Early years

On November 1, 1965, the station signed on as WWQT.^[3] It was the FM counterpart to AM 1580 WLBA Gainesville (now WPGY Ellijay), and were owned by the Hall County Broadcasting Company. WWQT was powered at 100,000 watts but only using a 440-foot tower, so it wasn't heard over much of Metro Atlanta.

In 1972, it was bought by Radio Athens, Inc., and would adopt the WFOX call sign.^[4] WFOX initially aired a Top 40 format, still targeting the Gainesville area of Northeastern Georgia. In 1983, the station was acquired by Shamrock Broadcasting, which had plans to make it a large market station.

Move to metro Atlanta

In 1985, Shamrock moved WFOX's tower closer to the more lucrative Atlanta media market, flipped to adult contemporary, and increased their new tower height to 1,550 feet.^[5] In 1989, Shamrock was acquired by Chancellor Media. From January 1989 to January 2003, the station aired an oldies format as "Fox 97."^[6][7]

In 2000, AMFM (the former Chancellor Media) was bought by Clear Channel Communications, which already owned several Atlanta stations. To meet federally mandated ownership limits, Cox Radio acquired the station.

Cox Radio ownership

On January 31, 2003, WFOX began stunting by simulcasting several of its sister stations from across the country, including WPYM in Miami, WAPE in Jacksonville, KCCN in Honolulu, KKBQ in Houston, KHPT in Houston, WBLI on Long Island, WHZT in Upstate South Carolina, KINE in Honolulu and WDYL in Richmond.

On February 3, 2003, WFOX switched to an uptempo Urban AC format as "97.1 Jamz."^[8] At first, the station ran with no DJs. Because co-owned WALR-FM ("Kiss 104.1") was so popular in the Atlanta market playing a more traditional Urban AC format, "Jamz" primarily aired '80s/'90s R&B, hip-hop and current songs, targeting primarily 25- to 39-year-olds. The station's main competitors were WVEE and WHTA, with whom it competed for the coveted 18 to 34 demographic, the same demo that rhythmic contemporary-formatted sister station WBTS targeted.

Classic hits

On January 1, 2006, the station flipped to "97.1 The River," with a mix of classic hits and classic rock, targeting people ages 25–54.^[9] The playlist was familiar and hit-oriented, like most classic hits stations, but leaned towards primarily rock songs from the late 1960s, 70s and 80s, with no pop or dance music.

On April 17, 2006, WFOX changed call letters to WSRV, to match the "River" moniker, which is a nod to the Chattahoochee River. The WFOX call letters would move to another Cox Radio station, the former WEFX, in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Classic rock

WSRV would later move to a more standard classic rock playlist, even though it still identifies itself on the air as "Classic Hits." In addition, WSRV plays a few 1990s titles but no 2000s music. "Rock Blocks," which feature three songs in a row from the same artist/group, sometimes including deep cuts and live material, are featured during the day and on weekends.

On June 19, 2006, Lexie Kaye became the River's first female, on-air personality doing mornings solo every weekday from 5:30 am–8:30 am. Lexie was the only live on-air personality for the River, doing all remote broadcasts and concert promotions. Chris Miller was the program director for WSRV - FM.

In October 2011, rock singer Eddie Money became the host of “Money in the Morning,” an experiment that lasted about three months.^[10]

In September 2013, WSRV upgraded to an interactive radio station. Listeners can control the music by like/dislike the songs, and record themselves then send it to be played on the air. Whatever song has the most likes when the previous one finishes is next to play.

WSRV is currently broadcasting digital radio using the HD Radio system, and features adult alternative rock on its HD-2 channel branded as "The Other Side of The River". Steve Craig, formerly of 99X, is featured as the host of "The Other Side...". Both stations stream live via WSRV's website.