WCAO


WCAO is an AM radio station in Baltimore, Maryland, broadcasting Gospel music on 600 kHz. It is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. and promotes itself as "Heaven 600". The transmitter for the station is in Owings Mills, and its studios are located at The Rotunda shopping center in Baltimore.

History

One of the oldest radio stations in Maryland, WCAO was a CBS affiliate during the 1930s and 1940s. From May 1937 until May 1957, Radio announcer Charles Purcell and theatre organist Roland Nuttrell hosted a nightly live broadcast program entitled "Nocturne" Roland would play calming melodies on the organ at the Parkway Theatre or the Century Theatre, while many miles away in the WCAO studios located at the Upton Mansion, Charles would read from his book compiled of poetry entitled Book Of Golden Dreams. Nocturne received many positive reviews from listeners, noting it was far more effective at putting people to sleep than taking sleeping pills. The 20-year run of this program made it the longest -running radio program in Baltimore at that time. From the 1950s through the 1970s, WCAO was a major classic Rock Top 40 station in Baltimore before flipping to a country format in 1982 to compete with FM counterpart WPOC. On November 25, 1991, WCAO switched to its current urban gospel format; it is now a competitor to similarly-formatted WWIN-AM "Spirit 1400".

Past personalities