Friday, August 19, 2011

WMPG





WMPG (W Maine Portland Gorham) is a block-programmed Variety station licensed to Gorham, Maine. They broadcast from the campus of the University of Southern Maine-Portland using a combination of students and community volunteers. WMPG officially went on the air in 1973 after being a carrier current station for three years prior. 

Ernie Barnes' iconic painting The Sugar Shack features a WMPG banner hanging from the rafters.  It's a completely unrelated (and fictional) station of course.  The version of this painting seen here was used as cover art on Marvin Gaye's 1976 album I Want You so Barnes used Gaye's initials for the call letters.  The original Sugar Shack incorporated a banner from WSRC, a station from Barnes' hometown of Durham, North Carolina.

 

No comments: