Saying Goodbye to a Greensboro Radio Legend:Dave Compton GONE from Greensboro’s WPET AM 950 and from Entercom Communications after 42 years/2 months/2 days(That’s quite a ride)

Dave Compton, GONE from WPET radio station AM 950 as of 11:20am last Thursday morning, as Entercom Communications made key radio job cuts in the wake of the Coronavirus/COVID-19…

Dave Compton, GONE, and his radio voice silent in the Greensboro market after 42 years, 2 months and 2 days…

Like we said up top in the headline, that is some kind of ride….Forty-two years at the same radio station, with the same format and in the same city/market…That’s got to be close to some kind of record…

We just had a question and answer session on here last week with Curt Bloom, the radio play-by-play man for the Birmingham Barons, the Double A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, and Curt has been broadcasting the Barons, there in the same town of Birmingham, Alabama for 29 years, and I thought that was a LONG time and it is, but for Dave Compton to be doing it for 42 years at the same station, in the same town, that is Hall of Fame material right there….

Dave ran the radio station as pretty much a one-man staff, and he had been going at it that way for many years and Dave Compton mastered the Southern Gospel music format on WPET, and if there is one of those Southern Gospel Hall of Fames, and I think there probably is, Dave Compton needs to be in that Hall of Fame

Under Dave Compton’s leadership, WPET also carried many sports programs over the years with Greensboro Grasshoppers Baseball, UNCG Basketball, Greensboro Generals Hockey, East Carolina Football, Appalachian State University Football, local High School Football and Basketball and others…..There was a time when WPET carried sports call-in shows and coaches shows, as well….

Dave helped popularize the WPET’s Tradio Show, which was a staple of the radio station for many years….

Dave Compton had a lot of help on the side over at WPET over the years, and many of his co-broadcasters have now gone on to that BIG radio station in the sky…We remember Arvin Wynn, Ray Jones, Don Davis, Andy Johnson, Jimmy Fulmer, Alan Tipton, Miss J., Ms. Dusty, Jim Scott, Wes Jones, Willie Edwards, Jeff Cushman, Bill Payne, and there were probably others, but the name that stands out, when you look over the Top of the Door at the WPET radio station, AM 950/”The Old Southern Gospel Lighthouse”, the name you see standing out there in BIG bright friendly letters is, Dave Compton….

Dave Compton, after 42 years, 2 months and 2 days, Dave is Done and Dave Compton is GONE…Not dead, thank God, but his voice has gone silent….

Thank-you Dave Compton for a job well-done and for bringing the Greensboro community a ray of hope, with Dave Compton’s Gospel Sunshine Radio Show for all of those years(42 years, 2 months and 2 days)…..

As one of the better radio spokespersons from over the years used to say, and that was AJ(outstanding female voice from 98.7 Simon/The Zone/The Point)…

AJ would say, “You are listening to the Saturday Night Edition of the Gospel Sunshine Radio Show with Dave Compton”….

And we might add this in for AJ today:Dave Compton, a Greensboro Radio Hall of Famer and a job well beyond, WELL DONE!!!!!

2 thoughts on “Saying Goodbye to a Greensboro Radio Legend:Dave Compton GONE from Greensboro’s WPET AM 950 and from Entercom Communications after 42 years/2 months/2 days(That’s quite a ride)

  1. I’m not sure what’s going to happen now at WPET radio…

    Was thinking tonight, that maybe Entercom will take AM 950 WPET and make a 98.7-type move…

    Entercom would take WPET and go with a 98.7 move and make WPET, “950 AM Simon Peter”…Not trying to be disrespectful, but if they did this, they could go with all music and no human bodies at all in the WPET studio, just play the music and run the paid programming and then every penny that they take in would be pure/all profit….

    That is pretty much what Entercom does with 98.7 Simon…Run music all day and eliminate the human element….98.7 Simon was #1 in the Triad Radio market in January with a 10.4 rating and 98.7 Simon was #2 in the February Triad market ratings with a 8.9 rating…WQMG was #1 in February, at an overall 10.5 market rating/market share…Both 98.7 Simon and WQMG/97.1, are Entercom Communications-owned radio stations..

    Entercom could also make a move where they switch 1510 WEAL and AM 950 WPET on the radio dial…Move WEAL and the black gospel music to the 24/7 AM 950 spot on the radio dial and then move WPET to the Sunup-to-Sundown 1510 spot on the radio dial, and WPET would retain their Southern Gospel Music format….

    Just a few ideas and we still do really respect what Dave Compton was able to do in his 42 years at WPET radio….

    Sports, radio and politics, three outstanding topics that never seem to go off the air…Hot air or cold, we don’t care, bring it to the table….

  2. Note from Dave Compton, formerly with WPET AM 950 radio….

    Wow, what a wonderful tribute. So very thankful for the kind words and very humbled and honored that I made a little bit of an impact.

    To God be the Glory for the Great things He has done.

    To Andy, Don, and all of you, know I appreciate being honored.

    I worked for a great company and they were truly wonderful to me, but over 42 years of memories is something that entertains me thinking about all the great folks that crossed my path and I look back to reflect and smile…..

    THANKS AGAIN!

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