20 Facts About WMMS

WMMS was a major driving force behind the successful campaign to bring the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to Cleveland.

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.

Under the leadership of station manager Billy Bass and program director Denny Sanders, WMMS helped break many new rock artists nationally, most notably David Bowie.

The WMMS-sponsored concert was a "phenomenal success" and prompted the station to sponsor a second show that year.

In November 1972, WMMS was sold to Malrite Communications, a Michigan-based firm that relocated to Cleveland upon purchase.

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Under Malrite ownership, WMMS would become an album-oriented rock powerhouse, much in the same vein as its former MetroMedia progressive rock siblings.

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.

WMMS began referring to its frequency in promotions as, a rounding-off which continued for the next decade.

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 – and the winged-creature's classification as a scavenger.

Study conducted by MBA students at Case Western Reserve University in 1975 found that the new WMMS logo was more recognizable to those living in Greater Cleveland than both Chief Wahoo of the Cleveland Indians and even Coca-Cola.

Unable to service its growing debt, Malrite chose to leave radio and sold off all its remaining properties in 1993: WMMS went to Shamrock Broadcasting, the Roy Disney broadcasting firm.

WMMS lured popular morning personalities Brian Fowler and Joe Cronauer away from rival WENZ—then an alternative rock station—as the successors to Jeff and Flash on The Buzzard Morning Zoo.

WMMS scheduled a second Green Day performance just two months later – this time at Blossom Music Center – and at a near-record-low cost of $5 per ticket, the station gave fans a "second chance" to see the band live.

WMMS shifted format to active rock on February 17,1997, under the direction of Bob Neumann, who had previously programmed WNCX and WENZ.

WMMS again served as the FM flagship to the Cleveland Browns Radio Network from 2002 to 2012, with Jim Donovan and Doug Dieken as announcers.

Maxwell was known for having feuds with other radio personalities during the show's time at WMMS, including Rover of Rover's Morning Glory and fellow WTAM afternoon host Mike Trivisonno; by 2009, Maxwell had become the number one afternoon program in several key demographics.

All other air talent heard on WMMS is provided via iHeartMedia's "Premium Choice" voice-tracking service.

The station hosts two additional HD Radio subchannels: WMMS-HD2 is the Cleveland affiliate for the Black Information Network, while WMMS-HD3 carries an alternative rock format.

WMMS has served as the FM flagship station for the Cleveland Cavaliers Radio Network since 2014, sharing network flagship status with AM sister station WTAM.

WMMS has served as the FM flagship station for the Cleveland Guardians Radio Network since 2013, again sharing network flagship status with AM sister station WTAM.