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.

The Buzzard: Inside the Glory Days of WMMS and Cleveland Rock Radio--A Memoir

Biographies & Memoirs

Feran, Tom

GORMAN, John

Arts & Literature

Gray & Company, Publishers

“A vivid picture of an honest man in the insane world of television. Highly recommended.” — Midwest Book Review
Cleveland TV legend “Big Chuck” Schodowski tells hundreds of funny and surprising stories from a lifetime in television—in his familiar, good-natured, Cleveland-to-the-bone style.
 Since 1960, Chuck has been on camera, behind the camera, and in the director’s chair. He collaborated with Ernie Anderson on the groundbreaking “Ghoulardi” show, and continued to host a late-night show across four decades—the longest such run in TV history. He wrote and directed two thousand hilarious sketches that were watched religiously by adoring fans.
Revisit favorite characters including the Kielbasy Kid, Certain Ethnic Guy, Ben Crazy, and many more. Chuck's stories will entertain fans—and anyone who enjoys behind-the-scenes tales of television and celebrities.

Big Chuck!: My Favorite Stories from 47 Years on Cleveland TV

Schodowski, Chuck

Gray and Company, Publishers

The behind-the-scenes battle for the Rock Hall For 25 years, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has defined Cleveland's image as the "Rock and Roll Capital of the World." But while the Rock Hall has become an iconic landmark for the city of Cleveland and for fans of rock and roll around the world, it was just one missed phone call away from never being built in Cleveland. If the prominent singer and actress Lesley Gore hadn't contacted radio personality Norm N. Nite in August 1983, the Hall of Fame would not be in Cleveland--period. Earlier that summer, Gore had learned that the newly formed Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation was looking for a city to house their planned museum honoring the history of rock. Gore knew that a year earlier, Nite had pitched an idea for a similar museum, so she reached out to let him know that other figures in the music industry were working to turn his dream into a reality. Nite immediately joined the project's Rules and Nominating Committee and spearheaded the campaign to bring the museum to Cleveland. At the time, the search committee was considering several other cities, including Memphis, Detroit, and New York, but Nite argued that the city's deep historical connection to rock music through Alan Freed and the Moondog Coronation Ball made Cleveland the perfect location. He began lobbying local and state politicians, fundraising with music moguls and civic leaders, and promoting the museum to the broader Cleveland public. As fans got involved, especially with their overwhelming response to a USA Today phone poll, Nite's campaign to bring the Hall to Cleveland was ultimately successful. This book, told from Nite's insider perspective, draws on both first-person accounts and exclusive interviews with influential business leaders, government officials, and giants of the music industry. A detailed record of the Rock Hall's inception and creation, The House That Rock Built becomes a true tribute to the people who made it happen--through Herculean efforts--and to the music it celebrates.

The House That Rock Built: How it Took Time, Money, Music Moguls, Corporate Types, Politicians, Media, Artists, and Fans To Bring the Rock Hall To Cleveland

Nite, Norm N.

Humor & Entertainment

The Kent State University Press

The definitive story of the outrageous Ghoulardi TV show and its unusual creator—on screen and behind the scenes, with rare photos, interviews, original scripts, and trivia. Ernie Anderson shocked and delighted Northeast Ohio in the mid-1960s, when his Ghoulardi show was not to be missed on Friday nights. More than 30 years later, the Ghoulardi legend is still firmly rooted in the minds of the people who watched and in the pop culture of an entire city. In early 1963, months before the Beatles arrived in America and years before Howard Stern hit the radio airwaves, Cleveland TV actor Ernie Anderson pioneered the modern counter-culture media celebrity. His offbeat late-night movie show was so popular locally that it got ratings higher than the Tonight Show, and the Cleveland police department reported a significant decrease in crime during its broadcast. Ghoulardi captured the hearts and minds of Cleveland’s first TV generation and inspired other creative talents, including Tim Conway and Drew Carey. A great piece of TV history writing.

Ghoulardi: Inside Cleveland TV's Wildest Ride (Ohio)

Heldenfels, R.D.

Remember when there was real local television programming? Here is a small feast of nostalgia for anyone who grew up glued to the tube in Cleveland. Television critics and historians Tom Feran (The Plain Dealer) and R. D. Heldenfels (Akron Beacon Journal) have compiled the ultimate list of fun local TV memories and memorabilia, including: famous quotes, favorite hosts, notorious news anchors, bloopers, historic events, promotional stunts, TV firsts, and unforgettable jingles. Remember when there was . . . Barnaby. Dorothy Fuldheim. Mr. Jing-a-Ling. Superhost. Wally Kinnan the Weatherman. The Prize Movie. Ghoulardi. The One O'Clock Club. Captain Penney. Miss Barbara. "Roll on Big 'O' . . . One man sleeps while the other man drives, on the non-stop Lawson run." Upbeat. Academic Challenge. The Gene Carroll Show. "See-e-e the USA . . . in a C. Millah Chevruhlet!" Jungle Larry. "Stay smoochie ... you rascal, you!" Woodrow the Woodsman. . . ? Those and 300 more great Cleveland TV memories are recounted as snippets of history in a delightfully random order--making for great page-flipping. They are accompanied by 50 classic photos that bring the visual memories to life.

Cleveland TV Memories

Heldenfels

Feran

Gray & Co.

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Books by Feran, Tom