It signed on as WBRC-FM in 1957, the second attempt at an FM station from WBRC (one had operated from 1948 to December 3, 1949, at 102.5 MHz, broadcasting with 546,000 watts[4][5]).
The AM station dropped "middle of the road" music (a precursor to today's adult contemporary format) in favor of Top 40.
After several weeks of stunting, WKXX became the only Top 40 station on the FM dial in Birmingham, with the branding "Kicks 106" on August 5, 1977.
By the next year, "Kicks 106" had become the top-rated radio station in Birmingham, dethroning the longstanding ratings leader, WSGN "the Big 610" (now WAGG).
The success of "Kicks 106" eventually forced both WSGN and WKXX's own AM sister station, branded "96-ERC", to abandon their Top 40 formats.
[7] This success continued until 1985, when WAPI-FM (branded "I-95") became the second station in the market to employ the format and surpassed WKXX in the local ratings.
In October 2005, the station added a broader rotation of rock classic hits and adopted new branding as "106-9 the Eagle".
[10] On January 15, 2024, WBPT launched an alternative rock on its HD2 subchannel, branded as "X100.1" (simulcast on translator W261BX 100.1 FM Birmingham).