[3] WTAO was established in 1970 for $14,000 by Bill Varecha[4] as a freeform format FM station serving mainly the Carbondale market.

From 1970 until December 1981, WTAO played mainly deep album rock but aired an eclectic variety of music and other programming including jazz, bluegrass, folk, country rock and jazz fusion as well as serialized radio theater such as The Fourth Tower of Inverness, in addition to syndicated programming such as a broadcast version of the Mother Earth News and the King Biscuit Flower Hour.

In later years, Sunday morning religious programming included "Jesus Solid Rock".

For the bulk of any shift DJs were free to play whatever they wanted from the station's extensive album collection.

These radio personalities often curated theme-based broadcasts in response to current social and weather conditions as well as audience requests.