WEGO

Infobox Radio station
name = WEGO


city = Concord, North Carolina
area = Charlotte
slogan =
branding = "Pure Gold"
frequency = 1410 kHz HD Radio
repeater =
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format = Oldies
power =
erp = 1,000 watts day
182 watts night
haat =
class = D
facility_id = 13555
coordinates = coord|35|24|29.00|N|80|36|41.00|W|region:US_type:city
callsign_meaning =
former_callsigns =
owner = Ghb of Waxhaw, Inc.
licensee =
sister_stations =
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affiliations =

WEGO (1410 AM) is a radio station licensed to serve Concord, North Carolina, which identifies itself as "Your Hometown Station" and plays an Oldies music format. It is owned by GHB Broadcasting and has several sister stations in North Carolina.

History

The 1410 spot on the dial was first heard from Concord in 1942. The station was owned by Wayne H. Nelson, who constructed the station's studios along Highway 29 (now Concord Parkway), just west of the city.

In 1953, the city's newspaper, "The Concord Tribune" (now Independent-Tribune) purchased the station. Over the next few years WEGO began airing local newscasts, in addition to the Associated Press wire stories and the T-N News Network. Announcer Gene Hinson launched "The Show Without a Name" on the station, which gained a sizable teen audience for the station every afternoon. Other popular announcers on the station at this time included Bob Raiford, Jim Keel and Ken Kennedy.

In 1960, The Tribune sold WEGO to the Suburban Radio Group of Belmont, North Carolina, which began the station's greatest period of growth and popularity. In 1961, WEGO-FM (now WPEG) was launched. The station dropped the last vestiges of block programming, and began airing a full-time "Easy Top-40" format. Popular announcers on the station in these years included Jay Driggers, John Stiles, Bill Biggerstaff, Gary Walker and Dick Reid Norwood.

Broadcaster Charlie Hicks was a program host and general manager of the station from 1969-80.

Throughout the 1970s, WEGO went through a succession of unsuccessful formats as competition tightened in the market. By 1980, the station was automated through most of its daytime broadcasting hours, playing a Country Music format. The Suburban Radio Group began courting a purchaser for the station.

In 1985, that purchaser was found in former station Manager Charlie Hicks. Soon after his purchase of WEGO, the station's format changed to oldies. While the transmitter remained at the Highway 29 location, Hicks moved the studios of the station to 70 Cabarrus Avenue West, 3 blocks from downtown Concord. It was the first studio move in the 49-year history of the station.

After owning WEGO for eight years, and purchasing WABZ-FM in Albemarle, Hicks sold the two stations back to Suburban in 1993. Suburban ran WEGO until its sale to current owner GHB Broadcasting in 2003. For several years ending in 2008, WEGO aired the "Stardust" format from ABC Radio, which later called itself "Timeless".

The Morning Announcer/Station Manager is Bob Brown, and the News Director is Mark Plemmons. In 2007, GHB Broadcasting moved the transmitter and tower to a new site about 1/2 mile southwest of their old site, ending 61 years of continuous broadcasting from 520 Concord Parkway.

The station is an affiliate of the Atlanta Braves radio network, the largest radio affiliate network in Major League Baseball. [ cite web|url=http://mlb.mlb.com/atl/schedule/affiliates.jsp|title=Affiliate Radio Stations|work=The Official Site of the Atlanta Braves]

References

External links

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