WENO
Encyclopedia
WENO is an AM
radio
station operating in the Nashville, Tennessee
market on the frequency of 760 kHz. It is currently programmed with a gospel music
format and has a power of 1,000 watts; currently operation is limited to daytime hours.
. It was the only Nashville-area station in the early post-World War II
era to program country music
as its major format; even WSM
, known in the public mind as the most influential station in the genre's development, at this time broadcast country music only during selected parts of the day (mainly at night, when the clear-channel signal settled in elsewhere in the country). The bulk of WSM's programming actually consisted of popular music, judged by its owners to be more "mainstream" and, hence, more attractive to the majority of listeners, particularly those affluent listeners most attractive to advertisers
. WSM did not adopt country full-time until 1979.
The unwillingness of most broadcasters in the Nashville market to allow country music prominent airplay meant that WENO became very influential in the country music industry in the 1950s and 1960s, especially for what was then a 5000-watt station; as the main country music station in what had become the recording capital of country music, it provided recording executives with immediate input as to what country audiences, at least those in the Nashville area, desired. Disc jockey
Bob Jennings, a one-time WLAC
employee, was probably the most influential on-air personality at the station during this period.
WENO was licensed to the Nashville suburb of Madison, Tennessee
, then on the edge of a rural
area; the station's five-acre (two-hectare) campus was promoted to listeners on air as the "WENO Radio Ranch". WENO began to decline as other, more-powerful stations switched to a country format, and as AM listeners in general, especially among the young, affluent consumers coveted by advertisers, switched increasingly to FM
stations. By the 1980s, the station had gone silent; the callsign was used for a period by a gospel music station in Chattahoochee, Florida
prior to being returned to Nashville for its current usage.
Amplitude modulation
Amplitude modulation is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. AM works by varying the strength of the transmitted signal in relation to the information being sent...
radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
station operating in the Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
market on the frequency of 760 kHz. It is currently programmed with a gospel music
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
format and has a power of 1,000 watts; currently operation is limited to daytime hours.
History on 1430 kHz
The historic WENO broadcast on the frequency of 1430 kHz currently assigned to WPLN-AMWPLN (AM)
WPLN is a National Public Radio-affiliated radio station licensed to Madison, Tennessee. The station serves the Nashville, Tennessee, area along with sister station WPLN-FM....
. It was the only Nashville-area station in the early post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
era to program country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
as its major format; even WSM
WSM (AM)
WSM is the callsign of a 50,000 watt AM radio station located in Nashville, Tennessee. Operating at 650 kHz, its clear channel signal can reach much of North America and various countries, especially late at night...
, known in the public mind as the most influential station in the genre's development, at this time broadcast country music only during selected parts of the day (mainly at night, when the clear-channel signal settled in elsewhere in the country). The bulk of WSM's programming actually consisted of popular music, judged by its owners to be more "mainstream" and, hence, more attractive to the majority of listeners, particularly those affluent listeners most attractive to advertisers
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
. WSM did not adopt country full-time until 1979.
The unwillingness of most broadcasters in the Nashville market to allow country music prominent airplay meant that WENO became very influential in the country music industry in the 1950s and 1960s, especially for what was then a 5000-watt station; as the main country music station in what had become the recording capital of country music, it provided recording executives with immediate input as to what country audiences, at least those in the Nashville area, desired. Disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
Bob Jennings, a one-time WLAC
WLAC
WLAC is a clear channel radio station based in Nashville, Tennessee, operating at 1510 kHz on the AM dial.-Early history:Its first broadcast took place on November 24, 1926. The call letters were chosen to contain an acronym for the first owner of the station, the Life and Casualty Insurance...
employee, was probably the most influential on-air personality at the station during this period.
WENO was licensed to the Nashville suburb of Madison, Tennessee
Madison, Tennessee
Madison, Tennessee is a neighborhood in northeast Nashville, Tennessee in the United States. It is incorporated as part of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County....
, then on the edge of a rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
area; the station's five-acre (two-hectare) campus was promoted to listeners on air as the "WENO Radio Ranch". WENO began to decline as other, more-powerful stations switched to a country format, and as AM listeners in general, especially among the young, affluent consumers coveted by advertisers, switched increasingly to FM
Frequency modulation
In telecommunications and signal processing, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its instantaneous frequency. This contrasts with amplitude modulation, in which the amplitude of the carrier is varied while its frequency remains constant...
stations. By the 1980s, the station had gone silent; the callsign was used for a period by a gospel music station in Chattahoochee, Florida
Chattahoochee, Florida
Chattahoochee is a city in Gadsden County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,287 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2005, the city had a population of 3,720. It is part of the Tallahassee, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Chattahoochee is...
prior to being returned to Nashville for its current usage.