During the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s, the station had been home to the original "progressive rock" formatted WHFS, which later migrated to the higher powered Annapolis, Maryland-based 99.1 frequency.

WMMJ simulcasts on WDCJ (92.7 FM, Prince Frederick, Maryland) for the southeastern counties of the Washington metro.

[9] However, WTKS remained near the bottom of the market ratings, finishing 21st of 22nd stations in the spring 1985 Arbitron survey[10] and dead last out of 20 outlets in the fall 1986 book.

[11] In January 1987, to match its Magic moniker, the station changed its call sign to WMMJ, remaining an adult contemporary outlet.

The move of Joyner to WMMJ vaulted it into the top ten in Washington;[17] interest was so great that the station had to hire three switchboard operators.

Since the airstaff change, the playlist has been steadily leaning toward a Jammin' Oldies direction due to declining ratings; however, the actual format still remains on the Urban AC side of the line.

To bolster coverage in the southern and eastern portions of the Washington market, Radio One purchased WWXT (now WDCJ) from Red Zebra Broadcasting.