The station first signed on the air in July 1960. Its call sign was WFLM, Broward County's first all-stereo station, with an easy listening format. It was sold to the owners of AM 1520 WIXX, continuing the easy format with the new call lettersWIXX-FM, while the AM was country music. The station switched to the call letters WAXY just before RKO General's purchase. The combo was WEXY-WAXY after the AM switched to a contemporary format. When the FM was sold to RKO General, the AM switched to gospel music. In the early 1970s, the station had an album rock format, but flipped to automatedoldies in 1975. In 1990, RKO sold WAXY-FM to Ackerley Communications, an outdoor advertising company, which later sold the station to Clear Channel Communications after the Federal Communications Commission relaxed its rules against one company owning numerous stations in the same market. By March 1991, WAXY-FM evolved to an adult contemporary format as "Mix 105.9." On January 17, 1992, WAXY-FM dropped the AC format and began stunting with a loop of various versions of "Louie, Louie". On January 20, at 6 a.m., the station flipped to a locally staffed oldies format as simply "WAXY 106."
WBGG-FM
Clear Channel Communications acquired Metroplex in March 1996. iHeart changed the station from WAXY-FM to WBGG-FM on September 1. The final quarter-hour of music was delivered by and consisted of "It's the Same Old Song" by the Four Tops, "The End" by The Doors and "The Long and Winding Road" by The Beatles. The station went dark for 1 minute and signed back on the air at 12:01 as "The New Big 106." Initially, BIG 106 started out as a 1970s hits station. By mid-1995, it was calling itself a Classic Hits station while still playing mostly 70s music. But by mid-1996, it evolved to the current classic rock format.
From September 1994 until January 2004, it aired the syndicatedHoward Stern Show for morning drive time. In April 2004, the Federal Communications Commission fined Clear Channel Communications $495,000 for broadcasting allegedly indecent material on the Stern show. Subsequently, Clear Channel dropped Stern from WBGG and five other stations. To fill the morning talk slot, in May 2004, Clear Channel moved Paul & Young Ron from co-owned 94.9 WZTA. In December 2016, Young Ron retired, leaving Paul Castronovo as the morning host. Castronovo's show continues to be a popular program in South Florida. In 2005, the station changed its branding from "BIG 106" to "BIG 105.9."
Station Staff
On weekdays, Paul Castronovo hosts mornings, Amelia is heard in middays, Doc Reno in afternoons, Aly in evenings and Big Rig is heard weekends. The station has started tweaking the format to include recent classic rock acts, from artists such as Green Day, Three Doors Down and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
