as wmms from 1957 to 1964 see wjto . the buzzard redirects here . for the german poem see der busant . wmms city cleveland ohio broadcast area greater cleveland northeast ohio branding 100.7 wmms the buzzard slogan cleveland s rock station frequency 100.7 mhz also on hd radio translator s w256bt cleveland 99.1 mhz first air date march 30 1946 overall september 28 1968 as wmms format active rock hot talk hd2 alternative rock erp 34 000 watts haat 183 meters class b facility id 73273 transmitter coordinates 41 21 30.00 n 81 40 3.00 w 41.3583333 n 81.6675000 w 41.3583333 ; 81.6675000 callsign meaning metromedia stereo former callsigns w8xub 1946 47 whkx 1947 48 whk fm 1948 68 former frequencies 107.1 mhz 1946 47 affiliations city club of cleveland cleveland cavaliers radio network cleveland indians radio network cleveland monsters iheartradio premiere networks premium choice total traffic and weather network united stations radio networks woio cleveland owner iheartmedia inc. citicasters licenses inc. sister stations waks wgar fm whlk wmji wtam webcast listen live hd2 listen live website 100.7 wmms wmms 100.7 fm branded 100.7 wmms the buzzard is a commercial radio station licensed to cleveland ohio serving greater cleveland and much of surrounding northeast ohio . widely regarded as one of the most influential rock stations in america throughout its history 1 2 3 4 the station has also drawn controversy for unusually aggressive tactics both on and off the air . 5 6 7 owned by iheartmedia inc. and broadcasting a mix of active rock and hot talk wmms serves as the flagship station for rover s morning glory the cleveland affiliate for the house of hair with dee snider and the home of radio personality alan cox . the station also serves as the fm flagship for the cleveland cavaliers and cleveland indians radio networks . besides a standard analog transmission wmms broadcasts over two hd radio channels and is available online via iheartradio . the hd2 digital subchannel which airs alternative rock under the brand 99x serves as the local affiliate for sixx sense with nikki sixx and serves as the radio home of the cleveland monsters . wmms hd2 also simulcasts over cleveland translator w256bt 99.1 fm . the wmms studios are located at the former centerior energy building in the cleveland suburb of independence while the station transmitter resides in neighboring seven hills . the wmms call letters first referred to an owner metromedia stereo but have since taken on a variety of other meanings . contents 1 overview 2 history 2.1 early years whk fm 2.2 progressive rock 1968 73 2.2.1 coffee break concerts 2.3 album oriented rock 1973 94 2.3.1 from find me to fm powerhouse 2.3.2 world series of rock 2.3.3 rock forty and the rock hall 2.3.4 rolling stone readers poll 2.3.5 changing times 2.3.6 the cleveland funeral 2.4 alternative rock 1994 97 2.4.1 the next generation 2.4.2 buzzardfest 2.5 active rock 1997 present 2.5.1 morning troubles 2.5.2 the maxwell show 2.6 studio and transmitter locations 3 current programming 3.1 rover s morning glory 3.2 the alan cox show 3.3 rock music and wmms hd2 3.4 sports coverage 4 references 5 further reading 6 external links overview edit created in april 1974 as an ironic twist on cleveland s down and out reputation as a decaying rust belt city the station s longtime promotional mascot has been the buzzard . 8 in 1981 radio & records identified the malevolent feathered figure as the best known station symbol in the country . 9 de emphasized in the fall of 2007 the scavenger was revived the following spring to coincide with the station s 40th anniversary and with the arrival of morning personality rover . 10 11 throughout the 1970s and 1980s wmms had a stable of personalities that remained fundamentally unchanged 1 4 attained a dominant market share in the local ratings 4 12 13 14 and posted market record high figures never duplicated by any other station . 4 13 wmms played a key role in breaking several major acts in the u.s. including david bowie rush and bruce springsteen . 1 station employees went on to take director and executive level positions in the recording industry namely with labels rca mercury and columbia . 15 16 considered a true radio legend wmms dj kid leo was chosen for rolling stone s heavy hundred the high and mighty of the music industry 1980 and named the best disc jockey in the country in a special 1987 issue of playboy . 16 17 noted filmmakers including cameron crowe almost famous and paul schrader light of day have called on both the buzzard and its personnel while preparing for various rock themed productions . 18 19 wmms was also a major driving force behind the successful campaign to bring the rock and roll hall of fame to cleveland . 1 20 rolling stone named wmms best radio station large market nine straight years 1979 87 as part of the magazine s annual readers poll 1 but the station admitted to stuffing the 1987 ballot following a february 1988 front page story in the plain dealer exposing manipulation . 21 22 23 seven years later members of the station s staff and management pleaded guilty to disrupting a national broadcast of the howard stern show that originated via the local stern affiliate cross town rival wncx . a federal offense the act nearly cost wmms its broadcasting license . 24 history edit early years whk fm edit on march 30 1946 25 radio station whk owned at that time by united broadcasting company a subsidiary of forest city publishing itself the parent company of the plain dealer launched an experimental fm station under the callsign w8xub at 107.1 megahertz mhz . 26 on july 31 1947 w8xub began broadcasting at 100.7 mhz . 