1440 was built and signed on in October 1956 by John McLendon's Ebony Radio of Arkansas as KOKY, the first station targeted at Little Rock's African American community, with studios just blocks from Central High School.
Ebony already operated WOKJ in Jackson, Mississippi and also came to own stations in Shreveport, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama.
When Forus Communications of Arkansas acquired 1440, effective January 1, 1979, the call sign changed to KITA and the station flipped to gospel music.
KOKY, in turn, moved to one of the oldest radio frequencies in Arkansas, 1250 AM (now KFOG).
A new limited partnership bought KITA in 1984 and added nighttime service with 240 watts.