The station was founded by J. Curtis Lewis, Jr., who operated the radio station in conjunction with WJCL-TV on the south side of Savannah, adjacent to his car dealership. The call letters are the founder's initials. Lewis, a former mayor of Savannah, sold the TV station in 1999 to Grapevine Communications. The current owner of the radio station is Cumulus Broadcasting.

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For most of its history, WJCL-FM featured easy listening music and was managed by Savannah broadcasting pioneer Al Jennings. Jennings not only managed the station, he was a frequent on-air presence, voicing numerous commercials, sports reports, and programs featuring big band music and nostalgia. A personal friend of Savannah native son Johnny Mercer, Jennings often paid tribute to the legendary songwriter with radio shows featuring unique insights and trivia.

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WJCL-FM was one of the first radio stations in the area to use an automation system to play music and commercials, following WEAS-FM's earlier attempts in the late 1960s, which were a failure. During morning and afternoon drive times, live announcers were used, and the easy listening format was expanded to include adult contemporary and light rock music.

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Other notable personalities on the station in its early years included Ben Mayo, host of an afternoon program called "Music with Mayo," Joe Cox, famous to a generation of Savannahians as weatherman "Cap'n Sandy," Charlie Solomons, who played drums in a local big band and featured big band music on his morning show, and Pete Preston, who was also a weathercaster on WJCL-TV. Morning and afternoon news updates were read by veteran local newscaster Richard Lantz.

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The station turned to country music in the early 1990s as KIX 96 1⁄2, later to be shortened to KIX 96. Notable DJs included Big Mac, Bill West, Tyler Morgan, Jay Scott, Boomer Lee, Mike Miller and Laura Anderson. The station was a powerhouse taking the country lead in the market from the other country station in Savannah, WCHY, (now known as WQBT). The station became Nash-FM in 2013. On December 4, 2015 WJCL-FM dropped the "Nash FM" branding and reverted to its former "Kix 96" branding.