WAMO (AM)
Encyclopedia
WAOB is a radio station
that is currently silent pending a conversion to a Religious format to debut in February 2010. The city of license for the station is Millvale, Pennsylvania
. It had specialized in programming to Pittsburgh's
African-American community. The station, which was owned by Sheridan Broadcasting Corporation, broadcasts at 860 kHz with a power level of 1,000 watt
s.
, before changing its call letters to WAMO in 1956 (the AMO referred to the Allegheny
, Monongahela
and Ohio
rivers). WAMO served the area's African-American community for the following 50 years, although the Urban contemporary
format it started with eventually went to WAMO-FM, it's FM sister station.
It was also a daytimer until the 1990s when its signal was upgraded, and its city of license was changed from Pittsburgh to Millvale. For a time during the 1990s, the station bounced back between the call letters WYJZ and WAMO.
What put WAMO on the map, though, was in the 1950s, when WAMO disc jockey Craig "Porky" Chedwick
, started playing a variety of what then came to be known as "the first oldies", scouring record bins for lost R&B recordings, building up a library for such material and creating through his show what came to be later known as "Pittsburgh's Oldies", a show and style later imitated by many DJs in Pittsburgh, as well as across the country. Many credit Chedwick with being the father of "Oldies" radio.
On January 31, 2006 WAMO inked a deal with Radio One to pick up its Urban Talk format. The change took place on February 27, 2006. This format did not last long, and on August 28, 2006, the station returned to a music format it described as "R&B and classic soul," retaining the Steve Harvey
and Bev Smith programs in mornings and late-nights, respectively.
On May 15, 2009, Sheridan announced the sale of WAMO-AM, WAMO-FM and WPGR-AM to St. Joseph Missions for 9 Million dollars. When the deal is approved by the FCC, the stations will all flip to a religious format. All 35 employees will be let go after the sale closes, leaving Pittsburgh without an Urban formatted outlet.
On September 8, 2009, WAMO-AM and its FM sister station signed off the air, ending a 61-year legacy of serving Pittsburgh's African-American community. The call letters were changed to WAOB and returned to the air in February 2010, with the aforementioned non-commercial religious outlet.
Radio station
Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...
that is currently silent pending a conversion to a Religious format to debut in February 2010. The city of license for the station is Millvale, Pennsylvania
Millvale, Pennsylvania
Millvale is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, along the Allegheny River, opposite Pittsburgh. In the past, it had iron manufactures, saw works, stone works, lumber mills, breweries, etc. In 1900, the number of people residing here totaled 6,736; in 1910, 7,861; and in 1940, 7,811...
. It had specialized in programming to Pittsburgh's
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
African-American community. The station, which was owned by Sheridan Broadcasting Corporation, broadcasts at 860 kHz with a power level of 1,000 watt
Watt
The watt is a derived unit of power in the International System of Units , named after the Scottish engineer James Watt . The unit, defined as one joule per second, measures the rate of energy conversion.-Definition:...
s.
History
The station signed on in 1948 as WHOD, licensed then to HomesteadHomestead, Pennsylvania
Homestead is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA, in the "Mon Valley," southeast of downtown Pittsburgh and directly across the river from the city limit line. The borough is known for the Homestead Strike of 1892, an important event in the history of labor relations in the United...
, before changing its call letters to WAMO in 1956 (the AMO referred to the Allegheny
Allegheny River
The Allegheny River is a principal tributary of the Ohio River; it is located in the Eastern United States. The Allegheny River joins with the Monongahela River to form the Ohio River at the "Point" of Point State Park in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
, Monongahela
Monongahela River
The Monongahela River is a river on the Allegheny Plateau in north-central West Virginia and southwestern Pennsylvania in the United States...
and Ohio
Ohio River
The Ohio River is the largest tributary, by volume, of the Mississippi River. At the confluence, the Ohio is even bigger than the Mississippi and, thus, is hydrologically the main stream of the whole river system, including the Allegheny River further upstream...
rivers). WAMO served the area's African-American community for the following 50 years, although the Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary
Urban contemporary is a music radio format. The term was coined by the late New York DJ Frankie Crocker in the mid 1970s. Urban contemporary radio stations feature a playlist made up entirely of hip hop/rap, contemporary R&B, pop, electronica such as dubstep and drum and bass and Caribbean music...
format it started with eventually went to WAMO-FM, it's FM sister station.
It was also a daytimer until the 1990s when its signal was upgraded, and its city of license was changed from Pittsburgh to Millvale. For a time during the 1990s, the station bounced back between the call letters WYJZ and WAMO.
What put WAMO on the map, though, was in the 1950s, when WAMO disc jockey Craig "Porky" Chedwick
Porky Chedwick
Craig "Porky" Chedwick known to generations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, as "The Daddio of the Raddio, " "The Platter Pushin' Papa, " "The Bossman," "Pork the Tork", and a host of other colorful nicknames, is a veteran radio presenter.-Background:Chedwick was the first white DJ to...
, started playing a variety of what then came to be known as "the first oldies", scouring record bins for lost R&B recordings, building up a library for such material and creating through his show what came to be later known as "Pittsburgh's Oldies", a show and style later imitated by many DJs in Pittsburgh, as well as across the country. Many credit Chedwick with being the father of "Oldies" radio.
On January 31, 2006 WAMO inked a deal with Radio One to pick up its Urban Talk format. The change took place on February 27, 2006. This format did not last long, and on August 28, 2006, the station returned to a music format it described as "R&B and classic soul," retaining the Steve Harvey
Steve Harvey
Broderick Steven "Steve" Harvey is an American actor, comedian, entertainer, television and radio personality and best-selling author. He is best known as the star of the WB sitcom The Steve Harvey Show, and as one of the four comedians featured in the Spike Lee film The Original Kings of Comedy...
and Bev Smith programs in mornings and late-nights, respectively.
On May 15, 2009, Sheridan announced the sale of WAMO-AM, WAMO-FM and WPGR-AM to St. Joseph Missions for 9 Million dollars. When the deal is approved by the FCC, the stations will all flip to a religious format. All 35 employees will be let go after the sale closes, leaving Pittsburgh without an Urban formatted outlet.
On September 8, 2009, WAMO-AM and its FM sister station signed off the air, ending a 61-year legacy of serving Pittsburgh's African-American community. The call letters were changed to WAOB and returned to the air in February 2010, with the aforementioned non-commercial religious outlet.