Location : Cleveland, OH
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.
Technorati tag: WMMS The Buzzard John Gorman
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