The forerunner of WJOX debuted December 1, 1947 as WAFM on 93.3 FM. At least by 1949, the station was broadcasting on 99.5 FM, where it remained until 1963, when it moved to its current frequency. It was a sister station to WAPI; WAFM-TV Channel 13 (now WVTM) was launched in 1949. WAFM changed its call sign in 1958 to WAPI-FM to match the call letters of its AM sister station. All three broadcast properties were owned by Advance Publications, the parent company of "The Birmingham News". In the early 1970s, WAPI-FM played "solid gold" music (an early version of the adult contemporary format). In 1978, the station became an easy listening music station, calling itself "Beautiful 94" (later branded as "FM 94 WAPI, A Pleasure To Be Around"), moving it in competition with WQEZ (now WMJJ).