The creative force behind a change to a rock music format was Durham Life Broadcasting's then President and general manager, Carl Venters.

Venters hired Lee Abrams, a 19-year-old broadcaster then working for ABC Radio's progressive rock station in Detroit, WRIF.

Abrams' idea was that album sales should determine a rock station's playlist, with songs from the hottest selling LPs played the most often.

Abrams teamed up with veteran consultant Kent Burkhart, and later helped develop music formats for XM Satellite Radio.

Among the many memorable on-air personalities during the WQDR rock era were David Sousa, Frank Laseter, Mike Koste, Bill Hard, Jason Janulis, Roger Nelson, Bob Heymann, Steve Mitchell, Mark Silver, John Scott (John Chrystal), Chris Miller, Keith Wilson, Jim Huste, Sean Sizemore (Sean Scott), and Rad Messick.

In later years, the air staff included Greg Wells, Jo Leigh Ferriss, Bob Kirk (Robert Kirk), Daniel Brunty, Tom Gongaware, Bob Walton, Rockin' Ron Phillips, Tom Guild, Tim Sullivan(Tim Sampair over-nights), John Lisle, Steve Kahn, Tom Evans, Brian McFadden, Cabell Smith (who was previously WDBS's morning classical DJ), Bob Robinson, and Pat Patterson, who was hired for mornings in 1978 after years at crosstown Top-40 station WKIX.

In the summer of 1984, Durham Life Broadcasting, under Don Curtis' management, announced plans to switch WQDR's format to country in September.

When Durham Life flipped WQDR to country music in early September 1984, several fired DJs and a number of off-air personnel re-appeared on 106.1 WRDU-FM (now WTKK), owned by Voyager Communications.

[10] WQDR ended its run as a rock station exactly how it began 12 years earlier, closing out with "Bitch" by the Rolling Stones.

On December 10, 1989, WPTF-TV, broadcasting from a 2,000-foot (610 m) antenna near Garner, lost its tower when it collapsed due to uneven ice thawing.

Since that tower placement substantially increased WQDR's antenna height above average terrain, its effective radiated power was reduced to 95 kilowatts to conform to the FCC's "Class C" FM station parameters.

[16] After Green's exit, the show added broadcasting newbie Janie Carothers and Marty "The One Man Party" Young to the lineup.

Until the end of 2010,[17] WQDR also aired MRN and PRN radio broadcasts of the NASCAR Sprint Cup series races.