WEGO (1410 AM) is a radio station licensed to serve Concord, North Carolina. History The 1410 spot on the dial was first heard from Concord in 1942. WEGO was owned by Wayne M. Nelson, who constructed the station's studios along Highway 29 (now Concord Parkway), just west of the city. In 1953, the city's newspaper, The Concord Tribune (now Independent-Tribune) purchased the station. Over the next few years WEGO began airing local newscasts, in addition to the Associated Press wire stories and the T-N News Network. In 1960, The Tribune sold WEGO to the Suburban Radio Group of Belmont, North Carolina, which began the station's greatest period of growth and popularity. In 1961, WEGO-FM was launched, and a few years later, General Manager Jim Keel renamed it WPEG,the call letters of a newly acquired SRG station in Winston Salem,NC. Keel encouraged a more contemporary presentation on WEGO. Announcer Gene Hinson launched "The Show Without a Name" and gained a sizeable teen audience every afternoon. Other popular announcers on the station during this period included Bob Raiford, Jack Becknell, Chief Engineer Ken Kennedy and Richard Irwin. The station dropped the last vestiges of block programming, and began airing a full-time "Easy Top-40" format. Popular announcers on the station in these years included Jay Driggers, John Stiles, Bill Biggerstaff, Gary Walker and Dick Reid Norwood. Broadcaster Charlie Hicks was a program host and general manager of the station from 1969-80. Throughout the 1970s, WEGO went through a succession of formats as competition tightened in the market. By 1980, the station was automated through most of its daytime broadcasting hours, and alternated format choices over those years between country and oldies. Station managers included Jim Mintzer and Mark Herman. The "Mark In The Morning" show became a popular morning drive staple on WEGO in the mid-1980s. Mark Herman alternated music with funny bits/voices coupled with news reports and contests. With improved profitability, The Suburban Radio Group began courting a purchaser for the station. In 1985, that purchaser was found in former station Manager Charlie Hicks. Soon after his purchase of WEGO, the station's format changed to oldies. While the transmitter remained at the Highway 29 location, Hicks moved the studios of the station to 70 Cabarrus Avenue West, 3 blocks from downtown Concord. It was the first studio move in the 49-year history of the station. After owning WEGO for eight years, and