Glory Days, Told by Musicians, DJs, Promoters, and Fans Who Made the Scene in the '60s, '70s, and '80s (Paperback)

Carlo Wolff has done a wonderful job of collecting the comments of folks who lived in Cleveland during the 60's, 70's and 80's and their memories of an era of music that will probably never be seen again.

This is a really fun book to read! It is also an amazing resource that reminds the reader over and over again of groups, concerts, disc jockies, radio stations, and people who helped to make Cleveland, Ohio a cornerstone for rock and roll in America.

I was reading this book when my company was holding a sales meeting. We ended up having a bunch of phone calls home to family and friends to determine which songs were song by which bands. One single book was able to take a room full of a variety of ages all to a place where we were having a ball together! Of course, my boss thought we should spend more time thinking about sales! Ha! That was not going to happen when we had Cleveland Rock and Roll Memories in the room!

This book is a great gift for anyone who loves music and grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. It is also a great book for fans of Rock and Roll who want to see the influence of a city that changed music forever!