The Buzzard

"Essential reading for musicians, entertainment industry leaders, and music fans alike ... John Gorman describes in exclusive, behind-the-scenes detail the state of rock 'n' roll from the early '70s to the late '80s, when just about anything happened and everyone looked the other way." -- Mike Shea, CEO/Co-Founder, Alternative Press magazine

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 creativity and 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 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.

“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.”

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 12:00:00 AM)
A time capsule of an era when FM rock stations were emerging from the underground and becoming big business.-- "Northeast Radio Watch" (3/10/2008 12:00:00 AM)
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" (4/24/2009 12:00:00 AM)
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.-- "Cleveland Magazine" (12/1/2007 12:00:00 AM)
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" (1/1/2010 12:00:00 AM)
--Peter Lindblad "Goldmine Magazine" (7/2/2008 12:00:00 AM)

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. Gorman received the Radio Consultant of the Year award at the 1985 annual Pop Music Convention and was named Operations Director of the Year in 1995 by Billboard magazine. He was inducted into the Ohio Radio-TV Hall of Fame in 2000 and received an Award for Excellence in Broadcasting from the Cleveland Association of Broadcasters in 2008. He lives in Bay Village, Ohio. Tom Feran has been a writer and editor for The Plain Dealer since 1982. He was named Best Columnist in Ohio in 2007 by the Society of Professional Journalists, and is former president of the Television Critics Association of North America. His work has appeared in publications including Ohio Magazin, Cleveland Magazine, and DirecTV Magazine, and he has been a regular pseudonymous contributor to the tabloid Weekly World News. He is a graduate of Harvard College, where he was president and editor of the Lampoon, and of Cleveland St. Ignatius High School.

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