The station signed on the air on February 14, 1966; 58 years ago (1966-02-14).[4] Its original call sign was WRPM-FM, the sister station of WRPM 1530 AM (now silent). WRPM-AM-FM had their city of license in Poplarville. They were owned by Ben O. Griffin and largely simulcast their programming. Even though WRPM-FM was powered at the maximum 100,000 watts, its signal was limited by its short antenna height of only 175 feet (53 m).
In the late 1970s, WRPM-FM split its programming from the AM station. It was one of the only album rock radio stations on the Gulf Coast. The studios were located in Orange Grove just north of Gulfport. Rock 107 played harder-edged rock acts, from Boston to Rush. A "Power Rock Song" was heard at the beginning of each hour and the disc jockeys were free to play the rock albums they wanted.
Similar to the plot in the 1978 movie, FM, management decided in 1982 to end the free form format and go with a playlist of airing only the best selling albums. Some DJs, like late night host Jeff Davis, left the station, though Mark "In the Middle" McGraw remained.
In 1982, the station relocated to a tower taller than the Empire State Building. The power and antenna height allowed the station to reach east to Mobile, west to New Orleans and north to Laurel. It became a Top 40 station branded as Power 108 . The original Power 108 airstaff was Bryan Rhodes in mornings, with the late Dave Melton, Sr. doing news, Mark McGraw hosting middays (Mark in the Middle), P.D. The Real Rick James doing afternoons, Mark ("The Top Gun") Gunn heard in the evening and Reverend Red (Collins Powell) covering late nights.
In September 1994, the station flipped to country and branded as Kicker 108. As of March 1, 2023, WZKX broadcasts using HD radio technology with three HD digital subchannels.
