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

Gorman, John; Feran, Tom

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1598510517 ISBN 13: 9781598510515

Publisher: Gray & Company, Publishers, 2008

Synopsis

Now in Paperback! This rock and roll radio memoir takes you behind the scenes at the nation's hottest station during FM's heyday, from 1973 to 1986. Sex and drugs, music and merchandising--it was a wild time when the FM airwaves were wide open for innovation. John Gorman led a small band of true believers who built Cleveland's WMMS from a neglected stepchild into an influential powerhouse. The station earned high praise from musicians and even higher ratings from listeners. Gorman tells how WMMS remade rock radio while Cleveland staked its claim as the Rock and Roll Capital by breaking many major international music acts. Filled with juicy insider details, this fast-paced story will entertain anyone who listened in during those glory days when FM delivered excitement and the Buzzard ruled the airwaves.

About this title

Review:

A nostalgic, narcotic ride through the history of a station that broke some of music's top groups while leaving local competitors in the dust.--Barry Goodrich"Currents" (11/15/2007)

John Gorman's memories and behind-the-scenes accounts are the next best thing to having the WMMS of the late-1970s to mid-1980s still on the air. This entertaining and amusing read will be appreciated by avid listeners of "The Buzzard" during its heyday and anyone interested in Cleveland's music history.-- (12/01/2007)

Written in an easy manner, parading zany, wonderful stories in a coherent, wildly entertaining style . . . If only radio today was as energized as this lot.-- (07/02/2008)

Gorman's memoir isn't just about a radio station in Cleveland; it's about the precarious place of rock radio in American culture . . . His love for the station he helped to create is apparent on every page. In fact, Gorman's tale is so engaging that it's hard not to become a fan of WMMS even for those of us who never had the chance to tune in.-- (04/24/2009)

A time capsule of an era when FM rock stations were emerging from the underground and becoming big business.--Northeast Radio Watch (03/10/2008)

More than just the story of that neglected stepchild-of-a-radio station and its powerhouse rise, it is a period piece. It is a time capsule of a bygone era. It shows the disparate Cleveland of yesterday and its rise in rock prominence and the floundering beginnings of FM radio (which is a story all the more poignant as the format continues to decline with the advent of satellite radio) and tells how they both grew and worked together to change the face of rock 'n' roll.-- (01/01/2010)

About the Author:

John Gorman moved from Boston to Cleveland in 1973 to join WMMS. Over the next thirteen years he helped turn it into one of the most popular and influential rock stations in the country. Now a radio consultant, Gorman has worked with stations in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Cleveland, and other markets. He won the Radio Consultant of the Year award at the 1985 annual Pop Music Convention and was awarded Operations Director of the Year in 1995 by Billboard magazine.

About this edition

• Publisher: Gray & Company, Publishers
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1598510517
• ISBN 13: 9781598510515
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 280