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WCAO (600 AM broadcasting "Heaven 600") is a commercial radio radio station in Baltimore. It broadcasts an urban gospel radio format and is owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. It also airs some Christian talk and teaching programs. The radio studio and offices are located at The Rotunda shopping center in Baltimore.
WCAO is powered at 5,000 . To protect other stations on AM 600, it uses a four-tower array directional antenna at all times. To improve its sound quality, WCAO broadcasts using HD Radio technology. The transmitter is off Garrison Forest Road at Caves Woods Road in Owings Mills, Maryland. Radio-Locator.com/WCAO Programming is also heard on the HD-2 digital subchannel of co-owned 102.7 WQSR.
The station was reassigned to 1090 kHz in late 1924, "Alterations and corrections", Radio Service Bulletin, November 1, 1924, page 10. and ownership was transferred to Albert A. and A. Stanley Brager at 842 North Howard Street the next year. "Alterations and corrections", Radio Service Bulletin, August 1, 1925, page 6. In 1926, Monumental Radio at 848 North Howard Street gained ownership. "Alterations and corrections", Radio Service Bulletin, November 30, 1926, page 7. In 1927, the station was assigned to 780 kHz, "Broadcasting Stations by Wave Length" (effective June 15, 1927), Radio Service Bulletin, May 31, 1927, page 10. and the next year, under the provisions of the Federal Radio Commission's General Order 40, assigned to 600 kHz, "Revised list of broadcasting stations, by frequencies, effective 3 a. m., November 11, 1928, eastern standard time", Second Annual Report of the Federal Radio Commission for the Year Ended June 30, 1928, Together With Supplemental Report for the Period From July 1, 1928 to September 30, 1928, page 201. which it has been on ever since.
Power was increased to 250 watts on 600 kc in 1929 and subsequent power changes brought the station up to 5 kw in 1942. In the 1930s, WCAO was powered at 1,000 watts by day and 500 watts at night, with studios at 811 West Lanvale Street. "Directory of Broadcasting Stations of the United States: Maryland", Broadcasting Yearbook (1935 edition), page 36. It was a CBS Network affiliate during the 1930s and 1940s. In that era, WCAO carried CBS dramas, comedies, news, sports, , , children's shows and big band broadcasts during the "Golden Age of Radio."
From May 1937 until May 1957, radio announcer Charles Purcell and Roland Nuttrell hosted a nightly live broadcast known as "Nocturne." Nuttrell 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, Purcell would read from his poetry book entitled The 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.
In 1947, WCAO added an FM station, WCAO-FM (102.7 FM). At first, it mostly the AM station, but in the 1960s and 1970s, it aired its own classical music format. Today, that station is co-owned WQSR.
Robert V. O. Swarthout of Monumental Radio Company operated the station until 1956, when it was purchased by Plough Broadcasting, a subsidiary of the Schering-Plough pharmaceutical company. "Directory of Broadcasting of AM and FM Stations in the U. S.: Maryland" Broadcasting Yearbook (1961-1962 edition), page B-76 By 1980, many contemporary music listeners had switched to FM radio to hear the latest hits.
On November 25, 1991, WCAO switched to an urban gospel format, becoming a competitor to similarly formatted WWIN-AM "Spirit 1400". "WCAO Drops Country For Gospel", Radio & Records, November 29, 1991, page 12.
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