WELO

WELO (580 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a Classic soul format. Licensed to Tupelo, Mississippi, United States, the station serves the Tupelo area. The station is currently owned by Jmd, Inc.[2]

WELO
CityTupelo, Mississippi
Broadcast areaTupelo, Mississippi
Frequency580 kHz
BrandingPulse 104.3 and 580 AM
SloganTupelo's Heart & Soul
Programming
FormatClassic soul
Ownership
OwnerJmd, Inc.
WSYE, WWMS, WZLQ
History
First air date
May 15, 1941
Former call signs
WWPR (3/1987-9/1987)
Call sign meaning
W Tup ELO, MS[1]
Technical information
Facility ID58829
ClassD
Power770 watts day
95 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
34°14′17″N 88°41′43″W
Translator(s)104.3 W282AS (Saltillo)
Links
Websitewww.pulseoftupelo.com

FM Translator

In addition to the main station on 580 kHz, WELO is relayed by an FM translator in order to widen its broadcast area, especially at night when the AM frequency reduces power to 95 watts. The translator also gives listeners the option of FM with stereo high fidelity sound.

Broadcast translators of WELO
Call signFrequency
(MHz)		City of licenseFacility
ID		ERP
(W)		Height
(m (ft))		ClassFCC info
W282AS104.3Saltillo, Mississippi152544250103 m (338 ft)DFCC

History

WELO began broadcasting on May 15, 1941, on South Spring Street, Tupelo, above the Black and White dry goods store. Frank Kyle Spain and Jim Green, Tupelo High School students, became station engineers to complete building the station after Green's older brother became ill and unable to finish his engineering contract responsibilities. The station originally broadcast with 250 watts on 1490 kHz. In 1959, it switched to 580 kHz with a power of 1,000 watts directional. Studio and transmitter were located on Highway 45 North.

Some local talents were involved in starting up the station, among them the announcer Charlie Boren and the bandleader and radio technician Archie Mackey. The hillbilly star of the station in 1946 was a 23-year-old native of Smithville, Mississippi, Carvel Lee Ausborn, who went by the name of Mississippi Slim.

Ernest Bowen, who had tangential musical connections with Elvis Presley, became a longtime general manager at WELO. Presley occasionally performed on Mississippi Slim's radio program "Singin' and Pickin' Hillbilly." Jack Cristal was a long-time employee, and was well known for his sports broadcasts.

At one time, WTUP and WELO were sister stations.

The station now plays a classic soul format.

References
  1. "Call Letter Origins". Call Letter Origins: Key and Listing.
  2. "WELO Facility Record". United States Federal Communications Commission, audio division.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.