Some clarification...
I am a bit confused. I was pretty young when my father was an announcer at WRQK so my memories of it may be exaggerated. I have been looking up references to WRQK on the web and some seem to be saying that WPET changed to WRQK, but my recollection (I was just a kid mind you) is that WPET broadcasted gospel downstairs on AM and WRQK spun "rock and gold" AOR in the "penthouse" as an FM station. The fact that they both existed in the same building at the same time has always been a cornerstone of my stories I tell of that time. So if anyone who worked at WRQK or WPET in the 70's could confirm that they coexisted, that would be very interesting to me. Also, how long did WRQK have the rock and gold format?
WMDE (98.7) 100kw on Asheboro Street was not stereo when owned by Suburban and used to distribute the NC News Network (WRAL).
Circa 1970, It was pretty much you would call Top 40 at the time with Bill Watts (Bill Wattlington) and Lane Ridenhour during days and then they did R&B at (because of WEAL-AM). There was no R&B on FM at the time (or even Top 40, except for WHPE out of High Point doing whatever they called that). AC was MOR back then - very old.
After a year or so of this, they went all R&B until they were purchased by under the direction of Tom Armshaw.
WPET-AM had been a Top 40 as noted in the thread, but signing off at sunset left it at a disadvantage to WCOG. So they went with a Religious format - and this had been the format that decade prior to purchase of WMDE.
WMDE calls were changed and eventually became WRQK. They used Rock and Gold as a slogan, but remember that any top 40 was considered "Rock" compared to the still common MOR on most stations.
It was a very broad based Contemporary format that played a very large gold selection.
Because of the lack of FM competition (WRQK and WQMG (Jazz)in Greensboro, WTQR, 93.1 (Religion) and WSGH-107.5 in Winston Salem, the later 2 in mono only and low towers not reaching Greensboro, WHPE and WMFR(whatever miss mass one would call that station that was - and it certainly played anything contemporary) ,both mono, along with Bernie Mann's WGLD playing Beautiful Music, WRQK basically had the FM dial to itself in the area and thus could be VERY broad and get away with it in the 70s. Essentially, they had the dial to themselves.
Tom Armshaw also wanted commercials in between every song - even if it was only 1 commercial. The logs were hand written and there was no limit. There was no excuse ever for a commercial to be marked off the log by an announcer and it was something one could be fired for. Mutal News was run on the top of the hour every hour - and Mutal Sports on the weekend.
People complain about the number of spots on the radio today. That number PALES to the number on WRQK in the 70s and early 80s.
Tom Armshaw would do remotes from anywhere at the drop of a hat and his remote were about 5+ minutes of talk between more commercials and a song if time allowed.
Music would go from broadcasting at the "Pelitec" nightclub on a Friday night, to remotes on Saturday, Syndicated Oldies Shows such as Dick Clark and Wolfman Jack, Tom Armshaw doing remotes overnight Saturday/Sunday til 4AM at "Sambos" on I-85, Alan Jeffries doing Beach Music on Sunday Afternoon, sometimes live from the "Castaways" and Elvis shows.
Combine all these factors and then the FCC passed 80-90 "move it or lose it" - "upgrade or be downgraded" - which is what set all the upgrades and set the map for the move ins of the 90s, being all things to all people and loaded with commercials was WRQK's downfall.
When G105 out of Durham beat WRQK in the Greensboro Arbitron in the early 80s, one could see the writing on the wall. Combine that with a dedicated AC station on 99.5, WKZL finally covering the triad, WQMG going urban along with the Powerhouse WTQR, everyone had their lane except WRQK which had not chosen a lane.
One could say the format was similar to Adult Hits, Variety Hits, Jack or Simon of today, but even those stations are not as wide and play as deep of selection of gold as WRQK did. WRQK also played much more current / top 40 music per hour that a Jack or Simon might throw in 1 every 4-6 hours.
In fact a few hits that REALLY rocked, Tom Armshaw had issues with. I do not *believe* one heard Quiet Riot, Billy Squire and Def Lepard hits etc on WRQK in its final days.
Rock and Gold means something different today than what it meant when WRQK was on the air.
As a note, WRQK used K99 early on, long before K92 out of Roanoke could be heard in the area on with good equipment and usually late at night (essentially around 1980).
Hopefully that helps explains it.