27 on november 13 1947 the new fm station transitioned from experimental to commercial status ; increased its power ; and changed its callsign to whkx . 28 on november 11 1948 29 the station adopted the callsign whk fm . in 1958 both whk and whk fm were sold to metropolitan broadcasting itself renamed metromedia two years later . 26 like most early fm stations whk fm mostly simulcast the top 40 programming of its am sister station . in 1966 in an effort to make the medium more commercially viable the u.s. federal communications commission fcc mandated that fm stations could no longer duplicate the programming of their am sister stations . 26 seeing a small but significant groundswell of support for the medium in the market whk fm adopted a new progressive rock format on august 15 1968 . whk fm became one of a handful of commercial stations in the country to try that format many of which were owned by metromedia . 26 in order to firmly establish a separate identity and to reflect the station s ownership 30 the whk fm callsign was changed to wmms on september 28 1968 . 31 progressive rock 1968 73 edit november 1968 print ad for jefferson airplane concert metromedia found major success with progressive rock at kmet los angeles ksan san francisco wmmr philadelphia and wnew fm new york but low ratings and revenue in cleveland led the company to drop the format at wmms by may 1969 . the station first turned to adult contemporary then top 40 big band and finally the drake chenault automated hit parade 69 . 32 wmms reverted to progressive rock on september 11 1970 . following a legal dispute with a competing station owner over non compete clauses in their contracts former wixy personalities dick the wilde childe kemp and lou king kirby were signed by metromedia . the station briefly battled with wncr of nationwide communications itself filling the void created by the brief absence of wmms on the rock scene . key wncr personnel including former whk fm wmms personalities martin perlich and billy bass and station newcomer david spero were soon hired by wmms taking most of their audience with them . 33 34 during this time wmms used slogans derived from its call sign first as music means satisfaction and later as the place where music means something . 35 under the leadership of station manager billy bass and program director denny sanders who came to wmms from boston in 1971 wmms helped break many new rock artists nationally most notably david bowie . based on considerably high record sales in the cleveland market bowie in his ziggy stardust persona alongside the spiders from mars kicked off his first u.s. tour in the the rock capital a term coined by bass . 36 the wmms sponsored concert was a phenomenal success 33 37 and prompted the station to sponsor a second show that year . this second show sold out immediately and was held at the city s largest venue cleveland public hall . 37 in november 1972 wmms was sold to malrite communications a michigan based firm that relocated to cleveland upon purchase . under malrite ownership wmms would become an album oriented rock aor powerhouse much in the same vein as its former metromedia progressive rock siblings . coffee break concerts edit during this time wmms also began broadcasting a remarkable amount of live concerts many of which originated in cleveland and were produced by the station itself . the wmms coffee break concert was a weekly music interview show broadcast live from the station s studio and later with an audience at the agora ballroom . warren zevon john mellencamp lou reed peter frampton and a host of others performed on the program over the years recordings of which are still widely available as bootlegs . the wmms coffee break concerts were booked by denny sanders and hosted by len boom goldberg and later matt the cat . the concert series continued on well into the 1990s and early 2000s albeit much less frequently . 38 39 album oriented rock 1973 94 edit from find me to fm powerhouse edit first logo used after station s sale to malrite . in july 1973 john gorman joined wmms as music director and was promoted to program director and operations manager two months later where he remained for thirteen years . during this time with denny sanders as his creative services director and rhonda kiefer as programming assistant wmms broke all cleveland ratings and revenue records . wmms was the first radio station to employ full time promotion and marketing directors dan garfinkel and his successor jim marchyshyn . in time the station adopted new slogans reflecting the callsign we re your modern music station and your music marathon station . 40 41 although never used on the air listeners alternately knew the callsign as an acronym for weed makes me smile and magic mushrooms the latter referencing the somewhat controversial logo used before the buzzard . 35 42 wmms also began referring to its frequency in promotions as 101 fm a rounding off which continued for the next decade . roughly one year after its debut the buzzard was arguably the most recognizable logo in greater cleveland . poster by david helton . 43 contrary to what many believe the choice of the second malrite logo had nothing to do with buzzard day the annual folksy event held in hinckley township ohio . 44 rather wmms adopted a buzzard as its mascot in april 1974 because of the then tenuous economic state of cleveland less than five years away from becoming the first major american city to enter into default since the great depression 45 and the winged creature s classification as a scavenger . in other words the carrion eating bird represented death and dying a darkly comic reflection of the city s decline . ec horror comics fritz the cat rocky and bullwinkle and looney tunes all served as inspirations for the