// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did WGOC say to its radio friend? You're on the right frequency.
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Broadcast area | Tri-Cities, Tennessee |
|---|---|
| Frequency | 1320 kHz |
| Branding | WGOC AM 1320 |
| Programming | |
| Format | Business radio |
| Affiliations | BizTalkRadio |
| Ownership | |
| Owner |
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| History | |
First air date | 1951 |
Last air date | July 2026 |
Former call signs | WKIN (1951–2007) |
| Technical information[1] | |
Licensing authority | FCC |
| 67671 | |
| Class | B |
| Power |
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| Links | |
Public license information | |
WGOC was an AM radio station licensed to Kingsport, Tennessee. Until going silent in 2026, the station had a business radio format. It had broadcast on AM frequency 1320 kHz and was under the ownership of Cumulus Media.
History
[edit]The station signed on the air in 1951 under the call letters WKIN and was soon owned by Cy Bahakel. The station was originally daytime-only and, over the years, increased its power to 5,000 watts.
In the 1960s and 1970s the station was a popular Top 40 outlet with a personality-DJ format. Some key names over the years included:
- Bill Austin
- Eddie Skelton
- Joe Mills
- Phil Roberts
- John Selby Engineer
- Gary Morse
- Dick Winstead ("Richard Bailey Winstead," "Dickie-Doo")
- Wayne Bernard ("Nard") (now known as Charlie Chase)
- Mike Casey ("The Mighty Casey")
- Charlie O'Day ("Good-Time Charlie")
- Oscar Harris ("The Big O")
- Ron Mack
- Jonathan Lee Forrester
- Terry Thomas
- Ken Maness
- Roger Lynn
- Ric Darby
- Reggie Jordan ("The Hit Man")
- Jeff Taylor ("The Rocket Man," "J. Rocket")
- Chuck Carroll ("The Funky Ol' Chuck-A-Luck")
- Bill Meade
- Bob Gordon ("Robert W. Gordon")
- Mike Lee
- TB Scott
- Dave Miller
- Steve Howard
- John R. Kelly
- Robin Hyatt
- Gary Trudeau
- Mark Evan McKinney
- Tom Shannon ("Curly")
- Steve Gilly
- Don Dale
- Dave Jeffries
- Darwin Paustian
- Dick McClellan
- "Lonesome" Jim Edwards
- Chuck Ness
- "Professor" Matt Stevens
- Fred Williams
- Claude "Red" Kirk
- Dave Ray
- Joseph Reed (Jay Lee)
Nighttime service was added in 1981 with a new four-tower directional array at the intersection of East Stone Drive and New Beason Well Road in Kingsport, and a nighttime power of 500 watts. The 5-kW daytime operation was consolidated to this site as well in about 1990.
In 1982 WKIN changed to a country format under the branding "A Great Brand Of Country". Variations of country and classic country would continue over the next couple of decades.
The WGOC call sign was on 640 AM from April 9, 1993, until February 26, 2007, when the callsign was moved to what had been WKIN,[2][3] a news/talk and sports station.[4]
Citadel Broadcasting, which had owned WJCW and WQUT since 1977, bought WGOC and WKIN in 2000.[5] Prior to its business radio programming, WGOC was broadcasting a classic country, bluegrass, and gospel format. Citadel merged with Cumulus Media on September 16, 2011.[6]
In July 2026, WGOC went silent because of financial reasons.[7] The license was cancelled on September 23.[8]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WGOC". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
- ↑ http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/cgi-bin/ws.exe/prod/cdbs/pubacc/prod/call_hist.pl?Facility_id=29513&Callsign=WXSM [permanent dead link]
- ↑ "Callsign WGOC". fjallfoss.fcc.gov. Retrieved March 26, 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link) - ↑ "Radio Stations in the Johnson City TN Metro area". www.ontheradio.net. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2009.
- ↑ "Citadel Broadcasting" (PDF). www.jcedb.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 5, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2009.
- ↑ "Cumulus now owns Citadel Broadcasting". Atlanta Business Journal. September 16, 2011. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
- ↑ Venta, Lance (July 12, 2026). "FCC Report 7/12: Three Florida Licenses Go Away". Radioinsight. Retrieved August 7, 2026.
- ↑ "License Cancelled". Federal Communications Commission Licensing and Management System. September 23, 2026. Retrieved September 23, 2026.
External links
[edit]- WKIN studio, exterior, 1953 Archived July 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- WKIN studio, interior, 1953 Archived July 26, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
- Facility details for Facility ID 67671 (WGOC) in the FCC Licensing and Management System
- WGOC in Nielsen Audio's AM station database
- Radio stations in Tennessee
- Cumulus Media radio stations
- Defunct radio stations in the United States
- Radio stations established in 1951
- 1951 establishments in Tennessee
- Mass media in Kingsport, Tennessee
- Radio stations disestablished in 2026
- 2026 disestablishments in Tennessee
- Defunct mass media in Tennessee