WMMS

Radio stations, as a rule, reflect and serve the local community. In Cleveland, Ohio, where Alan Freed rocked and ruled in the early 1950s, it was WMMS-FM that came to represent the city in the 1970s. Central to the success of WMMS was deejay Kid Leo (Lawrence J. Travagliante), who ultimately became the station’s program director. By the time Kid Leo joined WMMS in 1973 (after graduating from Cleveland State University), the station had been rocking for five years. By 1976 he had helped take the station to the top of the city’s radio ratings. Kid Leo combined a belief in rock’s blue-collar appeal and an irreverent attitude on the air with a zeal for obtaining—and playing—new recordings by major acts before anyone else had them. WMMS won numerous industry awards and Rolling Stone magazine polls as the nation’s favourite radio station.