He's one of the most iconic characters in Cleveland history. From the mid-1970s to the late 1980s, there was hardly anyone in Northeast Ohio who didn't recognize ... the Buzzard.
Created in 1974 by artist David Helton as the mascot for Cleveland's rock radio station WMMS 101 FM, the Buzzard was featured on millions of bumper stickers, T-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, jackets, halter tops, belt buckles, buttons, posters, sunglasses, coffee cups, beer mugs, records, TV commercials, newspaper ads, billboards--you name it.
But why a buzzard?
It seemed like a good idea at the time. After years of economic decline and population loss, Cleveland in the 1970s was being called a dying city. WMMS was a young radio station struggling to find an audience, with the FM band still so new that most cars didn't even have FM receivers.
Pairing a defiant scavenger with a scrappy, creative team of on-air talent and promoters--it just felt right.
And it worked!
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Buzzard, this book digs into David Helton's personal archive and shares his hand-picked selection of more than 120 fun, vintage advertisements featuring the Buzzard.
Accompanying text provides back story and insider details from John Gorman, the WMMS program director and operations manager who dreamed up the Buzzard and helped lead the station to market domination in those glory days of FM rock and roll radio in Cleveland.
If you ever tuned in to an All Request Weekend (broadcast in quad!) or attended a Coffee Break Concert or wore your Buzzard T-shirt to school or to a show at Blossom (that you barely remembered the next day), just flip open this book to travel back in time ...
David Helton is an illustrator best known for creating the iconic Buzzard character used by groundbreaking Cleveland rock radio station WMMMS 101 FM in the 1970s and 1980s. A native of Chattanooga, Tennesee and graduate of the Ringling College of Art and Design in Florida, he moved to Cleveland in 1973 to work for American Greetings Corporation. He has illustrated for "Highlights for Children" magazine; for book publishers, including Scholastic and Random House; and for other brands, including Little Debbie Snacks.
John Gorman began his broadcasting career in Boston and in 1973 moved to Cleveland to join WMMS, a small, free-form FM station then under new ownership. Over the next thirteen years he helped turn WMMS into one of the most popular and influential rock stations in the country, serving as music director and program director, and eventually operations manager of WMMS and WHK. He helped start 98.5 WNCX in Cleveland and has worked with stations in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Cleveland, and other markets. He was inducted into the Ohio Radio-TV Hall of Fame in 2000.
