WXXL first began broadcasting in 1969 under the call sign WLBE-FM, as an MOR-format radio station. It was the sister station of WLBE (790 AM), also licensed to Leesburg. In 1977, the station was known as Y-106 broadcasting an adult contemporary format. The station first gained notice as a top 40 radio station by the fall of 1984, as Leesburg-licensed WHLY-FM, still using the moniker Central Florida's Y-106. Shortly afterward, WDBO became an adult contemporary station. Among the personalities at the station in this era were Shadow, who hosted a music-intensive morning show, and program director Rick Stacy, now at WOCL.
By 1987, adult-focused top 40 WBJW (BJ105) remained the ratings and revenue leader in Orlando, and Y-106 was still viewed as a teen and young-adult station. This resulted in the shift in call letters to WCAT-FM and the nickname The Cat, in a failed attempt to woo older listeners. The WHLY call letters later returned, but the damage had been done. Furthermore, the rise of dance music, early hip-hop, hair bands and adult rock compounded the station's struggles. The station began broadcasting under the WXXL callsign on January 14, 1990, and later became Central Florida's dominant CHR station.
Former logo (1990–2007)
The original morning show on WXXL was Doc and Johnny in the Morning, later The XL Morning Zoo with Doc and Johnny, hosted by Jeffrey "Doc Holliday" Duncan and Johnny Magic. The morning show was a staple of the station from 1990 through 2007, when Doc resigned and jumped to Cox Radio, initially taking over the morning show at WWKA before hosting a talk radio show on WRSO.
