WCOG (1320

kHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base uni ...

) is an AM radio station owned by Winston-Salem-Greensboro Broadcasting Company, LLC. Licensed to

Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...

, the station serves the

Piedmont Triad The Piedmont Triad (or simply the Triad) is a metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of North Carolina anchored by three cities: Greensboro, North Carolina, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Winston-Salem, and ...

area, with an

oldies Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as well as for a radio format playing this music. Since 2 ...

format.

History

WCOG went on the air on May 22, 1948. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the station had a

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

format. Dusty Dunn, Bob Dayton, Scott Derringer, John "Johnny C" Coffman and other DJs played a mix of music that might have included

Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin were an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1968. The band comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist-keyboardist John Paul Jones (musician), John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham. With a he ...

Otis Redding Otis Ray Redding Jr. (September 9, 1941 – December 10, 1967) was an American singer and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the greatest singers in the history of American popular music and a seminal artist in soul music and rhythm and blues. ...

The Drifters The Drifters are an American pop and R&B/soul vocal group. They were originally formed as a backing group for Clyde McPhatter, formerly the lead tenor of Billy Ward and his Dominoes in 1953. The second group of Drifters, formed in 1959 and ...

and

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...

. Al Troxler "ruled the airwaves" from above Sky Castle Drive-In on High Point Road. While attending the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

Rick Dees Rigdon Osmond Dees III (born March 14, 1950), best known as Rick Dees, is an American entertainer, radio personality, comedian, actor, and voice artist, best known for his internationally syndicated radio show '' The Rick Dees Weekly Top 40 Coun ...

worked for WCOG in 1969, and 1970, when the station was owned by Thoms Broadcasting based in Asheville, North Carolina. Dees left WCOG and worked at WTOB in

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the fifth-most populous city in North Carolina and the 91st-most populous city in the Uni ...

and WKIX in Raleigh, when those stations were owned by Southern Broadcasting. By 1981, WCOG was a

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

station. On March 18, 1985, the station changed its call sign to WGLD, and its format to beautiful music. A few years later, WGLD changed to satellite-delivered

; in 1989, this gave way to an

adult standards Adult standards (also sometimes known as the nostalgia or Big Band format) is a North American radio format heard primarily on AM or class A FM stations. Adult standards started in the 1950s and is aimed at "mature" adults, meaning mainly tho ...

format provided by the AM Only service. In 1994, the call letters changed to WWWB, and the format to

talk radio Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. They may feature monologues, dialogues between the hosts, Interview (jo ...

, WWWB later simulcast WMFR. In 1996 the station changed again to WTCK, "The Ticket", and a

sports talk Sports radio (or sports talk radio) is a radio format devoted entirely to discussion and broadcasting of sport, sporting events. A widespread programming genre that has a narrow audience appeal, sports radio is characterized by an often-low comed ...

format. The WMFR simulcast returned two years later, after

WKEW WKEW (1400 AM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a Gospel music radio format. Licensed to Greensboro, North Carolina, US, the station is owned by Truth Broadcasting Corporation. In Greensboro and nearby communities, WKEW can also be he ...

dropped its talk format for

Radio Disney Radio Disney was an American radio network operated by the Disney Radio Networks unit of Disney Branded Television within Disney General Entertainment Content, headquartered in Burbank, California. The network broadcast music programming ...

. In 1999, Truth Broadcasting changed the format to

Christian talk and teaching Christian radio refers to Christian media radio formats that focus on Christian religious broadcasting or various forms of Christian music. Many such formats and programs include contemporary Christian music, gospel music, sermons, radio dramas, ...

and returned to using the callsign WCOG. The new format included

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (; November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American Evangelism, evangelist, ordained Southern Baptist minister, and Civil rights movement, civil rights advocate, whose broadcasts and world tours featuring liv ...

Franklin Graham William Franklin Graham III (born July 14, 1952) is an American evangelist and missionary in the evangelical movement. He frequently engages in Christian revival tours and political commentary. The son of Billy Graham, he is president and CEO ...

Charles Stanley Charles Frazier Stanley Jr. (September 25, 1932 – April 18, 2023) was an American Southern Baptist pastor and writer. He was senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Atlanta for 49 years and took on ''emeritus'' status in 2020. He founded a ...

and

James Dobson James Clayton Dobson Jr. (born April 21, 1936) is an American evangelicalism, evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder of Focus on the Family (FotF), which he led from 1977 until 2010. In the 1980s, he was ranked as one of the m ...

. WTOB aired the same programming. On October 2, 2000, WCOG began telling listeners to switch to

WTRU WTRU (830 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Kernersville, North Carolina, and serving the Piedmont Triad. It is owned by Truth Broadcasting and carries a Christian talk and teaching radio format. Truth Broadcasting is own ...

. Late in 2000, the announcement came that Truth Broadcasting would move the Radio Disney affiliation from WKEW to WCOG.

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

bought WCOG in 2005, which meant more community involvement and visibility for the station. Disney subsequently decided to sell its smaller-market Radio Disney stations, and took WCOG and five other stations off the air on January 22, 2010. A sale to

Curtis Media Group Curtis Media Group is a broadcast media company based in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. The company owns and operates several North Carolina radio stations and television networks. Broadcast stations Curtis Media Group owns and opera ...

was announced on March 9, upon taking over, Curtis relaunched the station July 15, with a return to sports talk. In March 2021, WCOG was purchased by Winston-Salem-Greensboro Broadcasting Company, LLC, and converted back to music. It became its own locally owned station in June 2021, broadcasting oldies. Local news, and

CBS News Radio CBS News Radio, formerly known as CBS Radio News and historically known as the CBS Radio Network, is a radio network that provides news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by Paramount Global. It ...

and local information has returned to WCOG. WCOG added an FM translator at 105.3 in December 2021, call sign W287GD licensed to Greensboro, North Carolina.

Translator

References

External links

* ( Guide to reading History Cards) ;FM translator * * {{Oldies Radio Stations in North Carolina 1948 establishments in North Carolina Mass media in Greensboro, North Carolina Oldies radio stations in the United States Radio stations established in 1948 COG (AM)