In 1981, WAKS-FM, the sister station of Fuquay-Varina's first radio station, WAKS, 1460 AM (which signed on as WFVG and was later known as WNBR and, finally, WCRY before going dark in June of 2004) began broadcasting with 3,000 watts at 103.9 on the dial. Both stations were based in a combination studio/transmitter site along NC 55 just north of this southeastern Wake County community. In 1987, the stations were purchased by Ceder Broadcasting and 103.9 FM became easy listening WAZZ. In 1989, WAZZ flipped to smooth jazz as WNND, "103.9 The Wind". Ceder moved WNND's studios to Cary and expanded the station's signal to 25,000 watts from a taller tower further east on NC 55, just past the state highway's intersection with US 401. "The Wind" was briefly repositioned as "Jazzy 103" in 1995. In the spring of 1996, Clear Channel bought the station from Ceder and WNND "Jazzy 103" became WTCD "CD 103.9", still with its smooth jazz format. This handle lasted only until late September of that same year, when the station dumped their jazz format and briefly became "All-Beatles Radio", heralding their flip to WZZU "The New 'ZZU Classic Hits 103.9", picking up the same call letters and a similar format recently dumped at 93.9 FM a few weeks before. The new format proved unsuccessful, and, in 1997, WZZU joined an inspirational/black gospel simulcast that had just begun airing on sister station WDUR, 1490 AM, in Durham, known as "The Light". Shortly thereafter, the new call letters, WNNL, followed. In the aftermath of Clear Channel's 2000 acquisition of Capstar Broadcasting, WNNL was divested to Radio One, while WDUR remained with Clear Channel. On the day of the handover, the inspirational format continued solo on WNNL. With its inspirational format, WNNL garnered some of the most impressive ratings anywhere among stations with the same format. In 2004, the station received the National Association of Broadcasters' prestigious Marconi Award.
