The Buzzard: Inside the Glory Days of WMMS and Cleveland Rock Radio--a Memoir - Hardcover

Gorman, John

3.9

106 ratings by Goodreads

9781886228474: The Buzzard: Inside the Glory Days of WMMS and Cleveland Rock Radio--a Memoir

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1886228477 ISBN 13: 9781886228474

Publisher: Gray & Co, 2007

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This Rock-radio memoir goes behind the scenes at the nation's hottest station during FM's heyday in the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. 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 top musicians and even higher ratings from listeners. Gorman explains how WMMS reinvented radio and how Cleveland earned it's claim as the Rock and Roll capitol by breaking dozens of major international music acts. The fun eventually died when FM went corporate in the late 1980s, but it was a heck of a ride while it lasted! For baby boomers who listened in during those glory days when FM was king--and the new generation of internet broadcasters working radio's new frontier.

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Review:

"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." -- Goldmine Magazine "Goldmine Magazine"

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. -- Book Reviewer "Goldmine Magazine"

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. -- Book Reviewer "Small Press Reviews"

For anyone who remembers the days when the Buzzard ruled the airwaves, this is a rare glimpse into the sex and drugs, music and merchandising that made the station so successful. -- Book Reviewer "Northern Ohio Live"

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.--Peter Lindblad"Goldmine Magazine" (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.--Marc Shuster"Small Press Reviews" (04/24/2009)

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)

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.--Mark Toriski"Great Lakes Life" (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.

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