 WWWS went on the air March 4, 1936 as WBNY, and has featured an assortment of famous radio personalities including John Otto, Danny Neaverth and Casey Kasem.During its tenure, the radio frequency has featured numerous call signs (most notably WYSL, which was the station's calls through the mid-1980s) and disparate formats, ranging from Beautiful Music to Top 40 to heavy metal, to its present format of "Solid Gold Soul".In the 1960s and early 1970s, the station was owned by top 40 format innovator Gordon McLendon of Dallas, Texas (well known for helming legendary Top 40 stations in the continental U.S. such as KLIF in Dallas, Texas and WAKY in Louisville, Kentucky), whose ownership caused many of its personalities to use the station as a springboard to national or international prominence.