- WVCO
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WVCO City of license Loris, South Carolina Broadcast area Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Wilmington, North CarolinaBranding The Surf 94.9 FM Slogan "The Sound Of The Grand Strand" Frequency 94.9 MHz Format Oldies/Beach music ERP 11,000 watts HAAT 149 meters Class C3 Facility ID 57036 Transmitter coordinates 33°59′39.00″N 78°46′16.00″W / 33.99417°N 78.77111°W Owner Carolina Beach Music Broadcasting Corp. Sister stations WNMB Webcast Listen Live Website 949thesurf.com WVCO (94.9 FM, "The Surf 94.9") is an American radio station in the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, market. They play a mix of oldies/Carolina beach music/shag and have a large than average playlist.
History
By the mid-1990s, WVCO aired the same programming as WYAK, which was country music.[1] On October 1, 1996, Pinnacle Broadcasting Co. announced its purchase of WYAK, WMYB and WRNN-FM. Once completed, Pinnacle intended to continue the lease agreement of WVCO's former owners.[2]
On January 1, 1997 the station played "Macarena" over 2000 times (including several mixes) then became "WELVIS" for the weekend of Elvis Presley's 62nd birthday,[1] then stunted with various musical styles, and finally switched to smooth jazz.[3]
After Frank Sinatra died, WVCO played just his music the entire weekend.[4]
On August 18 and 19, 1998, the station repeatedly played Vanessa L. Williams singing the words "pick the pieces up and start again" followed by a tape rewinding. The new beach music format began with "Summertime" by Billy Stewart. This marked the first time the music that began along the Grand Strand had a radio home.[3] "Fessa" John Hook hosted the syndicated "Top 40 Countdown", "Fish Fry Show" and "Classics Show" on the Rhythm 'N Beach Network, including WVCO, and "Ocean Drive Pavilion Show", on WVCO only.[5] 94.9 the Surf described its music format as "Beach, Boogie and Blues". The music was categorized as rhythmic oldies but included much more variety than the typical radio station. Many songs were from the 50s, and the station's focus was beach music, a style made popular on the South Carolina coast. Personalities included Billy Smith, Ted Bell and Ray Scott. The station aired the syndicated On the Beach radio show hosted by Charlie Brown.[citation needed]
In 2006, WVCO moved its studio from Myrtle Beach to 429 Pine Avenue in North Myrtle Beach,[6] the former home of WNMB and WNMB-FM.[7]
WVCO added the syndicated Mike Harvey show and Clemson University football and basketball.[8]
WVCO was named Station of the Year at the Carolina Beach Music Awards for nine years in a row.[9][10] In the middle of 2009, WVCO moved out of the WNMB North Myrtle Beach Pine Avenue location to another NMB site to allow for expansion at WNMB.
In mid-December 2010, WVCO owner Harvey Graham died. The station was then left in legal limbo because of a pending civil case involving a failed condo development that Harvey Graham was building near the WVCO transmitter.[citation needed] The Surf 94.9 went off the air on January 16, 2011, as a result of owner Harvey Graham's bankruptcy filing in November 2009 and the legal problems with the failed condo case.[11]
former logo
The station returned to the air on April 14, 2011, with reduced power but restored to full power operation by May 2011.
References
- ^ a b Toby Eddings, "Catching Up on News in the Area," The Sun News, January 12, 1997.
- ^ Andrew Shain, "WYAV-FM Owner Buys WYAK-FM, WMYB-FM, The Sun News, October 2, 1996.
- ^ a b Toby Eddings, "Beach Music Hits MB Radio," The Sun News, August 20, 1998.
- ^ Jeannine F. Hunter, "Local Radio Pays Sinatra Homage," The Sun News, May 16, 1998.
- ^ Toby Eddings, "WYAK changes its lineup and image," The Sun News, Apr. 25, 1999.
- ^ "Money," The Sun News, September 3, 2006.
- ^ Kathleen Vereen Dayton, "NMB to Get AM Radio Station All Its Own," The Sun News, December 16, 2000.
- ^ http://home.carolina.rr.com/myrtlebeachdays/Page65.htm, Retrieved on 2008/09/09.
- ^ "Newsmakers". The Sun News. January 4, 2007.
- ^ "Business Pulse," The Sun News, November 23, 2008.
- ^ Palisin, Steve (January 20, 2011). "Beach music lives on in Myrtle Beach area". The Sun News. http://www.thesunnews.com/2011/01/20/1931480/beach-music-lives-on-in-area.html. Retrieved January 20, 2011.
External links
- Query the FCC's FM station database for WVCO
- Radio-Locator information on WVCO
- Query Arbitron's FM station database for WVCO
Radio stations in the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina market By AM frequency By FM frequency NOAA Weather Radio frequency 162.400 · 162.500 · 162.550By callsign South Carolina radio markets: Charleston • Columbia • Florence • Greenville-Spartanburg • Hilton Head • Myrtle Beach • Rock Hill
See also: List of radio stations in South CarolinaOldies radio stations in the state of South Carolina By frequency By callsign By city Abbeville · Branchville · Camden · Cheraw · Greer · Johnston · Lexington · Loris · North Myrtle Beach · Richburg · Ridgeland · Surfside BeachSee also: adult contemporary, classic hits, college, country, news/talk, NPR, oldies, religious, rock, sports, top 40, urban, and other radio stations in South Carolina
Also see: Oldies and Classic Hits.Categories:- Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
- Radio stations in South Carolina
- Oldies radio stations in the United States
- South Carolina radio station stubs
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