Dave O’Gara
Mention the radio business in Worcester – New England’s second largest city – and the name of Dave O’Gara, a pioneer of Worcester radio and an “Oldies Rock” enthusiast, will almost certainly become part of the conversation.
Full Bio
Dave has been on the air for more than 40 years and was one of the first DJs playing the hits on the original WORC back in the 1970’s. Dave began his radio career in 1969 in his hometown of Worcester at heritage station WORC 1310 AM. Beginning as a studio engineer, his responsibilities soon grew to “fill-in” newsman to weekends and even daily treks to the station’s transmitter in Auburn, MA to take base current and transmitter readings.
In the early stages of his career, he was also a member of the United States Marine Corps Reserve. In late 1971, Dave decided to go full time into the Marines and was stationed at Camp LeJeune, NC. For the next 18 months, he served his country by working in the Public Affairs office doing both radio and television programs aimed at Marines and their families. He also received a commendation for his work as the announcer for big stadium events at Camp Lejeune.
In 1973, Dave returned to Worcester and WORC, eventually settling into morning drive and becoming one of the city’s best known personalities. In 1982, radio took a back seat to becoming the on-camera sports anchor at the former WSMW- TV 27 in Worcester. But after two-and-a-half years, it was back to morning drive on WORC where he remained until 1994. The last half of the 1990s saw him make the move to WSRO 1470 AM in Marlboro where, while holding down the morning drive slot, he became Program Director and then General Manager.
In 2001, the opportunity arose to return to Worcester, this time to 98.9 WORC-FM. For the last 13 years, Dave has hosted the midday music shift. Dave knows exactly how to relate to his listeners and captivate his audience! An open WORC dare is to challenge Dave’s knowledge of the classic hits and the revolutionary artists of the 60’s and 70’s! Few have stumped him.
On-air features for which Dave is known include: “This Day in Music, Movies and TV,” “The Rock ‘N Roll Almanac” and “Beatles Spotlight Song of the Day.” He also holds a monthly admission-free WORC-FM Dance Party where fans can dance to the greatest hits. Now into his 46th year of broadcasting, Dave says he has “no plans to call it quits anytime soon.”
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